The Subtle Knife
Having slipped through a newly formed astral portal, the intrepid Lyra
finds herself in the beautiful, haunted world of Cittagazze – a city
where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and the wingbeats of
distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies.
For young Will Parry, in search of his father, has also stumbled into
this strange new realm via a magic gateway.
Together the enlightened pair forge ahead on a perilous journey between
worlds teeming with witches, angels, and sorcery – and uncover a deadly
secret: an object of extraordinary and devastating power. But with
ever, step, they move closer to an even greater threat – and the
shattering truth of their own destiny.
Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman (born 1946) is an English writer. He is the best-selling author of His Dark Materials, a trilogy of fantasy novels, and a number of other books.
Life
Pullman was born in Norwich. The family travelled with his RAF pilot father's job, including to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he spent time at school. His father was killed in a plane crash in 1953 when Pullman was seven. His mother remarried and with a move to Australia came Pullman's discovery of comic books including Superman and Batman. From 1957 he was educated at Ysgol Ardudwy school in Wales and spent time in Norfolk with his grandfather, a clergyman. Around this time Pullman discovered John Milton's Paradise Lost, which would become a major influence for His Dark Materials. From 1963 Pullman attended Exeter College, Oxford, receiving BA in 1968. Pullman married in 1970 and began teaching children.
His first fantasy novel was Galatea in 1978, but it was his school plays which inspired his first children's book, Count Karlstein, in 1982. He stopped teaching around the publication of The Ruby in the Smoke (1986), his second children's book, whose Victorian setting is indicative of Pullman's interest in that era.
Pullman taught part-time at Westminster College, Oxford between 1988 and 1996, continuing to write children's stories. He began His Dark Materials about 1993. The Golden Compass was published in 1996 and won the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. Pullman has been writing full-time since 1996. He was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list in 2004.
His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials consists of three primary books, and includes four additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series His Dark Materials Universe