The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials

Customer Reviews

inconsistant

2008-04-06
This is a brilliant concept, and was executed relatively well. My main complaint is that the tone of writing is not consistant. I felt 'talked down to' in some chapters and then unexplained terms, concepts and/or examples were used that went over my head in other chapters. For example, the authors give a detailed definition of what "experiements" are, but then assume readers know what "poloroid lenses" are. I don't know about others, but I knew what an 'experiemnt' was about a decade before I had any experience with Poloroid lenses, and I'm still not 100% sure I'm thinking of the right thing. Particularly toward the end of the book the authors seemed to have jumped ship on breaking concepts down with the same voracity as in the beginning.
Obviously, this is a companion to the trilogy. Although I felt the editing should've been better for this book, it really is an invaluable addition to the His Dark Materials experience.

The Science of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials

2008-02-07
Mary & John Gribbin have created a well organized and eaily understood science guide to the authentic physics behind Philip Pullman's epic work. The Gribbins combine good, clear writing with a thurough understanding of phyisics that leads to simple explanations a layman can understand. With out this valualbe work, Mr. Pullman's fantastic tale would remain simply a 'story' underpinned by fanciful and extremely complex and difficult science that might or might not be real for our world. As it happens, much of it is real for our world.

His Dark MATERIALS

2008-01-13
It is a fun book using the facts of Dark Matter in a rather cavalier way that is fun and gives a great explanation for the magic/ absurdities in the Dark Matter series.
i liked the book and bought is as part of a set of the dark matter trilogy that begins with The Golden Compass.

Extra info for Pullman's "His Dark Materials"

2008-01-07
For the ordinary person, this little book has pretty good coverage of the scientific basis for Pullman's trilogy. I am no expert, but from the info in the college courses I have taken with the Teaching Company, I think the writers have done well to condense so many items in a little space. It helps to understand that many of the ideas in Pullmans's fantasy have a bit of reality to them.

From spookiness to reality.

2007-03-07
The trilogy just stunned me and I worked at trying to understand its complexities. Then I read this book, and everything made sense. At first I declared that the trilogy was better than 'The Lord of the Rings' but could not explain why. This book nails it. It will be wonderful if you read the trilogy, read this book, and share everything with your children. Remember when 'expanding your consciousness' was all the rage? No? That's OK. All these books do it with a basis in science. Buy the darn books. Buy them for your friends.

Educational value

2005-10-13
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy is renowned for its mystery and magic. What’s the truth behind it all? Is the golden compass actually based in science? How does the subtle knife cut through anything? Could there be a bomb like the one made with Lyra’s hair? How do the Gallivespians’ lodestone resonators really work? And, of course, what are the Dark Materials? Drawing on string theory and spacetime, quantum physics and chaos theory, award-winning science writers Mary and John Gribbin reveal the real science behind Philip Pullman’s bestselling fantasy trilogy in entertaining and crystal-clear prose.

From the Hardcover edition.