The His Dark Materials Trilogy
by Philip Pullman

This young adult trilogy centers initially on young Lyra Belacqua, who lives in a parallel Oxford, England where humans have daemons, animals that embody their souls, and later on Lyra and Will Parry, a boy from our world.

Lyra is at the crux of a struggle between explorer Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter to control the Dust that seems to be coming into her world from a parallel world. When Lord Asriel finds a way to travel to a parallel world in pursuit of Dust, Lyra follows.

The first novel in the trilogy takes place in Lyra's world; the setting of the second and third novels moves among parallel worlds, including Lyra's and ours.

Key Characters:

• Lyra Belacqua, later dubbed Silvertongue, a young girl around whom prophecies swirl
• Pantalaimon, Lyra's daemon; children's daemon's shapeshift; they settle on a permanent animal form when the child reaches puberty.
• Lord Asriel, ostensibly, Lyra's uncle, an explorer determined to learn about Dust and the parallel worlds
• Mrs. Coulter, a member of the Oblation Board, a group affiliated with the Authority and determined to destroy Dust
• The gyptians, a sea-faring clan led by John Faa
• Iorke Byrnison, an armored bear exiled from his clan
• Lee Scoresby, a Texas aeronaut and friend of the bear
• Serafina Pekkala, a clan queen of the witches and friend to the gyptians and Lyra
• Will Parry (debuts in the second book), a young man from our world who has been left with a mysterious case by his father, an explorer who disappeared in the North many years ago
• Dr. Mary Malone (debuts in the second book) a former nun who is now researching dark matter which she calls "shadow particles" and which has consciousness.
• Lady Salmakia, Chevalier Tialys, and Lord Roke (debut in the third book), tiny Galivespian spies in the service of Lord Asriel

Preview: Lyra, along with her daemon Pantalaimon, has been raised by the scholars of Jordan College in a parallel Oxford, England. When she foils a plot to poison Lord Asriel, he allows her to overhear his plans for an expedition to the North to investigate the mysterious Dust that seems to be coming from a parallel world.

In opposition to Asriel's quest are Mrs. Coulter and member of the Oblation Board who are kidnapping children and taking them to the North for secret experiments.

When Mrs. Coulter requests that Lyra come to live with her, the scholars give Lyra an alethiometer (the golden compass of the novel's title) a truth telling mechanism that Lyra learns to read. When Lyra realizes Mrs. Coulter is involved with the kidnappings she escapes and joins the sea-faring gyptians, the armored bear Iorek Byrnison, and the Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby in an attempt to rescue the children. Lyra also believes she must take the alethiometer to Lord Asriel.

Preview: Will Parry, pursued by men who want a green leather case, slips from our world to an abandoned world called Cittàgazze where he meets Lyra..

The alethiometer tells Lyra that she must help Will find his father, an explorer lost on an Arctic expedition when Will was an infant. Lyra meets Dr. Mary Malone, a former nun who is researching dark matter, which she calls shadow particles and which has consciousness.

Meanwhile Serafine Pekkala searches for Lyra; another witch queen, Ruta Skadi, searches for Lord Asriel, and Lees Scoresby looks for Stanislaus Grumman who has a protective object that Scoresby wants to give to Lyra.

Mrs. Coulter attempts to learn more about Lyra's importance. When Sir Charles Latrom steals the alethiometer, he agrees to trade it for the knife that can open gateways to parallel worlds.

• Colas, Santiago. " Telling true stories, or the immanent ethics of material spirit (and spiritual matter) in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials " Discourse (Detroit, MI) 27.1 (Wntr 2005): 34(33). 

• Glanzer, Perry. "Moving beyond censorship: what will educators do if a controversy over his dark materials erupts? Is the hugely popular trilogy his Dark Materials coming soon to a school near you? Mr. Glanzer ponders the implications of teaching what he regards as a transparently anti-Christian work in the public school classroom."  Phi Delta Kappan 87.2 (Oct 2005): 166.

• His Dark Materials: the Random House site for the trilogy.
• His Dark Materials (an unofficial fan site): site maintained by two teenaged girls who are fans of the series.