Darkness Visible: Philip Pullman and His Dark Materials

by Nicholas Tucker

Overview

What do Philip Pullman and J.K. Rowling have in common that has made both of their stories so successful? What does Pullman listen to while he writes - and who, or what, is Dust?

Pullman's award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials has been appreciated by readers of all ages. It is now set to welcome new fans as it is adapted for television by the BBC, and his new trilogy at last sees publication. 



Nicholas Tucker, a leading authority on children's literature, writes about the man he knows as a friend. Unpacking and examining Pullman's life and the sources he drew on for his masterpiece, he explores the world of science, theology, imagination and adventure that Pullman has created.



Including a personal interview with Pullman himself, Darkness Visible offers a unique exploration of the author's work - and its controversies.



"Enigmas from His Dark Materials are unraveled. Unmissable for all Pullman readers" 

Sussex Express

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785782282
Publisher:	Amberley Publishing
Publication date:	07/06/2017
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Nicholas Tucker is the author of nine books about children, childhood and reading, including The Child and the Book, (Cambridge University Press, 1981 and 1990).  He has also written six books for children, broadcasts frequently and reviews in the national press.  He lives in Lewes, East Sussex and sometimes finds himself reading aloud the same books to some of his eight grandchildren as he once did to their mothers and father.

Editorial Reviews

07/31/2017
In this well-organized analysis of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, Tucker, a cultural-studies lecturer at the University of Sussex, shares insight into the influences on the series’ universe in preparation for Pullman’s forthcoming Dust trilogy. Tucker first addresses religion, bringing to light Pullman’s early exposure to Christianity through his grandfather, an Anglican clergyman, and later through his reading of Milton. He also details Pullman’s break from Christianity over what Pullman saw as its tendency to control and terrorize, a trait shared by the novels’ all-powerful Church. Then he tackles Pullman’s fascination with science and the inherent uncertainty within it, which led to Pullman’s incorporation of parallel worlds into the books. Finally, Tucker shows how Pullman achieves his goal of mixing the “ordinary and the fantastic” and keeping the “reader in a state of imaginative wonder.” He is quick to praise Pullman’s accomplishments, among them the creation of involving protagonists and clear prose, but equally willing to offer criticism, such as of an arguably simplistic depiction of organized religion. Readers familiar with Pullman’s fantastical universe, and particularly those eager to return to it, will enjoy Tucker’s compact refresher course. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly