His Dark Materials

This article covers the His Dark Materials book series . For the TV series, see His Dark Materials (TV series) .

His Dark Materials is a series of novels by the author Philip Pullman , consisting of Northern Lights (1995) (German: The Golden Compass , The Golden Compass in the USA ), The Subtle Knife (1997) (German: The Magic Knife ) and The Amber Spyglass (2000) (German: The Bernstein Telescope ). The German translation has been published by Carlsen Verlag and Heyne Verlag . However, the title of the series has not been translated, which is why it is carried both under the original title and under the title The Golden Compass - The Trilogy . In December 2007, the film adaptation of the first book The Golden Compass with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig appeared in the leading roles.

The novel series describes the adventures of the girl Lyra, who comes from a parallel world , and the boy Will, who was born in our world. Pullman mixes fantastic realities with human reality and scientific knowledge with religion and shamanism . The starting point is a Victorian setting similar to steampunk , which forms the background in Lyra's own world, which is very much dominated by a strict church. The theme of the trilogy is growing up, knowledge and responsibility. The work has a religious tone with a clear anti-clerical stance and was deliberately conceived by the author as a contrast to the series The Chronicles of Narnia , written by C. S. Lewis . The trilogy was sharply criticized by certain Catholic groups in the United States. It has been sold over 15 million times.

content

Lyra sets out to find out what significance the cosmic “dust” has for people. She first travels her world, then ours and finally several parallel worlds.

The Golden Compass (first book)

The main character of the trilogy, Lyra Belaqua, grew up at Jordan College in Oxford. The Oxford in which Lyra lives is not to be equated with today's Oxford. Lyra is always with her daemon Pantalaimon. In Lyra's world everyone has a dæmon, he is usually of the opposite sex and accompanies humans in animal form. Lyras Dæmon does not yet have a fixed form because she is still a child. Only with puberty does the dæmon take on a solid form and thus also make a statement about the character of the human being. Human and dæmon are inseparable, they are like body and soul. So Lyra lives with male scholars at Jordan College because her parents were killed in an accident. Her only relative is Lord Asriel, her uncle, with whom she does not have a good relationship.

The book begins with Lyra overhearing a conversation between her uncle and some of the college scholars and learns that the world is on the brink of war. The reason for this is the discussion about "dust", a matter that has not yet been fully explored, which brings the world into imbalance and which Lord Asriel and the Church want to research further. Dust sticks to people, but not to children, Lyra learns. She is insecure, but her uncle leaves without further discussion. In return, the college receives a visit from Marisa Coulter, a glamorous, attractive woman who is also extremely successful professionally in a world dominated by men. Lyra is fascinated by her and is very happy when she offers to come to London with her. She gives Lyra a glimpse into the finer things in life, changes her clothes and takes care of her hair - all things Lyra didn't get from the men in college. At the same time, the two are preparing for an expedition to the north, on which Lyra is to assist Mrs. Coulter. However, there are always arguments between the two, whereby Mrs. Coulters Dæmon is always very aggressive and brutal towards Pantalaimon. After some time at Mrs. Coulter's, she gives a cocktail party, at which Lyra overhears some guests. You don't speak very well of Mrs. Coulter. When Lyra was still in Oxford, children from poor families were kidnapped, including Lyra's friend, the kitchen boy Roger. It was rumored that the gobblers were hiding behind the actions, but no one knew exactly who they were. Lyra now learns from the guests at the party that Mrs. Coulter founded and runs the General Oblation Authority, so she has captured all the children. Lyra and Pantalaimon no longer trust her and run away.

They join the Egyptians, a people who live on houseboats on the rivers of England. Some of their children have also been captured and they are on their way north to retrieve their children. On the trip Lyra learns that her parents are not dead, but that Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are former lovers and Lyra is her child. Lyra doesn't like that at all.

On the way to the Arctic, Lyra meets the armored bear Iorek Byrnison. His armor has been taken from him, which is like taking his daemon from a human. He actually killed another bear in an argument and thus lost his position as leader of the armored bears. Lyra helps him get his tank back and the two become close friends. Iorek always helps Lyra in all three parts when she is in trouble. Just like Serafina Pekkala, the queen of the witch clans of the north. It becomes important again, especially at the end of the trilogy. Shortly before reaching the fortress of Bolvangar, where the children are being held captive and being experimented with, the Egyptians are ambushed, now on sledges, and Lyra is brought directly to Bolvangar by the men. There she meets Roger and some other children and learns what is to be done with them there: Through "Intercision" humans and dæmon are separated from each other with a guillotine. This prevents dust from settling on them, which is the primary goal of the General Oblation Board and the Church in general.

Lyra also faces this procedure; she already sees herself separated from her daemon when her mother saves her at the last moment. But Lyra doesn't want to know anything about her and tries to escape with the other children. They are picked up by the Egyptians and Iorek and the other children travel back home. Lyra and Roger want to visit Lord Asriel in his fortress first, because Lyra thinks he wants the alethiometer. But he is not interested in that, all the more in her friend Roger, because he needs a child to generate enough energy so that he can build a bridge into a parallel world. Roger dies and Lyra and Pantalaimon decide to follow Asriel into the new world.

The eponymous “Golden Compass” is an alethiometer, an instrument that always reveals the truth to anyone who can read it (including a lyre) .

The Magic Knife (second book)

At the beginning of this book we meet Will. He lives alone with his mother, comes from “our” world and happens to find a window there through which he comes into the parallel world of Cittàgazze. There he meets Lyra. The city is deserted, and they both quickly learn why. The city is populated by ghosts, beings invisible to children but attacking the adult demons. Lyra and Will decide to go to Will's world to find out more about dust. There they meet Mary Malone and Lord Boreal. Mary is a scientist and uses her own resources to research the dust in her world, which she calls dark matter . She will play a central role in the third volume. Lord Boreal knows Lyra from Mrs. Coulter's cocktail party. He offers to take her a piece in his car and afterwards Lyra notices that he stole her alethiometer. You go to him and ask for it back. In return, he demands that they get him the magic knife from Cittàgazze. You trade and win the knife in a fight; Will loses two fingers in the process. This is the sign that he will be the rightful bearer of the knife. The children learn that the knife can cut through any matter and also opens windows into other worlds. Knowing this, they manage to steal the alethiometer from Lord Boreal's house without having to give him the knife.

Will wants to find his lost father and Lyra and Will set off, with Will's hand injury repeatedly forcing them to take breaks. You will be accompanied and protected here by the witches around Serafina Pekkala. At the end of the book, Will even finds his father, but only has a few minutes with him, because a witch who used to be in love with Will's father shoots him with an arrow in revenge for rejecting her love out of loyalty to Will's mother . When Will returns to camp, Lyra has disappeared, but her backpack with the alethiometer is still there.

The Amber Telescope (Third Book)

The reader learns that Lyra was brought to a cave in the Himalayas by Mrs. Coulter to hide her in front of the church. Her newfound motherhood for Lyra has ensured that she has turned her back on her former employer and is now fighting the Magisterium / Church. She keeps Lyra in a constant fainting state with a potion, as she would never voluntarily stay with the hated mother.

At the same time, Will, who finds Iorek on the way, Asriel's troops and troops from the church make their way to the cave to kidnap Lyra. It is now known that Lyra is the new Eve and that a new fall could occur, depending on how she decides. The church wants to kill Lyra to prevent this from happening. All three parties arrive at the cave at the same time, but in the end Will manages to save Lyra. They are joined by two spies of Asriel, the Gallivespians Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia. You are in contact with Lord Asriel and want to persuade the children to travel to Asriel. But the two insist on first having to go to the world of the dead, as Lyra begs Roger for forgiveness and Will wants to meet his father again. They set off and eventually arrive at a place where they can get into the world of the dead - on condition that the daemons are not allowed to go with them. They are separated from their body when they die. Lyra and Will succeed under agony, who does not have a dæmon, but notices how part of him is splitting off.

Lyra and Will wander through the desolate gray world of the dead, in which the empty bodies wander hopelessly around forever. They manage to find Roger and Will's father. While the reader learns again and again how the situation in the other worlds dramatically escalates into a final battle, Lyra and Will decide to free people and open a gate to another world for them. The road is long and the children and the Gallivespiern are losing their strength, but in the end they make it. Will cuts a window into another world, allowing the bodies to dissolve into dust and reconnect with their daemons.

Lyra and Will now want to quickly return to their dæmons and the others. Pantalaimon is close to Lord Asriel and his troops. He has managed to gather a lot of warriors from all possible worlds and now wants to found the Republic of Heaven. He makes his way to the cloud mountain where the angels and their leader Metatron live. He is God's ruler because he is an incredibly old man who can no longer exercise his rule alone. Asriel and his new lover Marisa Coulter manage to outsmart Metatron and they drag him with them into an abyss in which they all die. Parents sacrificed themselves to protect their child and to wipe out the Church once and for all.

Lyra and Will can reunite with their dæmons, because Will's soul has now also transformed into a visible dæmon. They return to the world in which they opened a window for the dead, because Mary Malone has been living there with the Mulefa for some time. They spend some happy hours there and Mary tells them that she used to be a nun but then fell in love with a man and then turned her back on the church and became a scientist. Will and Lyra want to look for their daemons, which they took with them from the world in which the fight against Metatron took place, but which then immediately ran away from them. You find them again, but the animals are still a bit shy. Will and Lyra notice that it doesn't feel bad anymore that they are not in their immediate vicinity. You have brought some food with you and you decide to have a picnic. They fall in love after Mary tells them about her own love story.

A decision follows that will change the whole world: Together with Mary and Serafina, the children learn that the dust that settles on all intelligent life threatens to disappear, as many windows with the magic knife open over time the worlds have been cut, and through these windows more and more dust is lost. In addition, with every open window a ghost arises, i.e. the beings who have depopulated the city of Cittàgazze because they killed the demons of the people. They do not attack children because they have not yet got any dust on them, so their development has not yet been completed. It also becomes clear that Will could not live permanently in Lyra's world and vice versa; people have to live in their own world or they die much faster than normal. The two lovers have to decide whether they want to maintain their own love, leave at least one window open and commit sin, or whether they put their own love behind the good of all worlds. After the children have closed all the windows, there is a dramatic farewell scene: Will closes the very last window and destroys the knife, so that there is no longer any possibility of going back to Lyra. Mary promises to take care of Will, and Serafina and the principal of her former home enable Lyra to go to school in Oxford.

Explanation of terms

Alethiometer

An alethiometer (Greek aletheia = "truth, reality" and metron = "measure, knife") is a device with pointers and 36 symbols around the edge. It resembles a gold pocket watch or a compass (eponymous for the German and American title of the first volume).

When used correctly, the alethiometer provides answers to any question. To do this, you set the three hands with the help of the cogs on the specific characters like a clock and concentrate on your question. The fourth pointer now runs several times in a circle and stops at the symbols that indicate the answer. An ant stands for hard work, among other things. However, since there are many levels of meaning for each sign, it takes a lot of practice to interpret them correctly. Alethiometrists usually have to use reference books to do this, but Lyra has the gift of instinctively understanding the alethiometer in a kind of trance . Later in the trilogy, she even has the talent to sense the “moods” of the alethiometer, for example when she asks personal questions about her friend Will to the alethiometer. Since only six of these alethiometers were made and only two remain in Lyra's world, they are very valuable instruments.

Magic knife

The magic knife (also called Æsahættr or god destroyer) was created about 300 years ago and is a dagger about 20 cm long with a double-edged blade. One side cuts through any material without resistance, with the other side one can open windows into other parallel worlds. There is only one carrier who can properly use the knife. The knife itself chooses him and as a sign he loses two fingers of his left hand. The use of the knife has triggered two catastrophes: On the one hand, every cut into a different reality creates a ghost creature that feeds on “dust” and steals people's demons so that they become impotent and seem dead. On the other hand, the "dust" on which all consciousness and every instinct for life depend, escapes through cracks that are not closed again.

It is destroyed at the end of Will's Amber Telescope .

Amber telescope

The amber telescope is operated by Dr. Mary Malone, a scientist from Will's world. It consists of two sanded resin plates that have been rubbed with a special oil and held parallel at a certain distance (about a handspan) from one another. The oil comes from the seed pods of some trees that only occur in the world of the Mulefa (a people from another parallel world). With the help of this telescope, Mary, like the Mulefa, can see the dust.

dust

Dust (also called shadow or dark matter in Will's world and known as Sraf by the Mulefa ) is a phenomenon that occurs wherever consciously acting life is at work; it appears to be of cosmic proportions and is associated with intelligence and sexual maturity. He gives the answers to all questions and also appears in the form of the angels that Lyra meets in the third book. It controls the alethiometer, but also other tools of superordinate consciousness, e.g. B. the Chinese oracle I Ching or special computer processes. The dust can be made visible in photos that have been developed with a special emulsion, as well as through the amber telescope that has been rubbed with a certain oil. What is interesting is the fact that the dust cannot be seen around children. It is only after puberty that dust collects around people. Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel and numerous scientists want to investigate this behavior of dust.

The Magisterium

The Magisterium (the Latin and English words are usually translated into German as “ teaching post ”) is the institution that emerged in Lyra's world from the papacy. When the last Pope, John Calvin, moved the seat of the papacy to Geneva, the papacy was abolished. An opaque institution arose, which consisted of courts, companies and sub-authorities. These were collectively called the Magisterium. The most powerful departments of the Magisterium are the Spiritual Disciplinary Court and the Holy Spirit Society. The Swiss Guard forms the “army” of the Magisterium. Mrs. Coulter is an agent of the Magisterium and head of the G eneral- O blations- B ehörde, the so-called gobbler.

Beings and genera

Physical beings (selection)

Dæmons

In Lyra's world everyone has a visible demon, a constant speaking companion and friend in animal form. This is part of his human being and so connected with him that they can never move far from each other. In Lyra's world, a person without a demon is seen as a shadow of himself, a monster and living dead. Rarely are a human and his demon of the same sex. As long as humans are not yet adults, their demons can change shape. With the onset of puberty they take on a fixed form; the remaining animal species always indicates the character of humans. For example, the servant's daemon often appears in the form of a dog. Even during war it is taboo to touch someone else's dæmons, even if the demons themselves can approach and communicate without hesitation, no matter what languages ​​their people speak. If a dæmon comes into contact with a stranger, it feels very disgusted. In the other worlds, too, there are representatives of man who correspond to the dæmons, but they are not necessarily visible. The connection between humans and their dæmon is so strong that breaking the taboo, for example touching or even holding onto the dæmon, triggers a kind of fear or weakness in its humans. If a dæmon feels pain, this is also passed on to its owner and vice versa.

The books speak of the division of man into spirit , soul and body . The spirit lives in the body, while the dæmon represents the soul. When a person dies, his dæmon (and thus his soul) dissolves in fire, while his spirit changes into the world of the dead. The body stays in its world. At the end of the amber telescope, Will and Lyra open a gate from the world of the dead to another world (that of the Mulefa) so that the spirits can leave the world of the dead. They dissolve like the dæmons and turn to dust .

Egyptians

The Egyptians are a kind of " gypsies " in Lyra's world who inhabit the rivers, lakes and swamps around London on ships, houseboats and barges. They are divided into clans , but are ruled by a higher-ranking council of elders and their Prince John Faa , who is often supported by the wise Farder Coram. If they are in danger or if internal decisions need clarification, they can hold a meeting, the so-called Thing , in the Fens, a swamp wilderness in East Anglia that has never been fully mapped.

Panserbjørne

The Panserbjørne (Danish for armored polar bears , even armored bears are called) a kind of talking polar bears in the far north of Lyra's world (particularly Svalbard live) and wear metal armor. The most noticeable difference to normal polar bears (besides their ability to speak) is that they, like humans, have hands with thumbs through which they have an incredible skill in handling metals and, despite their size, with a lot of sensitivity in their long claws can edit. They are about two meters tall on all four legs and wear armor that they forge from what is known as the sky iron. Celestial iron is much harder and more stable than ordinary iron and is extracted from the meteorites that land in Svalbard. Plus, they don't let people fool them. A Panserbjørn immediately notices whether a person really wants to hit him with a weapon or not, and therefore remains seated or fends off the blow. This is what Lyra finds out , befriended the bear Iorek Byrnison , who later became king of the Panserbjørne. The reason Lyra could fool the bear king, Iofur Raknison , was because he wanted to be human. Panserbjørne have many rituals in which, for example, no bear is allowed to kill another bear, except in ritual duels. Should someone fail to observe this commandment, he will be banished (like Iorek Byrnison) and may never go back. Iofur Raknison broke this rule, too, but hid that he had killed his father.

Witches

There are witches not only in Lyra's world, but also in some parallel worlds. Witches are female in Lyra's world. They belong to different clans and fly through the air on branches of cloud pines. The witches feel the cold, but they can hide it and are not harmed by it, which is why they always fly with light, mostly black clothing made of silk in order not to cut themselves off from other perceptions. They can live to be 800 years or older. In addition to shamanic abilities, they have the gift of making themselves invisible in the perception of close people. They can be separated from their daemons over long distances. When Lyra and Will enter the realm of the dead, they have to leave their daemons behind in great suffering; an initiation that witches go through before they become witches. A well-known witch who is the leader of a clan and who supports Lyra in her adventures is Serafina Pekkala .

Mulefa

The Mulefa are a peace-loving, 33,000-year-old people from the parallel world that Dr. Malone arrives to investigate the "dust" with the help of the amber telescope. She meets the Mulefa, learns their language and lives with them for a while. In doing so, she realizes that the Mulefa were the first species to live and live in symbiosis with “dust” and all of nature. The physique differs significantly from that of humans: They are about the size of ponies, have a gray coat, but no spine. As with all species in this world, their body shape is aligned with the diamond shape. The fore and hind legs have developed a large, well-tended claw, which the Mulefa stick in the middle of circular tree seeds and then use them like wheels. They repel each other with the side runs. They use old, cooled volcanic rivers as roads. Mulefa only have a single grasping organ, a trunk. Nevertheless, they are very skilled at handicrafts, tie nets for fishing, cultivate and raise cattle, make pottery, carve and build simple huts out of clay. Since complex “hand movements” require at least two proboscis, the need to cooperate with the Mulefa is obvious. The proboscis is also used for language based on sounds and gestures. The Mulefa live in symbiosis with the trees, as they use their seed capsules and the mechanical stress only opens the capsules for the trees to multiply. The "dust" dusts the seed pods, which the Mulefa in turn stick to their claws. So the dust gets into the mulefa and they become conscious.

Gallivespier

Gallivespians are roughly a hand's breadth tall beings with a life expectancy of only about nine human years. They carry poisonous thorns on their feet, with which they can either only stun a creature or kill it immediately. Their people are divided into noble families. They ride large dragonflies, with each family breeding their own dragonflies. These dragonflies then have the color of the respective family (similar to the coat of arms alignment in the Middle Ages). Gallivespier are mostly on the side of Lord Asriel and serve him as spies (they are followed in their own world by the people there), as they are very inconspicuous due to their size. They can communicate with each other over very long distances via an arch and a resonance stone. When Will has found Lyra and he tries to free her without help, Lord Asriel sends two Gallivespiers to his aid, Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia . They accompany Will and Lyra into the world of the dead and save their lives several times, although Will initially distrusts both of them very much.

Cliff alb

Klippenalbe (also: Klippenalpe) are scavenging beings of low intelligence and limited vocabulary, but understand the language of animals. They have skin-covered wings and can smell carrion from far away. Their dwellings are more like nests and are located on ridges or ledges at great heights. Cliff albums have a preference for fox meat. Their food envy even goes so far that they kill their own kind.

Harpies

Harpies are winged sphinx-like creatures with female faces. They guard the island of the dead, the wasteland. They are only afraid of Will's knife. They expose every being, because they can see inside and recognize when someone is lying. They drag every negative thought into the light of day. Only Lyra and Will manage to lift them out of their destructive energy through a trade: the harpies are supposed to accompany the dead, who give them their lives in the form of a story, from the underworld to a window created by Will. As a reward for Lyra's childhood memories, the harpies show the two of them the way to a place where an exit from the world of the dead can be created. One of the harpies calls itself "Nobody"; Lyra gives her the name "Gentle Wing" after this Lyra saves life.

Energy and spirit beings

Angel

Angels are beings that originally emerged from the "dust". They are divided into two groups - the angels of the Almighty and the apostate, fallen angels who fight on the side of Lord Asriel. There is a hierarchical order in both groups - very strong angels who shine through the dust of their own accord, and angels who are barely noticeable and are more likely to be recognized in the twilight. Angels come from all worlds and speak many languages. With an effort, angels can take forms of other beings. Angels are also mortal, although they can expect a far longer life span than humans and even witches. Two lower- tier angels, Balthamos and Baruch , accompany Will in search of Lyra. God is described as the first angel who led the angels who came after him to believe that he created them.

Ghosts

Spirits are the souls of the deceased who must remain in the world of the dead. They begin to forget their lives and look for their dæmons, who have turned back into "dust". Only Will and Lyra create a window into the world of the Mulefa through which the spirits can return to the world of the living in order to unite with the "dust".

The death

Every being is accompanied by its own death throughout its life. When death is visible, it appears as an ash gray, friendly being. Lyra and Will see human deaths for the first time in the world of the deceased. Lyra and Will must find Lyra's death so that they can get to the Isle of Spirits. He shows them the way across the lake and leads them to the ferryman.

Ghosts

Ghosts are beings that arise when someone opens a window or a crack from one world to another. They feed on the dæmons of adult humans. Unlike adults, children cannot see ghosts and are not attacked by them, which is due to the fact that children do not yet collect dust around them. Only with the magic knife sahættr or by ghosts can ghosts be destroyed.

The main characters

Lyra Belacqua

Lyra is a lively blonde 12 year old girl who grew up in Jordan College in the Oxford of her world. She doesn't know that her parents are Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, but thinks she is an orphan. She is particularly proud to be able to come up with complex stories that have helped her out of a tight spot many times. Because of this property, the bear Iorek Byrnison gives her the name "Lyra Listreich" (original: Lyra Silvertongue) after she succeeded in luring the upstart Iofur Raknison with a lie from the reserve. Her constant companion is her Dæmon Pantalaimon. Its final shape is that of a pine marten . Lyra has a natural ability to understand the alethiometer without aids, which she loses at the end of the third volume because she has carried out her assignment.

William Parry

Will is a sensitive, but tough, morally thinking twelve year old boy from our world who is the bearer of the magic knife. He is serious and independent, as he had to look after his mentally ill mother for many years and has kept this a secret from the authorities. He is very strong for his age and knows how to behave inconspicuously. Towards the end of the adventure, he discovers the name and shape of his dæmon. Her name is Kirjava and she is a cat. According to an appendix by Philip Pullman, he later studied medicine.

John Parry

John Parry (in our world) or Dr. Stanislav Grumman or Jopari (in Lyra's world) is Will's missing father, a former soldier, explorer and later shaman. He comes from our world and unintentionally discovered a passage into Lyra's world during a snowstorm on a research trip to Beringland. He found his demon Sayan Kötör, an osprey , and traveled to a strange world. When he couldn't go back, he took the name Grumman. He researched the "dust" and found clues about the magic knife, its function and power. He also found out on his own body that every being can only survive in his own world - he became seriously ill and has since suffered from a heart disease. He only found his son shortly before his death and recognized him as the bearer of the knife. He dies the moment he realizes that he has his son in front of him. A witch he rejected kills him with an arrow - he was always loyal to his wife, Will's mother. He returns as a ghost with Will from the world of the dead and fights the ghosts with Lee Scoresby to save Will, Lyra and their daemons.

Lord Asriel Belacqua

Lord Asriel is Lyra's father, whom she knew as an uncle from an early age. He is a charismatic, self-confident, aristocratic person, inspired by megalomania. In search of the mysterious “dust”, he cuts a rift in the world of Cittàgazze, which is connected to many other worlds. His dream is to found the Republic of Heaven and overthrow the highest authority (i.e. God). He builds up a large army with the most varied of beings from the worlds that are now connected to one another. In the end he sacrifices himself, along with Mrs. Coulter, to overthrow the regent Metatron . His dæmon is a snow leopard named Stelmaria.

Mrs. Marisa Coulter

Mrs. Coulter is a very beautiful, engaging, passionate, but cool-thinking woman who knows how to manipulate other people for her benefit. She is Lord Asriel's lover and adversary and the mother of Lyra. She supports the Magisterium in kidnapping children who are needed to research the nature of “dust”. She later kidnaps Lyra with the aim of protecting her. At the same time she does everything possible to keep Lyra from her destiny. As the story progresses, she switches sides between "Authority" and Lord Asriel's Republic. At times she works as a double spy, only concerned about her own well-being and that of her daughter. Your daemon, whose name is not mentioned, is a cruel monkey with a golden coat.

Dr. Mary Malone

Dr. Malone is a scientist and former nun from our world who studies “dust” ( called “ dark matter ” in our world ). Through a window between the worlds she gets into the world of the “Mulefa”, lives there and builds an amber telescope through which she can see the “dust”. In the love story between Lyra and Will, she takes on the role of the temptress, the paradise snake. She tells them about a past love from their life and thus helps Lyra and Will find each other. In order to prevent this, the power of the Magisterium wants to have them murdered. Eventually she discovers that she has a dæmon in the shape of an alpine chough (that's the shape Lucifer took when he entered the Garden of Eden in “ Paradise Lost ”).

Iorek Byrnison

Iorek is a giant Panserbjørn who, with Lyra's help, is regaining his armor, dignity and position as King of the Panserbjørne, which he lost in an ambush. He recognizes her as "Lyra Listenreich" because she was the first person to fool a Panserbjørn. When the magic knife breaks, he is there and forges it again, as Panserbjørne is very knowledgeable about metals and blacksmithing. A powerful warrior, he joins the fight against authority to protect Lyra and Will.

John Faa and Farder Coram

John Faa and Farder Coram are the leaders of the Egyptian community. When children of the Egyptians are kidnapped by the Magisterium to the north to carry out experiments on them, they risk a rescue operation in which the children are freed. Even Ma Costa , Lyra's nurse, belongs to this people.

Lee Scoresby

Lee is a Texan aeronaut who flies a balloon for Lyra and the Egyptians north. He is also a friend of Iorek Byrnison and helps Lyra on some of her adventures. His dæmon Hester is shaped like a rabbit. He finds Will's father and sacrifices himself for him. As a ghost, freed from the world of the dead by Will and Lyra, he fights the ghosts at the side of John Parry.

Serafina Pekkala

Serafina is the beautiful queen of a witch clan. As with all witches, her goose dæmon kaisa can travel a lot farther from her than the demons of normal people. She and her clan also support the fight at Lyra's side, as they know of Lyra's destiny through a prophecy. Farder Coram once saved her life. They fell in love and had a son who, however, died very young of an illness.

Balthamos and Baruch

Balthamos and Baruch are two angels of low rank. They find Will after Lyra was abducted by her mother and want to bring him and his magical knife to Lord Asriel to gain his favor. Both have known each other for several hundred years and find it difficult to live without each other. When they have to part, they feel each other's pain, and Balthamos collapses when Baruch dies in the fulfillment of his assignment. Balthamos accompanies Will and eventually saves Will and Lyra's lives. Baruch was a person from Will's world during his lifetime.

Roger Parslow

Roger is Lyra's best friend and kitchen boy at Jordan College. His Dæmon Salcilia usually takes the form of a terrier. His abduction and the expedition to rescue him trigger the adventure the protagonists embark on. Lord Asriel uses the energy released by his death to open an immense rift between the worlds through which Lyra and Lord Asriel enter a parallel world in search of the origin of the “dust”. Due to her strong feelings of guilt about Roger's death, Lyra travels to the world of the dead to beg his forgiveness and to free him. By doing this, Lyra and Will enable the liberation of all dead from the underworld and their mixing with matter.

Iofur Raknison

Iofur is a cunning and insidious Panserbjørn who has ousted Iorek Byrnison from his successor as Bear King . He misted a bear with a drug and then made him fight in a duel with Iorek. He lost, but did not want to admit it, confused by the drug and thus irritated Iorek. In the end, Iorek killed the challenger, violating the customs of the Panserbjørne. They banished him, which is why he could no longer become king of the bears. Iofur took advantage of this and ascended the throne himself. When Iorek returns, the two fight a ritual duel in which it is allowed to kill the loser. In this Iofur is killed by Iorek. Iofur's greatest wish is to have their own dæmon like humans; something animals in Lyra's world are not allowed to do.

The most important places

Jordan College

Jordan College in Oxford is in a similar world to ours. Lyra lived here for the first ten years and enjoyed a peaceful life. She has many adventures in Oxford with her boyfriend Roger, the college kitchen boy. They like to play on the rooftops and for a while in the catacombs, where they get drunk for the first time. Under the Jordan Chapel, Lyra plays a trick on deceased scientists and is haunted by ghosts. The pastry chef Bernie Johansen from the kitchen, a half-Egyptian, tells the Egyptians about Lyra and their well-being, since Ma Costa was Lyra's wet nurse and the Egyptians know of Lyra's destiny.

The Fens in East Anglia

This part of East Anglia, in Lyra's world, is where most of the Egyptians live. They are at home here if you don't include the houseboats. When there are big problems - like the kidnapping of the children in volume one - Egyptians from all regions come here to discuss what to do. They do this in so-called Things , in which the leaders of all clans are present. Lord Faa conducts such meetings with his friend, the clan leader Farder Coram .

Bolvangar

Bolvangar is a place in the far north that causes fear and horror in the children of Lyra's world. Lyra's best friend Roger Parslow and Billy Costa are kidnapped here by the Gobblers. The “General Oblation Authority” runs a laboratory here, in which the children's daemons are experimentally cut away, i.e. they are separated from their souls. This is part of a plan by the Magisterium to remove the influence of the "dust". Lyra uses cunning to destroy the laboratory and then to flee with the other children.

Cittàgazze

Cittàgazze is a city in a kind of intermediate world. A few hundred years ago, the guild of the Torre degli Angeli forged the magic knife in this town . They began to travel through the worlds and always left windows open. Little did they know that every time they open a window, a ghost arises. Because so many windows are open in this world, there are also many ghosts and many cities that are only inhabited by children, as their parents have fled. As a result of Lord Asriel's experiment, with which he creates a passage from his world to the city in heaven, a particularly large number of ghosts are generated which invade the cities. The adults flee and leave the children alone, as they are protected from the ghosts' attacks until they reach puberty. Both the rift in Lyra's world and the window in Will's world lead into this world. This is where the two meet for the first time, the second band mainly plays in this world.

The world of the dead

When a person dies, his dæmon (soul) dissolves and turns to dust , his body remains in the world. His spirit, on the other hand, makes a journey through the world of the deceased. After crossing a lake, he arrives in the world of the dead, where he stays for the rest of eternity and slowly forgets his past life. Lyra and Will also cross the lake, but have to leave their daemons on the lake shore. Will cuts a window from the world of the dead to the world of the Mulefa, whereby all ghosts can go and thereby also turn to dust again.

Short stories

Lyras Oxford

The short story takes place two years after the end of the third book. Lyra now goes to school, but is still a welcome guest at Jordan College. As she lies on the roof of the college, she sees a flock of birds attack a witch's daemon. Lyra therefore decides to help the dæmon and brings him to safety. Since the daemon is very insecure and has a job to do in Oxford, Lyra helps the daemon to find an alchemist .

Once Upon a Time in the North

This second supplement was published in 2008; a German translation has not yet been published. It tells the story of the young Lee Scoresby's first encounter with Iorek Byrnison in a small port town in the Arctic, 35 years before the events of His Dark Materials. Lee won a cargo balloon while playing poker and is now trying his hand at haulage. In doing so, he unwillingly gets involved in the dispute with a mining company that wants to gain economic and political control over the region with the help of its representatives in politics, the manipulation of public opinion, abuse of the law against competitors and, last but not least, by open arms violence. It is an adventure story with elements of a classic western story, but it can also be read as a commentary on current topics such as the power of international corporations and the relationship between the economy and society and politics.

Film adaptations

Directed by Chris Weitz , New Line Cinema made a film adaptation of the first part " The Golden Compass " . The film, in which Nicole Kidman (as Mrs. Coulter ) and Daniel Craig ( Lord Asriel ) played the most important adult roles, was released in German cinemas on December 6, 2007. The film, originally intended as the first part of the trilogy, became the target of protests by American churches while it was still in production, and as a result it was redesigned as an independent film, whereby the entire last section of that first book (everything after the liberation of the children from Bolvangar) was lost went.

On November 3, 2015, the BBC reported that the fantasy trilogy will be filmed again for television. Also, Variety reported that BBC One on an eight-part TV drama based on His Dark Materials work. Pullman is involved as executive producer. His Dark Materials is produced by the British-American company Bad Wolf and is New Line Cinema's first production for British television. His Dark Materials began broadcasting in November 2019 .

Audio books and radio plays

• Philip Pullman: The Golden Compass - unabridged version (11 CDs) as a radio play, spoken by Jürgen Thormann , Kelly Darboven , Hermann Lause and many others, Carlsen Verlag , 2007

• Philip Pullman: Der Goldene Kompass - unabridged version (11 CDs) as audio book, read by Rufus Beck , audio book Hamburg , 2007
• Philip Pullman: Das Magische Messer - unabridged version (11 CDs) as audio book, read by Rufus Beck , audio book Hamburg , 2008
• Philip Pullman: The Bernstein Telescope - unabridged version (16 CDs) as audio book, read by Rufus Beck , Hamburg audio book , 2008
• Philip Pullman: Across the Wild River - unabridged version (13 CDs) as audio book, read by Rufus Beck , 2017

Trivia

The title His Dark Materials was taken from John Milton's Paradise Lost , which Pullman was also a great inspiration. He said he wanted to turn the story around and regrets that this work is hardly read in schools and universities in England. In the introduction to the English edition, Pullman quotes a comment from William Blake on Paradise Lost , which implies that Milton was on the devil's side without knowing it: “The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devil's party without knowing it . "(William Blake)

According to the author, the series is not yet complete. In addition to the already published short stories Lyra's Oxford and Once Upon a Time in the North , which act as intermediate stories , the author announced in 2013 that at least one more book, called The Book of Dust, will follow.

On February 14, 2017, Pullman announced that "The Book of Dust" - like "His Dark Materials" - would be a new trilogy. The first part, La Belle Sauvage (Across the Wild River) was released in October 2017, part two, The Secret Commonwealth (To the other end of the world) was released in 2019.

Web links

• The book series at Carlsen
• BridgeToTheStars.net, large English-speaking fansite
• Urs Jenny : In the realm of dark matter . In: Der Spiegel . No. 30 , 2001 ( online ).
• His-Dark-Materials-Wiki

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DNB 98613595X
2. ↑ DNB 986913642
3. ^ Catholics against criticism of the church. In: Focus-Online , December 4, 2007
4. ↑ New York Times on His Dark Materials
5. ↑ FOXNews.com - Some Catholic Leaders Upset Over New Nicole Kidman Movie - The Big Story w / Gibson and Nauert. November 9, 2007, archived from the original on November 9, 2007 ; accessed on February 14, 2018 . 
6. ↑ (in English at http://www.bbc.co.uk) BBC is making a His Dark Materials series to make up for The Golden Compass movie
7. ↑ (in English) BBC One commissions adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials - "Let's just try to forget the 2007 movie!"
8. ↑ Questions to the author on his website , accessed April 8, 2013.
9. ^ New novel by Philip Pullman is published by Carlsen - buchreport . In: book report . August 17, 2017 ( buchreport.de [accessed February 19, 2018]).