His Dark Materials trilogy – Philip Pullman

Jun 16, 2011 by Alex Briffett    2 Comments    Posted under: Books

Read this Philip Pullman trilogy.  It is an amazing read.  This is no simple teen fantasy nonsense.  Although Pullman may have aimed it at the younger market, it is well worth reading whatever your age.  My main issue with the fantasy genre is that authors tend to rely too heavily on true historical references.  How often is it that Doctor Who (or whoever) suddenly finds himself in Victorian England or is perchance thrown back 2000 years contending with a host of Roman legionaries?

Pullman achieved something unparallelled here.  As all good writers, he is writing about what he knows and bases the books around Oxford, where he studied English at Exeter College.  However, Pullman then pulls on a varied knowledge of contemporary science and applies it to the story.  The Oxford he describes is similar to the modern town but it is the Oxford of another universe.  The characters are recognisably human in their appearance and traits except that their ‘souls’ follow them as demons in the shapes of animals.  The younger characters’ demons are able to metamorphose into other species at will or as an emotive reaction, whilst adults’ demons are set and unchangeable.  This is Pullman alluding to binary fission.

In book two of the trilogy – The Subtle Knife, we start to appreciate the multi-verse that Pullman is describing.  There are obvious references to evolution with the appearance of the mulefa, a species whose body structure reflects but is completely different from our own, since it has developed in another universe.  They have even evolved a symbiotic relationship with a local plant species which act as wheels.  The language, although recognisably English has certain lovely quirks.  Pullman uses the word anbaric (Arabic for Amber) as a highly plausible other possible word for electricity.  Marchpane is actually an archaic word meaning Marzipan which is its meaning in the trilogy.

The His Dark Materials trilogy was beset with controversy and only the first book was turned into a film.  Although Pullman denied attacking the Catholic Church in his books, his fictional organisation – the Magisterium – seems to have had a likely origin there.  The Magisterium is the powerful organisation of shady characters who claim to be protecting people’s morality.  In a recent interview, on the subject of sex scandals in the Catholic Church, Pullman is quoted as saying: “I hope the wretched organisation will vanish entirely.”  Indeed, there are parallels to be drawn between a church whose priests are infamous for child abuse and Pullman’s Magisterium whose primary target is the removal of children’s souls.

The first book was originally called Northern Lights but editions published since the film have the the film title The Golden Compass.  The Golden Compass was a reasonable film and the main character – Lyra Belaqua – well cast but it finished short of the book and due to poor box office takings (over $70 million) or an offended Catholic Church, the further two films will never likely be made.  Don’t worry about it, just read the books.

Further Reading

http://www.philip-pullman.com/

The Golden Compass (film) – Wikipedia

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