Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials A new phenomenon is about to …

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It is easy for readers of His Dark Materials to form one of two polarised … I first read His Dark Materials as a young adult, whilst still in high school. …

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Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials
A new phenomenon is about to break upon us: The Golden Compass, film
adaptation of the first of Philip Pullman’s literary trilogy, His Dark Materials.
In case you missed the series, Pullman published the first part, Northern Lights (The
Golden Compass is the name of American editions) in 1996, and concluded it with
The Amber Spyglass in 2000. The trilogy has been immensely popular, especially
among the young adult audience that it was marketed for, although it achieved more
media attention in Britain than in Australia. Still, half a million copies were sold in
Australia, with a Sydney Morning Herald writer recently predicting of the coming film,
‘The pre-release hype has The Golden Compass as the next Lord of the Rings and
Harry Potter combined.’1
Certainly it is important for teachers and parents alike to be up to date on such
literary phenomena that affect our students and children. Even more so for Christian
teachers, who have an added motivation under Christ for discerning and promoting
good literature, and for biblically evaluating its subtexts. This brings us to the main
point of dissention in regard to Pullman’s novels - that they…