His Dark Materials - wikipedia His Dark Materials For other uses, see His Dark Materials ( disambiguation ). His Dark Materials Cover of Scholastic collected edition, 2008 Northern Lights The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass Author Philip Pullman Country United Kingdom Language English Genre Science Fantasy High fantasy Publisher Scholastic Published 1995 -- 2000 Media type Print ( hardback & paperback ) His Dark Materials is an epic 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 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. His Dark Materials has been marketed to young adults, though Pullman wrote with no target audience in mind. The fantasy elements include witches and armoured polar bears ; 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 series has attracted controversy for its criticism of religion. The London Royal National Theatre staged a two - part adaptation of the series in 2003 -- 2004. New Line Cinema released a film adaptation of Northern Lights, The Golden Compass, in 2007. Pullman followed the trilogy with two shorter books set in the same universe, Lyra 's Oxford ( 2003 ) and Once Upon a Time in the North ( 2008 ). La Belle Sauvage, the first book in a new trilogy, The Book of Dust, was published on 19 October 2017. Contents 1 Settings 2 Titles 3 Plot 3.1 Northern Lights ( or The Golden Compass ) 3.2 The Subtle Knife 3.3 The Amber Spyglass 4 Characters 5 Dæmons 6 Influences 7 Awards and recognition 8 Controversies 9 Terminology 10 Pronunciation 11 Other works 11.1 Lyra 's Oxford 11.2 Once Upon a Time in the North 11.3 `` The Collectors '' 11.4 The Book of Dust 11.5 Future books 12 Adaptations 12.1 Radio 12.2 Theatre 12.3 Film 12.4 Television 12.5 Audiobooks 13 See also 14 Further reading 15 References 16 External links Settings Main article : Locations in His Dark Materials The trilogy takes place across 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 Victorian era, and technology has not evolved to include automobiles or fixed - wing aircraft, while zeppelins feature as a notable mode of transport. The dominant religion has parallels with Christianity, and is at certain points in the series ( especially in the later books ) explicitly named so ; while Adam and Eve are referenced in the text ( particularly in The Subtle Knife, in which Dust tells Mary Malone that Lyra Belacqua is a new Eve to whom she is to be the serpent ), Jesus is not. The Church ( called the `` Magisterium '', the same name as the Catholic body ) 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 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 the world of the first novel, our own world, and in another world, the city of Cittàgazze. In The Amber Spyglass the story crosses through an array of diverse worlds. Titles Satan struggles through hell in a Gustave Doré illustration of Paradise Lost. The title of the series comes from 17th - century poet John Milton 's Paradise Lost, Book 2 : 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 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 earlier proposed to name the series The Golden Compasses, also a reference to Paradise Lost, where they denote God 's circle - drawing instrument used to establish and set the bounds of all creation : God as architect, wielding the golden compasses, by William Blake ( left ) and Jesus as geometer in a 13th - century medieval illuminated manuscript. 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 centered, and the other turned Round through the vast profundity obscure -- Paradise Lost, Book 7, lines 224 -- 229 Despite the confusion with the other common meaning of compass ( the navigational instrument ) The Golden Compass became the title of the American edition of Northern Lights ( the book features an `` alethiometer '', a rare truth - telling device that one might describe as a `` golden compass '' ). Plot Northern Lights ( or the Golden Compass ) Main article : Northern Lights ( novel ) In Jordan College, Oxford, 12 - year - old Lyra Belacqua and her dæmon Pantalaimon witness 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 the `` Gobblers ''. Lyra is adopted by a charming socialite, Mrs Coulter. The Master secretly entrusts her with an alethiometer, a truth - telling device. Lyra discovers that Coulter is the leader of the Gobblers, a secret Church - funded project, which is abducting children. Lyra flees to the Gyptians, canal - faring nomads, whose children have also been abducted. They reveal to Lyra that Asriel and Coulter are 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 the bears on Svalbard. Near Bolvangar, the Gobbler research station, Lyra discovers an abandoned child who has been cut from his dæmon ; the Gobblers are experimenting on children by severing the bond between human and dæmon. Lyra is captured and taken to Bolvangar, where she is reunited with Roger. Coulter tells Lyra that the intercision prevents the onset of troubling adult emotions. Lyra and 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 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 determines to stop Asriel and follows him through the opening. The Subtle Knife Main article : The Subtle Knife Lyra journeys through the Aurora to Cittàgazze, an otherworldly city whose denizens have discovered a clean path between worlds at a far earlier point in time than others in the storyline. Cittàgazze 's reckless use of the technology has released soul - eating Spectres, to which children are immune, rendering much of the world incapable of transit by adults. Here Lyra meets Will Parry, a twelve - year - old boy from our world. Will, who recently killed a man to protect his ailing mother, has stumbled into Cittàgazze in an effort to locate his long - lost father. Will becomes the bearer of the eponymous Subtle Knife, a tool forged 300 years ago by Cittàgazze 's scientists from the same materials used to make Bolvangar 's silver guillotine. One edge of the knife can divide even subatomic particles and form subtle divisions in space, creating portals between worlds ; the other edge easily cuts through any form of matter. After meeting with witches from Lyra 's world, they journey on. Will finds his father, who had gone missing in Lyra 's world under the assumed name of Stanislaus Grumman, only to watch him murdered almost immediately by a witch who loved him but was turned down, and Lyra is kidnapped. The Amber Spyglass Main article : The Amber Spyglass The Amber Spyglass tells of Lyra 's kidnapping by her mother, Mrs. Coulter, an agent of the Magisterium who has learned of the prophecy identifying Lyra as the next Eve. A pair of angels, Balthamos and Baruch, inform 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 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 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 which 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 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 can not live together in the same world, because all windows -- except one from the underworld to the world of the Mulefa -- must be closed to prevent the loss of Dust, and because each of them can only live full lives in their native worlds. This is the temptation that Mary was meant to give them ; to help them fall in love and then choose whether they should stay together or not. During the return, Mary learns how to see her own dæmon, who takes the form of a black Alpine chough. Lyra loses her ability to intuitively read the alethiometer and determines to learn how to use her conscious mind to achieve the same effect. Characters Main article : Characters of His Dark Materials 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 towards the end of 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. Lyra Belacqua, a wild 12 - year - old girl, has grown up in the fictional Jordan College, Oxford. She is skinny with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. She prides herself on her capacity for mischief, especially her ability to lie, earning her the epithet `` Silvertongue '' from Iorek Byrnison. Lyra has a natural ability to use the alethiometer, which is capable of answering any question when properly manipulated and read. Pantalaimon is Lyra 's dæmon. Like all dæmons of children, he changes from one creature to another constantly. When Lyra reaches puberty he assumes the permanent form of a pine marten. Pantalaimon and Lyra follow her father, Lord Asriel, when he travels to the newly discovered world of Cittagazze. Will Parry, a sensible, morally conscious, assertive 12 - year - old boy from our world. He becomes the bearer of the subtle knife. Will is independent and responsible for his age, having looked after his mentally ill mother for several years. Kirjava is Will 's dæmon, so named by Serafina Pekkala. She takes the permanent form of a large, shadow - colored cat. The Authority is the first angel to have emerged from Dust. He controls the Church, an oppressive religious institution. He told the later - arriving angels that he created them and the universe, but this is a lie. Although he is one of the two primary adversaries in the trilogy -- Lord Asriel is his primary opponent -- he remains in the background ; he makes his only appearance late in The Amber Spyglass. The Authority has grown weak and transferred most of his powers to his regent, Metatron. He is extremely aged, fragile and naive. Lord Asriel, ostensibly Lyra 's uncle, is later revealed to be her father. He opens a rift between the worlds in his pursuit of Dust. His dream of establishing a Republic of Heaven to rival the Authority 's Kingdom leads him to use his power to raise a grand army from across the multiverse to rise up in rebellion against the forces of the Church. Marisa Coulter is the coldly beautiful, manipulative mother of Lyra and former lover of Lord Asriel. She serves the Church by kidnapping children for research into the nature of Dust. She has black hair, a slim build, and looks younger than she is. Initially hostile to Lyra, she realises that she loves her daughter and seeks to protect her from agents of the Church, who want to kill Lyra. Her dæmon is a golden monkey with a cruel streak. Metatron, Asriel 's principal adversary, was a human in biblical times Enoch and was later transfigured into an angel. The Authority has displayed his declining health by appointing Metatron his Regent. As Regent, Metatron has implanted the monotheistic religions across the universes. He becomes vulnerable to the seductive advances of Marisa Coulter, who betrays him by luring him into the underworld to his death. He is the series ' main antagonist. Lord Carlo Boreal, or Sir Charles Latrom, CBE as he is known as in Will Parry 's world, serves as a minor character in Northern Lights, but is a main antagonist in The Subtle Knife. He is an old Englishman, appearing to be in his sixties. He normally wears pale suits and is described as smelling sweetly. He is ultimately poisoned by Mrs. Coulter, to whom he has previously been a lover. Mary Malone, is a physicist and former nun from Will 's world. She meets Lyra during Lyra 's first visit to Will 's world. Lyra provides Mary with insight into the nature of Dust. Agents of the Church force Mary to flee to the world of the mulefa. There she constructs the amber spyglass, which enables her to see the otherwise invisible Dust. Her purpose is to learn why Dust, which mulefa civilization depends on, is flowing out of the universe. Mary relates a story of a lost love to Will and Lyra, and later packs for them a lunch containing `` little red fruits '', which her computer, `` the Cave, '' had instructed her to do. Iorek Byrnison is a massive armoured bear. An armoured bear 's armour is his soul. Iorek 's armour is stolen, so he becomes despondent. With Lyra 's help he regains his armour, his dignity, and his kingship over the armoured bears. In gratitude, and impressed by her cunning, he dubs her `` Lyra Silvertongue ''. A powerful warrior and armoursmith, Iorek repairs the Subtle Knife when it shatters. He later goes to war against The Authority and Metatron. Lee Scoresby, a rangy Texan, is a balloonist. He helps Lyra in an early quest to reach Asriel 's residence in the North, and he later helps John Parry reunite with his son Will. Serafina Pekkala is the beautiful queen of a clan of Northern witches. Her snow - goose dæmon Kaisa, like all witches ' dæmons, can travel much farther apart from her than the dæmons of humans. The Master of Jordan heads Jordan College, part of Oxford University in Lyra 's world. Helped by other Jordan College employees, he is raising the supposedly orphaned Lyra. Faced with difficult choices that only later become apparent, he tries unsuccessfully to poison Lord Asriel. Roger Parslow is the kitchen boy at Jordan College and Lyra 's best friend. John Parry is Will 's father. He is an explorer from our world who discovered a portal to Lyra 's world and became the shaman known as Stanislaus Grumman or Jopari, a corruption of his original name. The Four Gallivespians : Lord Roke, Madame Oxentiel, Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia -- are tiny people ( a hand - span tall ) with poisonous heel spurs. Ma Costa : A Gyptian woman whose son, Billy Costa is abducted by the `` Gobblers ''. She rescues Lyra from Mrs Coulter and takes her to John Faa. We later discover that Ma Costa nursed Lyra, when she was a baby. John Faa : The King of all the Gyptians. He journeys with Lyra to the North with his companion Farder Coram. Faa and Costa rescue Lyra when she runs away from Mrs. Coulter. Then they take her to Iorek Byrnison. Father Gomez is a priest sent by the Church to assassinate Lyra. The angel Balthamos, kills Gomez before he can reach her. Fra Pavel Rašek is a representative and alethiometrist of the Consistorial Court of Discipline. He is said to be a sluggish reader of the device, his dæmon is a frog. Balthamos is a rebel angel who, with his lover Baruch, join in Will 's journey to find the captured Lyra. Near the end of the story, he saves both Lyra 's and Will 's lives by killing Father Gomez. Upon ensuring their safety, Balthamos calls out Baruch 's name and dies. Tony Makarios is a naive boy who is lured into captivity by Mrs. Coulter. Mulefa are four - legged wheeled animals ; they have one leg in front, one in back, and one on each side. The `` wheels '' are huge, round, hard seed - pods from seed - pod trees ; an axle - like claw at the end of each leg grips a seed - pod. The Mulefa society is primitive. Dæmons Leonardo da Vinci 's Lady with an Ermine ( 1489 -- 90 ), along with two portraits by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Hans Holbein the Younger, helped inspire Pullman 's `` dæmon '' concept. Main article : Dæmon ( His Dark Materials ) 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, a human individual 's inner - self manifests itself throughout life as an animal - shaped `` dæmon '', that almost always stays near its human counterpart. Dæmons usually only talk to their own associated humans, but they can communicate with other humans and with other dæmons autonomously. During the childhood of its associated human, a dæmon can change its shape at will, but with the onset of adolescence it settles into a fixed, final form that reveals the person 's true nature and personality. In Lyra 's world, it is considered to be `` the grossest breach of etiquette imaginable '' for one person to touch another 's dæmon -- this violates the strictest of taboos. `` A human being with no dæmon is like someone without a face, or with their ribs laid open and their heart torn out : something unnatural and uncanny that belonged to the world of night - ghasts, not the waking world of sense ''. Dæmons and their humans can become separated through intercision, a process involving cutting the link between the dæmon and the human. This process can take place in a medical setting, as with the guillotine used at Bolvangar, or as a form of torture used by the Skraelings. This separation entails a high mortality rate and changes both human and dæmon into a zombie - like state. Severing the link using the silver guillotine method releases tremendous amounts of unnamed energy, convertible to anbaric ( electric ) power. Influences Pullman has identified three major literary influences on His Dark Materials : 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 The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. Pullman however has characterised the Narnia series as `` blatantly racist '', `` monumentally disparaging of women '', `` immoral '', and `` evil ''. The trilogy has also been compared with such fantasy books as Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Awards and recognition The Amber Spyglass won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year award, a prestigious British literary award. This is the first time that such an award has been bestowed on a book from their `` children 's literature '' category. The first volume, Northern Lights, won 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 June 2007 it was voted, in an online poll, as the best Carnegie Medal winner in the seventy - year history of the award, the Carnegie of Carnegies. The Observer cites Northern Lights as one of the 100 best novels. 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 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. 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. At the time, only His Dark Materials and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire amongst the top five works lacked a screen - adaptation ( the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which came fifth, was released in 2005 ). Controversies A traditional depiction of the Fall of Man Doctrine by Thomas Cole ( Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, 1828 ). His Dark Materials presents the Fall as a positive act of maturation. His Dark Materials has occasioned controversy, primarily amongst some Christian groups. While sales in the United States equalled those of the Harry Potter series, Pullman 's series received conservative media backlash for its perceived anti-religious content from the USA 's Catholic League. Pullman has expressed surprise over what he perceives as a 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 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. Some of the characters criticise institutional religion. Ruta Skadi, a witch and friend of Lyra 's calling for war against the Magisterium in Lyra 's world, says that `` For all of ( the Church 's ) history... it 's tried to suppress and control every natural impulse. And when it ca n't control them, it cuts them out ''. Skadi later extends her criticism to all organised religion : `` That 's what the Church does, and every church is the same : control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling ''. By this part of the book, the witches have made reference to how they are treated criminally by the church in their worlds. Mary Malone, one of Pullman 's main characters, states that `` the Christian religion... is a very powerful and convincing mistake, that 's all ''. Formerly a Catholic nun, she gave up her vows when the experience of falling in love caused her to doubt her faith. Pullman has warned, however, against equating these views with his own, saying of Malone : `` Mary is a character in a book. Mary 's not me. It 's a story, not a treatise, not a sermon or a work of philosophy ''. In another inversion, the tenet that the Church can absolve a penitent of sin is subverted when the priest selected to assassinate Lyra has built up sufficient penitential credit before attempting to carry out this sin for the Church. Pullman portrays life after death very differently from the Christian concept of heaven : In the third book, the afterlife plays out in a bleak underworld, similar to the Greek vision of the afterlife, wherein harpies torment people until Lyra and Will descend into the land of the dead. At their intercession, the harpies agree to stop tormenting the dead souls, and instead receive the true stories of the dead in exchange for leading them again to the upper world. When the dead souls emerge, they dissolve into atoms and merge with the environment. One medical historian has compared Pullman 's concept of `` intercision '' with circumcision and female genital mutilation. In The Subtle Knife, Ruta Skadi says, `` Some of you have seen what they did at Bolvangar. And that was horrible, but it is not the only such place, not the only practice. Sisters, you know only the north : I have travelled in the south lands. There are churches there, believe me, that cut their children too, as the people of Bolvangar did -- not in the same way, but just as horribly -- they cut their sexual organs, yes, both boys and girls -- they cut them with knives so that they sha n't feel ''. Pullman 's `` Authority '', though worshipped on Lyra 's earth as God, emerges as the first conscious creature to evolve. Pullman makes it explicit that the Authority did not create worlds, and his trilogy does not speculate on who or what ( if anything ) might have done so. Members of the Church are typically displayed as zealots. Cynthia Grenier, in the Catholic Culture, said : `` In 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 has described Pullman 's trilogy as `` atheism for kids ''. Pullman has said of Donohue 's call for a boycott, `` Why do n't we trust readers ? (... ) Oh, it causes me to shake my head with sorrow that such nitwits could be loose in the world ''. Pullman has, however, found support from some other Christians, most notably from Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury ( spiritual head of the Anglican church ), who argues that Pullman 's attacks focus on the constraints and dangers of dogmatism and the use of religion to oppress, not on Christianity itself. Williams has 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 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. Pullman has singled out certain elements of Christianity for criticism, as in the following : `` I suppose technically, you 'd have to put me down as an agnostic. But if there is a God, and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against ''. However, Pullman has also said in interviews and appearances that his argument can extend to all religions. In a November 2002 interview Pullman was asked to respond to the fact that the Catholic Herald had called 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 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. Terminology Pullman renames various common objects or ideas of our world with archaic terms or new words of his own. Below are some of these renamings and new words. List of terms Aerodock : Airport. Airships are the dominant form of air travel in Lyra 's world, which need to dock at a tower rather than on the land. Æsahættr : ( literally `` God - destroyer '' in Old Norse ) The formal name of the `` Subtle Knife '' ; also deemed the `` last knife of all ''. Alethiometer : A `` truth teller '', a rare device in Lyra 's world which resembles a four - handed pocket watch, it can truthfully answer any possible question asked by a skilled user. From aletheia ( Ancient Greek : ἀλήθεια ), meaning ' Truth '. Anbaric, and the prefix anbaro - : Electric or electrical. From anbar, Arabic for amber ; the English word `` electric '' is based on the Greek ήλεκτρον ( élektron ), meaning `` amber ''. Both words derive from the electrostatic properties of amber. Atomcraft : Research into particle physics. Brantwijn : Brandywine. Byanroping or roping : in the Gyptian dialect, a formal meeting of all Gyptian families to discuss important matters. Cauchuc : Rubber and possibly also plastic, from the Quechuan word cauchuc or caoutchouc, meaning the sap of the rubber tree. Celestial geography : Celestial navigation. Chapel : A scientific laboratory. All scientific enquiry derives from the church and so the language that describes it has religious overtones ( a chapel is ordinarily a place of religious worship ). Chaplain : The head of a scientific laboratory. Chocolatl : Chocolate. Sometimes hot chocolate ; other times `` a bar of chocolatl '' ( a chocolate bar ). From chocolatl, the Nahuatl word for chocolate. Chthonic Railway Station : An underground railway station. `` Chthonic '' is from Greek χθόνιος ( chthonios ), meaning pertaining to the earth ; earthy. Cloud - pine : A type of wood used by witches for flying ( akin to broomsticks in other literature ). Coal - silk : A synthetic fibre made from coal, was invented as a substitute for natural silk, akin to Nylon. Coal spirit : Petroleum or other hydrocarbon fuels derived from it. Dæmon : The animal embodiment of a human 's inner - life. It is pronounced ' demon '. Dust : Mysterious cosmic particles that are integral to the plot. Dust is invisible to the human eye, and, unlike ordinary particles, Dust is conscious. Experimental theology : Science, especially Physics. Electrum : An occasionally used Latin word for amber ; see `` anbaric '' above. Fire - mine : A geothermal vent in which the panserbjorne work in metallurgy ; supposedly impenetrable to humans and witches. Gyropter : A helicopter, both words could be translated as `` rotating wing '' ( Greek gyros / helikos + pteron = circle / spiral + wing ). Marchpane : Marzipan, `` marchpane '' is an archaic word for `` marzipan ''. Naphtha : Oil or petroleum ( as in oil - lamp, rather than naphtha - lamp ). A petrochemical like kerosene. Night - ghast : restless spirits, they are reminiscent of the spirits which - in some mythologies - were thought to be the cause of nightmares. Oratory : A church building. Ordinator : A computer ( from the same root as ordinateur ( French ) and ordenador ( Spanish ) ). Philosophical : Having to do with the study of the physical laws of the universe ( i.e. what we would call physics ). In our own world, science and physics grew out of - and were, until the 19th century usually referred to as - natural philosophy. Photogram : A photograph ; more primitive than those in our own world but able to be developed in multiple ways. Projecting lantern : A magic lantern used for photograms. ( Pullman noted in Northern Lights 's Lantern Slides addendum that he based the projector in the book on one his grandfather owned. ) Shadow ( capitalised ) : The name, in our universe, of Dust. Smokeleaf : Tobacco ( Experimental ) Theologian : A physicist. From `` Natural Theology '' meaning `` science ''. Tokay : A highly prized wine in Lyra 's world, the name may be an archaic, Anglicised form of tokaji ( a wine of the Tokaj - Hegyalja region in Hungary ) Pullman also uses archaic or adapted names for otherwise familiar peoples, regions and places. List of renamings of peoples and places Unless stated otherwise, these words are all capitalised. Beringland : Northwest America, specifically Alaska and the Yukon Territories of Canada. Named after the explorer who first set out in the region, Vitus Bering. Brytain : A phonetically identical re-spelling of Britain. It has echoes of `` Brython '', a word for ancient British people and the lands they inhabited. byanplats ( lowercase ) : in the Gyptian dialect, the prominent area of raised land in the Fens. Cathay : China, taken from the medieval European name for China. Corea : A phonetically identical respelling of the country Korea ( used both in Cittàgazze and Lyra 's world ). This is an old spelling, used prior to the current one, with a `` K ''. Eastern Anglia : East Anglia, the region where John Faa 's gyptians live ; in Lyra 's Brytain it has remained fenland with the Dutch influence remaining strong. Eireland : Ireland, as referred to in the Cittàgazze universe. A mixture of the Irish ( Éire ) and English name. Fireland : Iceland, named in the Peril of the Pole game in Once Upon a Time in the North. This name refers to Iceland 's volcanoes rather than to its glaciers. Gebraltarik : Gibraltar, from its Arabic name Jabal Tāriq. German Ocean : The North Sea Groenland : Greenland Gyptians : A boat - dwelling, transient social group in Lyra 's world. They live according to their own customs and traditions, outside mainstream society. They are reminiscent of `` Gypsies '' ( Roma ). Our word `` Gypsy '' is derived from the ( mistaken ) belief that Gypsies were Egyptian in origin. Lake Enara : Lake Inari, a lake in Northern Finland. From Enare, the Swedish - language name for the lake. Lapland : The region corresponding in our world to Swedish Lapland and Northern Norway. Lascar : An East Indian. This is an archaic, English word for a sailor or militiaman from the Indian Subcontinent or thereabouts. Mejico : Mexico, from the Mexican pronunciation. Muscovy and Muscovites : A reference to the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Territory approximates to our Russia ( see ' Russia ' below ). New Denmark : A region occupied by the United States of America, west of New France. Lee Scoresby is described as a ' New Dane ', specifically from the ' country of Texas ' ( see ' Texas ' below ). New France : Includes the regions ( in our world ) of Quebec, much of eastern Canada, and the areas bought by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. In the 17th and 18th century, the area around the St - Lawrence River and much of the North American Interior was called New France. Lee Scoresby recalls the Battle of the Alamo, in his world, as being between French and Danish settlers. Nippon and Nipponese : Japan and the Japanese language and / or people. From Nippon ( `` land of the rising sun '' ), a Japanese - language name for Japan. ( Great ) North Ocean : The North Atlantic Ocean combined with the European region of the Arctic Ocean. Norroway : Norway. Nova Zembla : Novaya Zemlya, a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Panserbjørne ( generally italicized and lowercase ) : Armoured bears ( as a whole race or as individuals ) ; a warrior clan of sapient, talking polar bears based on the islands of Svalbard, known for crafting powerful armour from meteoric iron. The word `` panserbjørne '' literally means `` armour - bears '' in Danish. The singular is panserbjørn. Peaceable Ocean : The Pacific Ocean, calqued from the Latin. Roman : The Latin language. Russia : Is mentioned in shipping entries at the end of Once Upon a Time in the North, and includes Finnish territory of the Russian Empire As Muscovy is also mentioned on the same book page, ' Russia ' might be separate from Muscovy. Skraeling : A Native American ( specifically Inuit ) person, particularly one from Greenland. Natives of Greenland were once named similarly by the Viking settlers of our world. Tartar : A Tatar ; Nomadic Turkic, warrior people of northern Asia, known for the practice of unusual spiritual rituals, including trepanning. Texas : The homeland of Lee Scoresby and a sovereign nation within the region called New Denmark. The Republic of Texas was briefly an independent nation in our own world. Pronunciation The pronunciations given here are those used in the radio plays and the audio book readings of the trilogy ( narrated by Pullman himself ). List of pronunciations Alethiometer : / æˌliːθiˈɒmɪtər / a-LEE - thi - OM - it - ər Æsahættr : / ɛsəˈhɛtr /, with a trilled R sound ( `` God - destroyer '' in Old Norse ) Asriel : / ˈæzriəl / AZ - ree - əl Chthonic ( see above ) : / kəˈθɒnɪk / kə - THON - ick Cittàgazze : ( tʃittaˈɡaddze ) ( in Italian ) Dæmon : / ˈdiːmən / DEE - mən ( pronounced as `` demon '' ) Iorek : / ˈjɔːrɪk / YOR - ik Iofur : / ˈjoʊfər / YOH - fər Kirjava : / ˈkɪərjɑːvə / KEER - yah - və Lyra : / ˈlaɪrə / LY - rə Mulefa : / muːˈleɪfə / moo - LAY - fə Panserbjørne : / ˈpænsərbjɜːrnə / PAN-sər - byur - nə ( written `` Panserbørne '' in early UK editions : `` Armoured Bears '' ) Pantalaimon : / ˌpæntəˈlaɪmən / pan-tə - LY - mən ( in Greek `` all - merciful '' ) Salmakia : / sælˈmækiə / sal - MAK - ee - ə Serafina Pekkala : / ˈsɛrəfiːnə ˈpɛkələ / SERR - ə - fee - nə PEK - ə - lə Tialys : / tiˈɑːlɪs / ti - AH - lis Torre degli Angeli : ( ˈtɔrre deʎi ˈandʒeli ) ( in Italian : `` Tower of the Angels '' ) Xaphania : / zəˈfeɪniə / zə - FAY - ni - ə Other works Lyra 's Oxford Main article : Lyra 's Oxford The first of two short novels, 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 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. Once Upon a time in the North Main article : Once Upon a Time in the North This short novel 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 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. `` The collectors '' A short story originally released exclusively as an audiobook by Audible in December 2014, narrated by actor Bill Nighy. The story alludes to the early life of Mrs Coulter and is set in the senior common room of an Oxford college. The book of Dust Main article : The Book of Dust 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. Future books In August 2007, Pullman said : `` Lyra 's Oxford was a dark red book. Once Upon a Time in the North will be a dark blue book. There still remains a green book. And that will be Will 's book. Eventually. '' Adaptations Radio 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 and 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 drama of Northern Lights was made by RTÉ, ( Irish public radio ). Theatre Main article : His Dark Materials ( play ) 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 and Patricia Hodge as Mrs Coulter with dæmon puppets designed by Michael Curry. The play was enormously 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 the UK and included a performance in Pullman 's hometown of Oxford. Pullman made a cameo appearance much to the delight of the audience and Oxford media. The production finished up at West Yorkshire Playhouse in June 2009. Film Main article : The Golden Compass ( film ) New Line Cinema released a film adaptation, titled The Golden Compass, on 7 December 2007. Directed by Chris Weitz, the production had a mixed reception, and though worldwide sales were strong, its U.S. earnings were not as high as the studio had hoped. The filmmakers obscured the explicitly Biblical character of the Authority to avoid offending viewers. Weitz declared that he would not do the same for the planned sequels. `` Whereas The Golden Compass had to be introduced to the public carefully '', he said, `` the religious themes in the second and third books ca n't be minimised without destroying the spirit of these books... I will not be involved with any ' watering down ' of books two and three, since what I have been working towards the whole time in the first film is to be able to deliver on the second and third ''. In May 2006, Pullman said of a version of the script that `` all the important scenes are there and will have their full value '' ; in March 2008, he said of the finished film that `` a lot of things about it were good... Nothing can bring out all that 's in the book. There are always compromises ''. The Golden Compass film stars Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter, and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel. Eva Green plays Serafina Pekkala, Ian McKellen voices Iorek Byrnison, and Freddie Highmore voices Pantalaimon. No sequels are planned. Compass actor Sam Elliott blamed the Catholic Church 's opposition for forcing their cancellation, but UK Guardian film critic Stuart Heritage thought that critical `` disappointment '' with the first film may have been the real reason. Television In November 2015, the BBC announced that it had commissioned a television adaptation of His Dark Materials, to be produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema. The eight - part adaptation had a planned premiere date in 2017, however in April 2017, writer Jack Thorne said to the RadioTimes that the series was still in pre-production. He said, `` It 's at an exciting point where we 're just throwing things at the page and trying to work out what works and what does n't, '' and that he wanted to ensure that they were being loyal to the books. Audiobooks There are unabridged audiobooks of each His Dark Materials novel, read by Pullman, with parts read by actors including Jo Wyatt, Steven Webb, Peter England, Stephen Thorne and Douglas Blackwell. See also List of His Dark Materials characters Races and creatures in His Dark Materials Locations in His Dark Materials Northern Lights The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass Lyra 's Oxford Once Upon a Time in the North Further reading Frost, Laurie ; et al. ( 2006 ). The Elements of His Dark Materials : A Guide to Philip Pullman 's trilogy. Buffalo Grove, IL : Fell Press. ISBN 0 - 9759430 - 1 - 4. OCLC 73312820. Gribbin, John and Mary ( 2005 ). The Science of Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials. Knopf Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0 - 375 - 83144 - 4. Lenz, Millicent and Carole Scott ( 2005 ). His Dark Materials Illuminated : Critical Essays on Phillip Pullman 's Trilogy. Detroit : Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0 - 8143 - 3207 - 2. Raymond - Pickard, Hugh ( 2004 ). The Devil 's Account : Philip Pullman and Christianity. London : Darton, Longman & Todd. ISBN 978 - 0 - 232 - 52563 - 2. Squires, Claire ( 2003 ). Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials Trilogy : A Reader 's Guide. New York, N.Y. : Continuum. ISBN 0 - 8264 - 1479 - 6. Squires, Claire ( 2006 ). Philip Pullman, Master Storyteller : A Guide to the Worlds of His Dark Materials. New York, N.Y. : Continuum. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8264 - 1716 - 9. OCLC 70158423. Tucker, Nicholas ( 2003 ). Darkness Visible : Inside the World of Philip Pullman. Cambridge : Wizard Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 84046 - 482 - 5. OCLC 52876221. Wheat, Leonard F. ( 2008 ). Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials : A Multiple Allegory : Attacking Religious Superstition in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Paradise Lost. Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books. ISBN 978 - 1 - 59102 - 589 - 4. OCLC 152580912. Yeffeth, Glenn ( 2005 ). Navigating the Golden Compass : Religion, Science and Daemonology in His Dark Materials. Dallas : Benbella Books. ISBN 1 - 932100 - 52 - 0. References Jump up ^ Robert Butler ( 3 December 2007 ). `` An Interview with Philip Pullman ''. The Economist. Intelligent Life. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2008. Jump up ^ Freitas, Donna ; King, Jason Edward ( 2007 ). Killing the imposter God : Philip Pullman 's spiritual imagination in His Dark Materials. San Francisco, CA : Wiley. pp. 68 -- 9. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7879 - 8237 - 9. Jump up ^ Squires ( 2003 : 61 ) : `` Religion in Lyra 's world... has similarities to the Christianity of ' our own universe ', but also crucial differences... ( it ) is based not in the Catholic centre of Rome, but in Geneva, Switzerland, where the centre of religious power, narrates Pullman, moved in the Middle Ages under the aegis of John Calvin ''. Jump up ^ Miller, Laura ( 26 December 2005 ). `` Far From Narnia ''. The New Yorker. 2011 Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved 10 November 2011. Jump up ^ Northern Lights p. 31 : `` Ever since Pope John Calvin had moved the seat of the papacy to Geneva... the Church 's power over every aspect of life had been absolute. Jump up ^ `` Frequently Asked Questions ''. BridgeToTheStars.net. Retrieved 20 August 2007. Jump up ^ Robert Butler ( 3 December 2007 ). `` An Interview with Philip Pullman ''. The Economist. Intelligent Life. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2008. Jump up ^ `` Pullman 's Jungian concept of the soul '' : Lenz ( 2005 : 163 ) Jump up ^ Pullman, Philip ( 2007 ) ( 1995 ). The Northern Lights. His Dark Materials. London : Scholastic UK Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4071 - 0405 - 8. Jump up ^ Pullman, Philip ( 2007 ) ( 1995 ). The Northern Lights. His Dark Materials. London : Scholastic UK Ltd. p. 214. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4071 - 0405 - 8. Chapter 13 Jump up ^ Parry, Idris. `` Online Traduction ''. Southern Cross Review. Retrieved 6 May 2012. Jump up ^ Fried, Kerry. `` Darkness Visible : An Interview with Philip Pullman ''. Amazon.com. Retrieved 13 April 2007. Jump up ^ Ezard, John ( 3 June 2002 ). `` Narnia books attacked as racist and sexist ''. The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 4 April 2007. Jump up ^ Abley, Mark ( 4 December 2007 ). `` Writing the book on intolerance ''. The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ Crosby, Vanessa. `` Innocence and Experience : The Subversion of the Child Hero Archetype in Philip Pullman 's Speculative Soteriology '' ( PDF ). University of Sydney. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Jump up ^ Miller, Laura ( 26 December 2005 ). `` Far From Narnia : Philip Pullman 's secular fantasy for children ''. The New Yorker. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Jump up ^ `` Children 's novel triumphs in 2001 Whitbread Book Of The Year '' ( Press release ). 23 January 2002. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2011. Jump up ^ `` Living Archive : Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners ''. CarnegieGreenaway.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2007. Jump up ^ Pauli, Michelle ( 21 June 2007 ). `` Pullman wins ' Carnegie of Carnegies ' ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` 70 years celebration the publics favourite winners of all time ''. Jump up ^ `` The best novels ever ( version 1.2 ) ''. The Guardian. London. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2010. Jump up ^ SLA -- Philip Pullman receives the Astrid Lindgren Award Jump up ^ Overstreet, Jeffrey ( 20 February 2006 ). `` Reviews : His Dark Materials ''. Christianity Today. Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Jump up ^ Thomas, John ( 2006 ). `` Opinion ''. Librarians ' Christian Fellowship. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Jump up ^ BBC News 29 November 2007 Jump up ^ Meacham, Steve ( 13 December 2003 ). `` The shed where God died ''. Sydney Morning Herald Online. Retrieved 13 December 2003. Jump up ^ Schweizer, Bernard ( 2005 ). `` '' And he 's a-going to destroy him `` : religious subversion in Pullman 's His Dark Materials ''. In Lenz, Millicent ; Scott, Carole. His Dark Materials Illuminated : Critical Essays on Philip Pullman 's Trilogy. Wayne State University Press. pp. 160 -- 173. ISBN 0814332072. Jump up ^ `` A dark agenda ? Interview with Philip Pullman ''. surefish.co.uk. November 2002. Retrieved 4 May 2008. Jump up ^ Lenz ; Scott ( 2005 : 97 ) Jump up ^ `` His Dark Materials a disturbing allegory of genital mutilation ''. Jump up ^ Greene, Mark. `` Pullman 's Purpose ''. The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2007. Jump up ^ Grenier, Cynthia ( October 2001 ). `` Philip Pullman 's Dark Materials ''. The Morley Institute Inc. Retrieved 5 April 2007. Jump up ^ Donohue, Bill ( 9 October 2007 ). `` '' The Golden Compass '' Sparks Protest ``. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 4 January 2008. Jump up ^ David Byers ( 27 November 2007 ). `` Philip Pullman : Catholic boycotters are ' nitwits ' ''. The Times. UK. Retrieved 28 November 2007. Jump up ^ Petre, Jonathan ( 10 March 2004 ). `` Williams backs Pullman ''. Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 12 April 2007. Jump up ^ Rowan, Williams ( 10 March 2004 ). `` Archbishop wants Pullman in class ''. BBC News Online. Retrieved 10 March 2004. Jump up ^ Oborne, Peter ( 17 March 2004 ). `` The Dark Materials debate : life, God, the universe... '' Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 1 April 2008. Jump up ^ `` Sympathy for the Devil by Adam R. Holz ''. Plugged In Online. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2013. Jump up ^ Spanner, Huw ( 13 February 2002 ). `` Heat and Dust ''. ThirdWay.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 April 2004. Retrieved 3 February 2015. Jump up ^ Bakewell, Joan ( 2001 ). `` Belief ''. BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 11 September 2004. Retrieved 5 April 2007. Jump up ^ `` A dark agenda ? '' Jump up ^ Catholic Herald - The stuff of nightmares - Leonie Caldecott ( 29th October 1999 ) ( 1 ) Jump up ^ pg. 294 `` I think it was my grandfather 's magic lantern that Lord Asriel used... ``. Pullman, Philip ( 1995 ). Northern Lights. scholastic Point. ISBN 0 - 590 - 66054 - 3. Jump up ^ pg. 5 ``... a decanter containing a rich golden wine... ``. Pullman, Philip ( 1995 ). Northern Lights. scholastic Point. ISBN 0 - 590 - 66054 - 3. Jump up ^ pg. 517 ; `` How often he and his companions had played that heroic battle... taking turns to be Danes and French ! '' Pullman, Philip ( 1997 ). The Subtle Knife. Scholastic Point. ISBN 0 - 590 - 11289 - 9. Jump up ^ Quiller - Couch, Arthur ( Ed ) ( 1919 ). The Oxford Book of English Verse : Sir Patrick Spens. Oxford University Press. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Pullman, Philip ( 2008 ). Once Upon A Time In The North. Great Britain : David Fickling Books. p. 100. ISBN 9780385614320. Book contains fictionalized extract from `` The ' Shipping World ' Year Book '' which contains coordinates for the port of `` Novorossisk, Russia '', located in Finland in our world ( 60 ° 47 ′ N 21 ° 24 ′ E ﻿ / ﻿ 60.783 ° N 21.400 ° E ﻿ / 60.783 ; 21.400 ). Jump up ^ `` Bridge to the Stars - Pronunciation ''. Retrieved 2 February 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Once upon a time... in Oxford ''. Cittàgazze. Retrieved 29 September 2007. Jump up ^ Flood, Alison ( 17 December 2014 ). `` Baddies in books : Mrs Coulter, the mother of all evil ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2015. Jump up ^ Saner, Emine ( 2017 - 02 - 17 ). `` The Book of Dust : after 17 years, Pullman 's latest work has new relevance ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2017 - 03 - 02. Jump up ^ Dawtrey, Adam ( 13 March 2008 ). `` ' Compass ' spins foreign frenzy ''. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 13 March 2008. Jump up ^ `` ' Golden Compass ' Director Chris Weitz Answers Your Questions : Part I by Brian Jacks ''. MTV Movies Blog. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2007. Jump up ^ Pullman, Philip ( May 2006 ). `` May message ''. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2008. And the latest script, from Chris Weitz, is truly excellent ; I know, because I ` ve just this morning read it. I think it 's a model of how to condense a story of 400 pages into a script of 110 or so. All the important scenes are there and will have their full value. Jump up ^ Silverman, Rosa ( 22 March 2008 ). `` Exclusive interview with Philip Pullman ''. The Times. UK. Retrieved 1 December 2008. Jump up ^ Heritage, Stuart ( 15 December 2009 ). `` Who killed off The Golden Compass ? ''. The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 16 March 2010. Jump up ^ `` BBC One commissions adaptation of Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials ''. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015. Jump up ^ `` Jack Thorne opens up about His Dark Materials TV Series ''. External links Philip Pullman Author 's website HisDarkMaterials.com Publisher Random House 's His Dark Materials website Scholastic : His Dark Materials UK publisher 's website Randomhouse : His Dark Materials U.S. publisher 's website BBC Radio 4 's His Dark Materials site inc. Dictionary of His Dark Materials and web Q&A with Philip Pullman The Republic of Heaven Lecture by Philip Pullman, 2000 The then Archbishop of Canterbury and Philip Pullman in conversation at the National Theatre, from `` The Daily Telegraph '' BridgetotheStars.net Fansite for His Dark Materials and Philip Pullman HisDarkMaterials.org His Dark Materials fansite Cittagazze.com French His Dark Materials fansite Works by Philip Pullman His Dark Materials Original novels Northern Lights The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass Companion books Lyra 's Oxford Once Upon a Time in the North The Book of Dust La Belle Sauvage Sally Lockhart The Ruby in the Smoke ( 1985 ) The Shadow in the North ( 1986 ) The Tiger in the Well ( 1990 ) The Tin Princess ( 1994 ) Other The Haunted Storm ( 1972 ) Count Karlstein ( 1982 ) How to be Cool ( 1987 ) The Broken Bridge ( 1990 ) The White Mercedes ( 1992 ) Clockwork ( 1999 ) The Firework - Maker 's Daughter ( 1995 ) The Butterfly Tattoo ( 1998 ) I Was a Rat ! or The Scarlet Slippers ( 1999 ) The Scarecrow and his Servant ( 2004 ) The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ ( 2010 ) Philip Pullman 's His Dark Materials Original novels Northern Lights The Subtle Knife The Amber Spyglass Companion books Lyra 's Oxford Once Upon a Time in the North The Book of Dust La Belle Sauvage Characters Lyra Belacqua Will Parry Lord Asriel Marisa Coulter Adaptations His Dark Materials ( stage play ) The Golden Compass ( film ) The Golden Compass ( video game ) Other Locations Races Dust Dæmons BNF : cb145546576 ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=His_Dark_Materials&oldid=815094788 '' Categories : Books critical of Christianity Fantasy books by series His Dark Materials Novels by Philip Pullman Religious themed fiction Fantasy novel trilogies 1990s fantasy novels 2000s fantasy novels English fantasy novels Children 's fantasy novels High fantasy novels British alternative history novels British novels adapted into plays Witchcraft in written fiction Parallel universes in fiction Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Use British English from May 2011 Use dmy dates from October 2012 All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from October 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2017 Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Suomi Svenska ไทย Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 12 December 2017, at 19 : 02. 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Question: when did the golden compass book come out
Answer: 1995