Philip Pullman disses LOTR and Narnia!

[Lairënuriel]

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/nance/624412,SHO-Sunday-nance28a.article

Has anyone read (and does anyone like) any of Pullman's work?

[Wolfchild]

Well, in some ways he has his facts right. I assumed that when you said he 'disses' them, that that would mean him simply slanting everything here and there, but he does back his statements up with some evidence.

I haven't actually read any of his work, but some day I would like to. The covers alone look fantastic.

[Beren One-Hand]

He does make some interesting points.  It's interesting how he respects Lewis more than Tolkien, essentially.  But I don't think you can "diss" either of these guy's.  Pullman might be a genious all his own, but he has to have respect.  With the followings that Tolkien and Lewis have, he had a hard time trying to really persuade them to his point of view.  I believe what Pullman is really doing is being "political."  Funny he never mentioned J.K. Rowling either (probably has no respect for her - well then again her works are not classics).  Maybe Pullman feels in order to have his own legacy, he needs to distinguish himself from Tolkien and Lewis in a way that is not merely admiring their genius, but being at odds with them.  Other authors like R.A. Salvatore, don't shy away from giving their appreciation to authors like Tolkien, because without authors like Tolkien and Lewis, where would the fantasy genre be?  There might be no Rowling, and certainly the only Pullman that we might have heard of would be the American actor with the first name Bill.

[Lairënuriel]

I said diss, I guess I should have used 'put down'.

His work looks like it would appeal to me as well.  I love dark fantasy.

[Insane_Monky]

Wow. That did spoil the ending of The Chronicles of Narnia for me! I had no idea Susan died!

I actually am half-way through The Silver Chair, but I have read all the others...

[Lairënuriel]

Sorry!!!  Should've put a spoiler alert on this one!!!

Please forgive me!

[Pulsifer]

I've read his Dark Material trilogy, and, well, the guy's got a bone in the side for christianity. His derision for Tolkien and Lewis is hardly surprising, giving the conflict (between a renegade Angel who uses earth and similiar universes as his battleground and an indifferent God) in his books. However, he should be more corteous to authors dead for many years whose morals were founded in more conservative times, and he should appreciate Tolkien's effort to distance his ME universe's religion from his own.

That said, I definitely agree with his point on Lewis' ending. What he did to Susan, the reason for what he did, and the lesson it's supposed to teach, pisses me off no end.