Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have probably heard of the upcoming TV adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials.
Being produced by the BBC and HBO, this brand new series will be based on Pullman’s novels and will air later this year. It already features a fantastic British line up including the lovely James McAvoy as Lord Asriel and Ruth Wilson as the sinister Mrs Coulter. I’m a big fan of His Dark Materials and can’t wait to see what a TV adaptation can do with the trilogy, especially after many fans felt disappointed by The Golden Compass – the 2007 motion picture based on the first book. I personally thought The Golden Compass wasn’t bad! I was just saddened that it didn’t continue into the second and third books because I am SO desperate to see life beyond Lyra’s world – and to finally meet Will Parry!
Watch the latest trailer based on book one, Northern Lights:
If you’ve not discovered these books yet, then you’re in for a treat! His Dark Materials is an epic fantasy that stretches across parallel worlds where a person’s soul manifests as a daemon, an animal companion unique to each person. The story centres around Lyra, a young orphan who is trying to discover the truth behind a spate of kidnappings. Though marketed as young adult, the series explores some dark and heavy themes through philosophy, religion, physics, and oh yeah, there’s armoured polar bears too. What more could you want?
You can read all three of the His Dark Materials books now, and Phillip Pullman is currently working on a whole new trilogy set in the same universe known as The Book of Dust. The prequel, Le Belle Sauvage was released a few years back, and another, The Secret Commonwealth, features Lyra as a 20-year-old university undergrad and is due for release this year. Find them all by following Phillip Pullman on Goodreads.
