Blog #6 - A Fan Letter to the Author

Dear Philip Pullman,

I recently finished reading The Golden Compass, the first book in your famous trilogy. What a book! I almost couldn't put it back down on the coffee table where it lived. You've got such a unique writing style, and a real imagination to pull very colourful characters from.

Firstly, I like your idea of daemons. It's a very intriguing idea, for most people, to have an animal companion or soul mate that follows you everywhere, speaks to you, and knows your thoughts. And the fact that some of the main daemons in your book can change forms makes it even more fascinating. It's what every child really wants, is to have their very own pet lion or tiger or bear, and I'll admit, I think most adults wouldn't mind one occasionally either! So it really appeals to most people, as well as being a great way to add to or reveal some of the plot, help get characters out of tight situations, and give us more insight into what your characters are really like.

I also quite like the way that you invented words to fit your needs, but which made sense. I particularly liked Panserbjorne and Bolvangar. Panserbjorne conjures up the image of this living tank with claws, which makes sense, given the word Panser is most commonly heard with reference to the World War Two German tank divisions in North Africa. Bjorne sounds like bear, but also gives you an image of the far North, places like Norway. And Bolvangar, although it has no relation to any actual word that I know of (this is another clear demonstration of your powerful imagination), has this sound to it that emanates evil and malice. It doesn't sound like a nice place to be! Gyptian is also a very well crafted word, which produced an image of these characters for me somewhere in between Gypsies and Egyptians (although they ended up looking and sounding more like English farmhands for me!)

You write in a flowing, easy to read style that conveys your world and visions of the events within it very well. Not once did I have to reread a sentence to try and understand it. Perhaps that has more to do with it being a children's book, but if that's the case then I think children have a better idea of how to read than adults!

I look forward to continuing the trilogy, and already have a copy of the Subtle Knife sitting on the coffee table also.
All the best in the New Year,

Will Barton