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55-524: The Ice Dragon is a children's fantasy novelette by George R. R. Martin , originally published in 1980 in the Ace Books anthology Dragons of Light , as illustrated by Alicia Austin . It was later included in Martin's 1987 collection Portraits of His Children , as illustrated by Val Lakey Lindahn and Ron Lindahn. The story was reworked in 2007 with artwork by Anne Yvonne Gilbert , and again in 2014 with

110-455: A multiverse , moving between many parallel worlds. In Northern Lights , the story takes place in a world with some similarities to our own: dress-style resembles that of the UK's Edwardian era ; the technology does not include cars or fixed-wing aircraft, but zeppelins feature as a mode of transport. The dominant religion has parallels with Christianity . The Church (governed by the "Magisterium",

165-415: A child's puberty, their dæmon "settles" into a permanent form, which reflects the person's personality. When a person dies, the dæmon dies too. Armoured bears, cliff ghasts, and other creatures do not have dæmons. An armoured bear's armour is his soul. One distinctive aspect of Pullman's story is the presence of " dæmons " (pronounced "demon"). In the birth-universe of the story's protagonist Lyra Belacqua ,

220-399: A human individual's inner-self manifests itself throughout life as an animal-shaped "dæmon" that almost always stays near its human counterpart. During the childhood of its associated human, a dæmon can change its animal shape at will, but with the onset of adolescence it settles into a fixed, final animal form. Pullman has identified three major literary influences on His Dark Materials :

275-522: A land populated by strange sentient creatures called Mulefa . There, she comes to understand the true nature of Dust, which is both created by and nourishes life that has become self-aware. Lord Asriel and the reformed Mrs Coulter work to destroy the Authority's Regent Metatron . They succeed, but themselves suffer annihilation in the process by pulling Metatron into the abyss. The Authority himself dies of his own frailty when Will and Lyra free him from

330-484: A livestreamed interview moderated by author David Anthony Durham , Martin said that the adaptation would be going forward with Durham writing the screenplay. Juvenile fantasy The genre has roots in folk tales such as Aesop's Fables that were not originally intended for children: before the Victorian era , fairytales were perceived as immoral and ill-suited for children's minds. A market for children's fantasy

385-505: A physicist who is researching dark matter, which is analogous to Dust in Lyra's world. Lyra encourages Dr. Malone to attempt to communicate with the particles, and when she does they tell her to travel into the Cittàgazze world. Lyra's alethiometer is stolen by Lord Boreal alias Sir Charles Latrom, an ally of Mrs Coulter who has found a way to Will's Oxford and established a home there. Will becomes

440-656: A series of parallel universes . The novels have won a number of awards, including the Carnegie Medal in 1995 for Northern Lights and the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year for The Amber Spyglass . In 2003, the trilogy was ranked third on the BBC 's The Big Read poll. Although His Dark Materials has been marketed as young adult fiction , and the central characters are children, Pullman wrote with no target audience in mind. The fantasy elements include witches and armoured polar bears ;

495-524: A series of original paintings by Luis Royo . The Ice Dragon , in translated form as El dragón de hielo , won the 2004 Ignotus Award in Spain for best translated foreign short story; in 2005, it was nominated for a Seiun Award in Japan for translated short story. The novella follows the story of a young girl, Adara, who befriends an ice dragon after the death of her mother. Martin has stated that The Ice Dragon

550-486: A way to travel between worlds. Cittàgazze's reckless use of the technology has released Spectres which destroy adult souls but to which children are immune, rendering the world empty of adults. Here Lyra meets and befriends Will Parry , a twelve-year-old boy from our world's Oxford. Will, who recently killed a man to protect his ailing mother, has stumbled into Cittàgazze in an effort to locate his long-lost father. Venturing into Will's (our) world, Lyra meets Dr. Mary Malone,

605-500: A writer interested in fantasy often wrote in it to find an audience. His Dark Materials His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of Northern Lights (1995; published as The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). It follows the coming of age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry , as they wander through

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660-466: Is a powerful young wizard, one of the children of The Dark Is Rising series is an immature Old One with magical abilities, and in the His Dark Materials series the children have magical items and animal allies. The plot frequently incorporates a bildungsroman . In the earlier part of the 20th century, C. S. Lewis noted that fantasy was more accepted in juvenile literature, and therefore

715-493: Is not set in the same world as Westeros of A Song of Ice and Fire , commenting: "The world of Ice & Fire did not exist when I wrote The Ice Dragon ". Despite this, several press releases, book covers and commentaries have claimed that it is set in the same world. In May 2018, Warner Animation Group acquired the rights to make a feature-length animated film based on the book, with Martin producing and his manager, Vince Geradis, as executive producer. In October 2022, during

770-523: Is pulled into a conflict between the oil tycoon Larsen Manganese, the corrupt mayoral candidate Ivan Poliakov, and his longtime enemy from the Dakota Country, Pierre McConville. The story tells of Lee and Iorek's first meeting and of how they overcame these enemies. A short story originally released exclusively as an audiobook by Audible in December 2014, narrated by actor Bill Nighy . The story refers to

825-698: Is the leader of the Gobblers, and that it is a project secretly funded by the Church. Lyra flees to the Gyptians , canal -faring nomads , whose children have also been abducted. They reveal to Lyra that Asriel and Mrs Coulter are actually her parents. The Gyptians form an expedition to the Arctic with Lyra to rescue the children. Lyra recruits Iorek Byrnison , an armoured bear , and his human aeronaut friend, Lee Scoresby . She also learns that Lord Asriel has been exiled, guarded by

880-532: The Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995. In 2007, the judges of the CILIP Carnegie Medal for children's literature selected it as one of the ten most important children's novels of the previous 70 years. In an online June 2007 poll, it was voted the best Carnegie Medal winner in the 70-year history of the award, the Carnegie of Carnegies. The Amber Spyglass won the 2001 Whitbread Book of

935-670: The Lady Salmakia , he rescues Lyra from the cave where her mother has hidden her from the Magisterium, which has become determined to kill her before she yields to temptation and sin like the original Eve. Will, Lyra, Tialys and Salmakia journey to the Land of the Dead, temporarily parting with their dæmons to release the ghosts from their captivity. Mary Malone , a scientist from Will's world interested in "shadows" (or Dust in Lyra's world), travels to

990-466: The Master attempt to poison Lord Asriel , Lyra's rebellious and adventuring uncle. She warns Asriel, then spies on his lecture about Dust , mysterious elementary particles . Lyra's friend Roger is kidnapped by child abductors known as Gobblers. Lyra is adopted by a charming socialite, Mrs Coulter . The Master secretly entrusts Lyra with an alethiometer, a truth-telling device. Lyra discovers that Mrs Coulter

1045-426: The pair of compasses with which God set the bounds of all creation: Then staid the fervid wheels, and in his hand He took the golden compasses , prepared In God's eternal store, to circumscribe This universe, and all created things: One foot he centred, and the other turned Round through the vast profundity obscure... — Paradise Lost , Book 7, lines 224–229 Although Pullman did not intend it as such,

1100-562: The 100 best novels. Time magazine in the US included Northern Lights ( The Golden Compass ) in its list of the 100 Best Young-Adult Books of All Time. In November 2019, the BBC listed His Dark Materials on its list of the 100 most influential novels . His Dark Materials has occasioned controversy, primarily among some Christian groups. Cynthia Grenier, in the Catholic Culture , said: "In

1155-513: The American publishers interpreted this title as a reference to the alethiometer, a compass -like device that features prominently in the books. Pullman eventually settled on the titles His Dark Materials for the series and Northern Lights for the first book, but the American publishers disliked the latter title and chose to use The Golden Compass instead. In Jordan College, Oxford , 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Pantalaimon witness

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1210-599: The Arctic explorer Stanislaus Grumman, who years before entered Lyra's world through a portal in Alaska. Scoresby finds him living as a shaman under the name Jopari and he turns out to be Will's father, John Parry. Parry insists on being taken through the opening into the Cittàgazze world in Scoresby's balloon, since he has foreseen that he should meet the wielder of the Subtle Knife there. In that world, Scoresby dies defending Parry from

1265-499: The Authority draws Lyra, now 15, into a trap. Birds mysteriously rescue her and Pan, and she makes the acquaintance of an alchemist, formerly the witch's lover. This 2008 novella serves as a prequel to His Dark Materials and focuses on the Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby as a young man. After winning his hot-air balloon, Scoresby heads to the North, landing on the Arctic island Novy Odense, where he

1320-407: The Church believes Dust is the basis of sin , and plans to visit the other universes and destroy its source. He severs Roger from his dæmon, killing him and releasing enough energy to create an opening to a parallel universe. Lyra resolves to stop Asriel and discover the source of Dust for herself. Lyra journeys through Asriel's opening between worlds to Cittàgazze , a city whose denizens discovered

1375-549: The Magisterium who has learned of the prophecy identifying Lyra as the next Eve . A pair of angels, Balthamos and Baruch, tell Will that he must travel with them to give the Subtle Knife to Lyra's father, Lord Asriel , as a weapon against The Authority . Will ignores the angels; with the help of a local girl named Ama, the Bear King Iorek Byrnison , and Lord Asriel 's Gallivespian spies, the Chevalier Tialys and

1430-467: The Mulefa – must be closed to prevent the loss of Dust, because with every window opening, a Spectre would be created and that means Will must never use the knife again. They must also be apart because both of them can only live full lives in their native worlds. During the return, Mary Malone learns how to see her own dæmon, who takes the form of a black Alpine chough . Lyra loses her ability to intuitively read

1485-612: The Year award, the first time that such an award has been bestowed on a book from their "children's literature" category. The trilogy came third in the 2003 BBC 's Big Read , a national poll of viewers' favourite books, after The Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice . On 19 May 2005, Pullman attended the British Library in London to receive formal congratulations for his work from culture secretary Tessa Jowell "on behalf of

1540-469: The alethiometer and determines to learn how to use her conscious mind to achieve the same effect. All humans in Lyra's world, including witches, have a dæmon . It is the physical manifestation of a person's 'inner being', soul or spirit. It takes the form of a creature (moth, bird, dog, monkey, snake, etc.) and is usually the opposite sex to its human counterpart. The dæmons of children have the ability to change form - from one creature to another - but during

1595-519: The audience of the Pullman plays at the National Theatre is vastly encouraging". Pullman and Williams took part in a National Theatre platform debate a few days later to discuss myth, religious experience, and its representation in the arts. The 2003 novella Lyra's Oxford takes place two years after the timeline of The Amber Spyglass . A witch who seeks revenge for her son's death in the war against

1650-626: The bearer of the Subtle Knife, a tool forged three hundred years before by Cittàgazze's scientists from the same alloy used to make the guillotine in Bolvangar . One edge of the knife can divide subatomic particles and form subtle divisions in space, creating portals between worlds; the other edge easily cuts through any form of matter. Using the knife's portal-creating powers, Will and Lyra are able to retrieve her alethiometer from Latrom's mansion in Will's world. Meanwhile, in Lyra's world, Lee Scoresby seeks out

1705-484: The bears on Svalbard . Near Bolvangar, the Gobbler research station, Lyra finds an abandoned child who has been cut from his dæmon; the Gobblers are experimenting on children by severing the bond between human and dæmon, a procedure called intercision. Lyra is captured and taken to Bolvangar, where she is reunited with Roger. Mrs Coulter tells Lyra that the intercision prevents the onset of troubling adult emotions. Lyra and

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1760-548: The bonfire than Harry Potter") was written in the context of parents in South Carolina pressing their Board of Education to ban the Harry Potter books. Pullman expressed surprise over what he considered to be a relatively low level of criticism for His Dark Materials on religious grounds, saying "I've been surprised by how little criticism I've got. Harry Potter's been taking all the flak... Meanwhile, I've been flying under

1815-540: The children are rescued by Scoresby, Iorek, the Gyptians, and Serafina Pekkala 's flying witch clan. Lyra falls out of Scoresby's balloon and is taken by the panserbjørne to the castle of their usurping king, Iofur Raknison . She tricks Iofur into fighting Iorek, who arrives with the others to rescue Lyra. Iorek kills Iofur and takes his place as the rightful king. Lyra, Iorek, and Roger travel to Svalbard, where Asriel has continued his Dust research in exile. He tells Lyra that

1870-455: The crystal prison wherein Metatron had trapped him, able to do so because an attack by cliff-ghasts kills or drives away the prison's protectors. When Will and Lyra emerge from the land of the dead, they find their dæmons. The book ends with Will and Lyra falling in love but realising they cannot live together in the same world, because all windows – except one from the underworld to the world of

1925-544: The early life of Mrs Coulter and is set in the senior common room of an Oxford college. The story was released by Penguin Books as a physical book in September 2022. The Book of Dust is a second trilogy of novels set before, during and after His Dark Materials. The first book, La Belle Sauvage , was published on 19 October 2017. The second book, The Secret Commonwealth , was published on 3 October 2019. A novella that

1980-785: The essay On the Marionette Theatre by Heinrich von Kleist , the works of William Blake , and, most important, John Milton 's Paradise Lost , from which the trilogy derives its title. In his introduction, he adapts a famous description of Milton by Blake to quip that he (Pullman) "is of the Devil's party and does know it". Critics have compared the trilogy with C. S. Lewis 's The Chronicles of Narnia , which Pullman despises, and also with such fantasy books as Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle . The first volume, Northern Lights , won

2035-414: The forces of the Church, while Parry succeeds in reuniting with his son moments before being murdered by Juta Kamainen, a witch whose love John had once rejected. After his father's death, Will discovers that Lyra has been kidnapped by Mrs Coulter, and he is approached by two angels requesting his aid. At the beginning of The Amber Spyglass, Lyra has been kidnapped by her mother, Mrs Coulter , an agent of

2090-593: The former archbishop of Canterbury (spiritual head of the Anglican Communion ), who argued that Pullman's attacks focus on the constraints and dangers of dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself. Williams also recommended the His Dark Materials series of books for inclusion and discussion in Religious Education classes, and stated that "To see large school-parties in

2145-560: The government". On 25 May 2005, Pullman received the Swedish government's Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for children's and youth literature (sharing it with Japanese illustrator Ryōji Arai ). Swedes regard this prize as second only to the Nobel Prize in Literature ; it has a value of 5 million Swedish Kronor or approximately £385,000. In 2008, The Observer cites Northern Lights as one of

2200-516: The latest Serpentine , (2020). A new trilogy, also set in the same universe as Northern Lights , titled The Book of Dust , with the first novel La Belle Sauvage was published on 19 October 2017; the second book, The Secret Commonwealth , in October 2019; and in November 2023, Pullman announced that the concluding, as yet untitled, novel would be published in 2024. The trilogy takes place across

2255-505: The mid-20th century when the genre was influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Hobbit and C. S. Lewis 's The Chronicles of Narnia . In the vein of Narnia , the post-war period saw rising stakes and manifestations of evil in the works of Susan Cooper and Alan Garner . Tolkien's Middle-earth led to mythopoeic fantasy in the 1970s, from authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Robin McKinley . Another influential writer of this period

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2310-410: The radar, saying things that are far more subversive than anything poor old Harry has said. My books are about killing God". Others support this interpretation, arguing that the series, while clearly anticlerical, is also anti-theological because the death of God is represented as a fundamentally unimportant question. Pullman found support from some other Christians, most notably from Rowan Williams ,

2365-531: The same name as the authority of the Catholic Church ) exerts a strong control over society and has some of the appearance and organisation of the Catholic Church , but one in which the centre of power had been moved from Rome to Geneva, moved there by Pullman's fictional "Pope John Calvin" ( Geneva was the home of the historical John Calvin ). In The Subtle Knife , the story moves between our own world,

2420-415: The trilogy also alludes to concepts from physics , philosophy , and theology . It functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton 's epic Paradise Lost , with Pullman commending humanity for what Milton saw as its most tragic failing, original sin . The trilogy has attracted controversy for its criticism of religion. The London Royal National Theatre staged a two-part adaptation of

2475-482: The trilogy in 2003–2004. New Line Cinema released a film adaptation of Northern Lights , The Golden Compass , in 2007. A HBO/BBC television series based on the novels was broadcast between November 2019 and February 2023. Pullman followed the trilogy with four short works set in the Northern Lights universe: Lyra's Oxford , (2003); Once Upon a Time in the North , (2008); The Collectors (2014); and

2530-399: The warie fiend Stood on the brink of Hell and look'd a while, Pondering his Voyage; for no narrow frith He had to cross. — Paradise Lost , Book 2, lines 910–920 Pullman chose this particular phrase from Milton because it echoed the dark matter of astrophysics. Pullman earlier proposed to name the series The Golden Compasses , also a reference to Paradise Lost , where it denotes

2585-535: The world of Pullman, God Himself (the Authority) is a merciless tyrant. His Church is an instrument of oppression, and true heroism consists of overthrowing both". William A. Donohue of the Catholic League described Pullman's trilogy as "atheism for kids". Pullman said of Donohue's call for a boycott, "Why don't we trust readers? [...] Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in

2640-615: The world of the first novel, and a third world containing the city of Cittàgazze . In The Amber Spyglass , several other worlds appear alongside those three. The title of the series comes from 17th-century poet John Milton 's Paradise Lost : Into this wilde Abyss, The Womb of nature and perhaps her Grave, Of neither Sea, nor Shore, nor Air, nor Fire, But all these in their pregnant causes mixt Confus'dly, and which thus must ever fight, Unless th' Almighty Maker them ordain His dark materials to create more Worlds, Into this wilde Abyss

2695-561: The world". In a November 2002 interview, Pullman was asked to respond to the Catholic Herald calling his books "the stuff of nightmares" and "worthy of the bonfire". He replied: "My response to that was to ask the publishers to print it in the next book, which they did! I think it's comical, it's just laughable". The original remark in Catholic Herald (which was "there are numerous candidates that seem to me to be far more worthy of

2750-565: Was Diana Wynne Jones , who wrote both medievalist and realist fantasies. In the late 1990s, J. K. Rowling 's Harry Potter led to a commercial boom in the genre, reviving older authors' careers and spawning many imitators. A concurrent success is Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials , a darker, realistic fantasy that led to a corresponding trend in a new young adult market. The protagonists are usually children or teens who have unique abilities, gifts, possessions or even allies that allow them to face powerful adversaries. Harry Potter

2805-449: Was successful and was revived (with a different cast and a revised script) for a second run between November 2004 and April 2005. It has since been staged by several other theatres in the UK and elsewhere. A new production was staged at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in March and April 2009, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh and Sarah Esdaile and starring Amy McAllister as Lyra. This version toured

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2860-593: Was established in Britain in the 19th century, leading to works such as Lewis Carroll 's Alice in Wonderland and Edith Nesbit 's Five Children series ; the genre also developed in America, exemplified by L. Frank Baum 's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Of the authors of this period, Nesbit is commonly cited as the creator of modern children's fantasy. The golden age of children's fantasy, in scholars' view, occurred in

2915-453: Was made by RTÉ (Irish public radio ). Nicholas Hytner directed a theatrical version of the books as a two-part, six-hour performance for London's Royal National Theatre in December 2003, running until March 2004. It starred Anna Maxwell-Martin as Lyra, Dominic Cooper as Will, Timothy Dalton as Lord Asriel, Patricia Hodge as Mrs Coulter and Niamh Cusack as Serafina Pekkala, with dæmon puppets designed by Michael Curry . The play

2970-408: Was published on 28 April 2022. BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio play adaptation of His Dark Materials in 3 episodes, each lasting 2.5 hours. It was first broadcast in 2003, and re-broadcast in both 2008-9 and in 2017, and was released by the BBC on CD and cassette. Cast included Terence Stamp as Lord Asriel and Lulu Popplewell as Lyra. Also in 2003 a radio dramatisation of Northern Lights

3025-475: Was released in October 2020. Set after the events of The Amber Spyglass and before The Secret Commonwealth , Lyra and Pantalaimon journey back to the far North to meet with the Consul of Witches. In January 2022, Pullman announced the release of the book The Imagination Chamber: Cosmic Rays from Lyra's Universe , which would include new scenes set during the events of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust . It

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