His Dark Materials | Philip Pullman

In his award-winning fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman invents a richly detailed and marvellously imagined world that is complex and thought-provoking enough to entral readers of all ages.

Northern Lights introduces Lyra, an orphan, who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Lyra's search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. In The Subtle Knife she is joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As Lyra learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds and leads to a thrilling conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.

The epic story Philip Pullman tells is not only a spellbinding adventure featuring armoured polar bears, magical devices, witches and dæmons, it is also an audacious and profound re-imagining of Milton's Paradise Lost. An utterly entrancing bled of metaphysical speculation and bravur storytelling, His Dark Materials is a monumental and enduring achievement.