Though I found Tucker's writing a little dry at times, there is no doubt in my mind that he knows his stuff and talks about it with great enthusiasm. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in the goings-on outside of the actual books. The highlight of this for me was the talks with pullman himself. That man is a genius.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book in return for an honest review . It didn't take me long to read as it is divided into helpful chapter headings. The first chapter was a short biography of Philip Pullman himself. I knew little about him so this was interesting to read, especially as Nicholas Tucker seems to be a friend of Pullman . The book is rounded off with an interview by Tucker of Pullman with some questions that go beyond the standard how do you write , where do you get your inspiration from? He then gives a brief sypnosis of each of the Dark Materials book before concentrating on characters, themes and then on to characters and influences. I disagree with Tucker when he says on p.133 " Nor is Pullman interested in working out a complete cosmology for the largely imaginary worlds he is describing. Unlike the sagas of Tolkien , there are no accompanying maps...notes on the language, history and geography of the different people and objects" Pullman may nor have used language as a springboard like Tolkien, but he does create a convincing secondary world with its own rules etc (think anbaric energy in Lyra's world and the history/legends of the Witches) I found it puzzling that there was a Bibliography but no Index. The book could have done with an Index. For example if you wanted to find the comparisons with Rowling you can't just use the Index to find the right pages. There were many points that made me think afresh about His Dark Materials. I have read this prior to having a reading Group to discuss His Dark Materials and think that there will be parts I quote from this book to initiate and feed into that group. It is literary criticism of the most accessible sort that will appeal to all Pullman fans. It got me salivating for The Book of Dust and I am sure it will do the same for other readers. Tracey Exeter High Street