His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials is a trilogy of novels by the fantasy fiction author Philip Pullman, comprising Northern Lights (released as The Golden Compass in the United States), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The trilogy has also been published as a single-volume omnibus in the UK, titled simply "His Dark Materials".

Related Topics:
Trilogy - Novel - Fantasy fiction - Philip Pullman - Northern Lights - United States - The Subtle Knife - The Amber Spyglass - UK

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Although ostensibly for children, the novels were written to be equally compelling for adults, albeit on a different level. Pullman himself describes the target range as "young adult", and some say that the books are too intellectual or mature in content for most children, as they feature some complex themes and deal heavily in Biblical symbolism.

Related Topics:
Biblical - Symbolism

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The story initially begins in Northern Lights as a typical fantasy tale, but much of the trilogy comes to develop allegorial layers of meaning, and Pullman introduces ideas throughout the trilogy which have have a broader scope than those of a typical fantasy novel, dealing with such fields as metaphysics, quantum physics and philosophy, especially religious philosophy.

Related Topics:
Allegorial - Metaphysics - Quantum physics - Philosophy - Religious philosophy

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