I've listened to the audio book versions, which were fully voice acted and really well done. The story was enjoyable as a kind of intellectual kids book, not sure how it reads though.

REALLY liking the looks of the movie so far.

I don't know why they renamed it for US? What are they going to do when they release it in the UK... it's going to be a name that no one knows...

I liked the first one... The Northern Lights, but The Subtle Knife and The Amber spyglass got stale. I never finished the third one.

Probably because they were afraid Americans wouldn't know what the northern lights were.

Marketers do stupid things for stupid reasons.

I loved these books. They're just so... different. And neat. Not the usual heroic fantasy archetype stuff.... one of the primary character's main strengths is that she's a phenomenally good liar.

I read them as an adult (about five years ago) and enjoyed them so much... had I encountered them as a kid, I think I've have rated them as some of the best books I'd ever read.

Definitely worth the time to read, IMO. Can't imagine getting bored with them halfway through, wow.

Enjoyed reading the books. Waiting cautiously for the movie.

Yes, they are intensely anti-authoritarian. Quite lovely in that regard.

The reason the name of the first book was changed in the US was because of the marketing division of the publisher. The original book had a picture of the Alethiometer on the cover and they thought it would be a good idea to change the name because it sort of looks like a compass.

The books themselves... well, I can't really believe they market them as childrens books. I get the feeling that Pullman has a huge beef with organized religion (not that I have a problem with that at all). It's pretty much the main theme of the book. In his parallel universe the church is also interested in particle physics but technology is at the Victorian level. Interpretation of original sin is another plot mover. There is material proof of the existance of the human soul. By the end of the trilogy, the role of God is questioned. Pretty heady stuff to put in books for kids.

I enjoyed the series very much. I've read it twice. However, I don't have high hopes for the films. The scriptwriter has gone on record as saying that they are toning down the anti religious tones of the source material which will basicly neuter the stories impact. All that will be left is CGI polar bears in armour fighting one another.

I can see how they would obscure the anti-religion stuff in the first movie, and the second probably, but I don't see how they can avoid it in the third. Toning down the religious references in that book would basically leave you with... nothing?

Maybe their strategy is to win over people with the first movie and then restore the anti-religious later. Call it anti authority if you want but I think the third book at least is very much a criticism of religion, and Christianity in particular.

Anyway, I hope the movie is good. With this, and Stardust this summer, it'll be nice to see some non Lord of the Rings-ish (not that there is anything wrong with LOTR itself) fantasy this year.

I've got this version:

The Alethiometre version looks like sh*tty airport fiction.

I'll definitely have to read at least the first one before the movie is released.

After reading some reviews of the movie, it doesn't sound like someone who hasn't read the book would enjoy it that much. So, for the sake of my wife, who hasn't, I think we will wait for Netflix.

I didn't read the book, but I went to see the movie this weekend. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was there with friends, and I hadn't myself driven, I would have walked out of the movie. I'm having a hard time writing up why exactly I didn't like it, but I'll try:

1) Everything is explained in the movie. It gets frustrating to constantly have to wait for a monologue from a character explaining about 15 pages of the book. (Atleast it felt like 15 pages of a book)
2) Extremely cheesy. Many many times I just put my face in my hands and shook my head.
3) I'm torn about the ending of the movie. When the ending came, two thoughts were running through my head. The first was, "This is such a Halo 2 ending. Its going to end without really closing any story lines." My second though was, "Wait, thats a good thing. I really don't want to sit through another hour of this movie."

There's probably more, but I'd rather just stop thinking about this movie. The movie was made for kids. Clearly. Its not even a movie that I think many adults would enjoy. If you a fan of the books, you might like it. Probably not though. If you've never read the books, don't see the movie. Spend the $10 on buying the book and reading it.

I saw it last night too. It felt like a movie made from a 10 year old's report of the book.

I saw it and thought it was ok. I do feel that plot points are kind of shoved down your throat, and it moves way to quickly. It would proabably be better to watch all 3 movies together, just like it was better to watch Matrix Reloaded and Revolutins together, was much more enjoyable.

And whats with Christopher Lee getting such high billing when he says a whole 2 lines in the entire movie!?

I will most likely skip the theater for the other two.

I was really suprised that the theather was only about 1/4 full as well at a 7:50 showing.