Pullman Phillip 01

Reviews & Overviews by Rod Cameron

His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Book 1 - Northern Lights

Having seen The Amber Spyglass reach the long-list nominations for this year's Booker Prize, I was sufficiently intrigued to go out and buy Northern Lights, the first in the series. If you have finished all four Harry Potters, and are suffering withdrawal symptoms from juvenile fiction, then look no further than this trilogy. Juvenile fiction seems to have 'grown up' since I were a lad. Some of the themes in this series are very adult indeed. Like C.S.Lewis' Narnia Books such as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there are very deep religious undertones. Although, in Pullman's series these issues are far more obvious. The series is based loosely on Milton's Paradise Lost, and all three books are exhilarating.
These books are most definitely fantasy, being set in a number of 'parallel universes' which are all subtly different. In the first universe everyone has a speaking 'familiar' called a daemon (pronounced demon). Despite their name, these creatures are not evil (unless their human is) and as well as being able to speak can communicate telepathically with their human. They have the outward appearance of animals, and prior to puberty they have the ability to shapeshift. Generally the daemon settles on a shape reflecting the human's occupation - for example, most servants have daemons that are dogs.
Set in the universe of daemons, Northern Lights concerns 12 year old Lyra who lives at Jordon College in Oxford. There are differences between our Oxford and hers, but it is recognisable. For example, Jordan College doesn't exist here. It appears to be set towards the end of the 19th century when science is just starting to make major advances. When Lyra's friend Roger disappears, she and her daemon Pantalaimon feel they have no option but to look for him. Their quest leads them to the frozen north where intelligent armoured bears rule, and witches fly through the skies. It is also where scientists are conducting experiments too horrible to discuss. Lyra is helped in her quest by her ability to read an 'alethiometer', "something like a watch or a small clock: a thick disk of brass and crystal. It might have been a compass or something of the sort", which is used for telling the truth, and is pictured on the cover of the book. Northern Lights is very well written. It is fast-paced and difficult to put down despite some scenes being particularly violent. The action scenes such as the battles are particularly gripping. When I had finished it, there were no doubts in my mind about buying the second one.

Publisher: Point - Scholastic Children's Books
Date: 1995
Pages: 399 pages
Price: £5.99
Format: Trade paperback
Reviewed by: Rod Cameron
Review Date: December 2001