Philip Pullman’s latest work
After 17 years the British author finally returns to the world of His Dark Materials
NOT since the release of the Harry Potter titles has a book caused such a stir. Philip Pullman fans couldn’t wait to get their hands on his latest offering, The Book of Dust Volume 1: La Belle Sauvage. And little wonder – they’ve had to wait 17 years for a return to the magical world that he first created in His Dark Materials.
Pullman, in no hurry to continue the story, took a few detours into theological writing and children’s books and was then hit by a bout of ill Bestselling author Philip Pullman has kickstarted another fantasy trilogy at age 71. health. But just as fans had almost given up hope, the British author had a flash of inspiration.
“I realised there was another story to tell – not a continuation of His Dark Materials, but a new story – and I just couldn’t resist,” he says.
La Belle Sauvage, the first in The Book of Dust trilogy, is the result.
It hit the shelves last month, coinciding with the writer’s 71st birthday, although Pullman insists this was pure coincidence. It’s set a decade before His Dark Materials when the main character, Lyra Belacqua, is just a baby – but don’t dare call it a prequel. According to Pullman it’s an “equel” (neither prequel nor sequel). But what he will concede is that it’s a much darker book than its predecessors.
“I’ve got older and perhaps more cynical, closer to despair,” he says. “It’s a darker book, I don’t deny that, but that’s the story that came to me and wanted to be told.”
As the new book’s title suggests, Pullman wants to delve even deeper into the concept of Dust, which in the previous series represented original sin. He’s also retained the daemons – the animal manifestations of people’s souls – which were a mainstay of the previous series.
Pullman believes his own daemon would be a raven.
“The reason is that those birds happily steal things and so do storytellers,” he says. “We steal stories, ideas, words and phrases, characters, all kinds of things, both from books and films and from real life.”
Fans will be relieved to know they won’t have to wait another 17 years for part two of the new series. In an interview Pullman revealed that the second book – which will move the action forward 20 years – is already complete. It’s expected to hit the shelves next year.