The Republic of Heaven

Wow - as forum graphics go, this board has some of the better ones I´ve seen. ^_^

Anyway. Hi, I´m Multiverse. I´m a boy aged fifteen, and I live in Denmark. Being much of a book-person, I was vaguely interested in these books to begin with, but not so much that I´d go out of my way to get any of them. Then, when I saw a friend of mine reading Northern Ligths (in Danish, that is) at school, I decided to ask her about it, and she mentioned it´d be just my kind of book, and that there was a lot of stuff in it that´d interest me. Needless to say, she was more than right.

She offered me to borrow the book when she´d finished it, but we never got 'round to it. A month or so later, I was going on a three-week-vacation to England and Scotland, and having one day to spend in Oxford anyway, I decided to pick up the whole series in paperback, to see what they´re worth. While I was there, I also picked up a hardback Once Upon A Time In The North and a paperback Lyra´s Oxford (because seriously, where else could I possibly get them? Small, additional books like that doesn´t get translated to as small a language as Danish).

My favourite authors include, but occasionally aren´t restricted to, Terry Pratchett, Lemony Snicket, Eoin Colfer, Linda Buckley-Archer, Douglas Adams and of course, Philip Pullman.

-Multiverse

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks, Peter. =)

-Multiverse

Hi, Multiverse! I don't think we have any Danish people on the forum at the moment. Maybe you should ask your friend if she wants to join too

Whereabouts in Denmark are you? Which is your favourite of the trilogy?

Thanks for the welcoming, Jaya. ^_^

Well, I would´ve asked her, but firstly I don´t think she´s all that good at English (that´s just about her only lack of skill, though - she´s extremely creative, a good artist/musician and all), and second, she´s only read the two first books. She´s currently working on forgetting their contents so that she can start over reading the series.

Well, Denmark is quite small, so there isn´t much different Denmark to live in.
But I live in the mainly East/southern part of the country, called Sjælland.

-Multiverse

Hi Multiverse, welcome to the forum. I'm glad that going to Oxford inspired you to read all the books. Did you go to the Oxford Botanic Garden and see Lyra and Will's bench?

Thanks, Aletheia.

Sadly not. Since I hadn´t read the books at the time, I had no idea it´d be in the books - had I known, I believe I might´ve tried to get there.

Also; Is that the SatW Finland I see in your av? ... No need to answer, I know I´m right. =D

-Multiverse

Also; Is that the SatW Finland I see in your av? ... No need to answer, I know I´m right. =D

-Multiverse

It is Sister Finland from SatW, yes. I'm not Finnish, but I love the creepy little knife-wielding alcoholic! Do you read SatW?

It's a shame that you didn't find the bench, but I guess you can go back again now that you know what it is...

Also; Is that the SatW Finland I see in your av? ... No need to answer, I know I´m right. =D

-Multiverse

It is Sister Finland from SatW, yes. I'm not Finnish, but I love the creepy little knife-wielding alcoholic! Do you read SatW?

It's a shame that you didn't find the bench, but I guess you can go back again now that you know what it is...

Yeah, I do. I consider myself far different from the Denmark of that comic, though.

I´d love to go back there. Sadly, that´s quite an expensive travel from here. =/

-Multiverse

Hello Multiverse! Welcome!

Did you first read the books in Danish or in English? Have you read both? (I'm curious how the translation is.)

Welcome! I didn't realise there were so many fans of this book!
The site is great, glad you joined.

Thanks, Bee and Iofur. ^_^

@Bee: I´ve only read the english versions. However, I´ve noticed that Pullman uses a few Danish words (Dæmon, Panserbjørn, Odense). Odense is a Danish town, and I think that Once Upon A Time In The North took place in a city called Novy Odense.
Also, I know for a fact (because my friend mentioned in the first post has read the first two in Danish) that in the Danish versions the word 'Dæmon' is replaced with 'Daimon'. 'Dæmon' simply means 'Demon' in Danish, so it´s to avoid confusion.

-Multiverse

OK, that's enough HDM. Let's move on to Forbrydelsen

In particular, Danish names. I couldn't help noticing that while many of the characters' names are the same as or similar to names in other western European languages, e.g. Theis, Sarah, Jan, Morten, others seem to have no analogue. So, what about Vagn? Or Pernille? or Troels?

Help, please.

OK, that's enough HDM. Let's move on to Forbrydelsen

In particular, Danish names. I couldn't help noticing that while many of the characters' names are the same as or similar to names in other western European languages, e.g. Theis, Sarah, Jan, Morten, others seem to have no analogue. So, what about Vagn? Or Pernille? or Troels?

Help, please.

Umm, Forbrydelsen... that´s a TV show, right? I don´t watch it, I wouldn´t know. The title means The Crime, though you probably don´t need me to telll you. =J

As for the names... well, yes, they´re all completely valid. I can´t think of any international equivalents of those you mentioned, sorry.
Say, where do you live for you to watch Danish television?

-Multiverse

Also; Is that the SatW Finland I see in your av? ... No need to answer, I know I´m right. =D

It is Sister Finland from SatW, yes. I'm not Finnish, but I love the creepy little knife-wielding alcoholic! Do you read SatW?

Yeah, I do. I consider myself far different from the Denmark of that comic, though.

SatW Thank goodness Nanaki (?) introduced it to us. Since you are far different from comic Denmark, do you think the artist/author explains the politics adequately?

Welcome Multiverse!! I'll be heading in your direction (Scania) in a month's time. Do you ever plan to read the books in Danish? I'm always curious about the quality of translations.

Say, where do you live for you to watch Danish television?

South East England Forbrydelsen (rendered as The Killing here and in the US remake) has just finished its run on BBC4, where it's been immensely successful.

@Jessia: Well, I think they´re supposed to represent stereotypes rather than politics, so thatdoesn´t really matter much to me.

Heh, I love the confused expression of the cat in that last panel.
And no, I don´t lan on reading the Danish books - since I started reading books in English some years ago, I´ve found that most translated books seems a bit dull, anyway. Somehow it needs the original wording of the author to tell the a story properly.

@Peter: Oh, I see. It must be a nice place to live, I suppose? =)

-Multiverse

@Peter: Oh, I see. It must be a nice place to live, I suppose? =)

Oh, it's all right, I suppose. Moderately prosperous, fairly safe, rather dull.