Pullman, Philip (2008) ‘His Dark Materials’, double signed Folio Society first illustrated edition

Philip Pullman (2008) ‘His Dark Materials‘ trilogy, UK first illustrated edition, first printing, published by The Folio Society. Signed by author Philip Pullman and illustartor Peter Bailey on the title page as shown. One of 100 signed sets which were randomly disributed to buyers when the edition was published by Folio back in 2008.

Condition: a fine set as shown. The slipcase has slight shelf wear but nothing major.

‘His Dark Materials’ (HDM) is one of the best children/ young adult novels of our times. The power of imagination and prose matches the likes of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Ursula K. Le Guin. In our personal opinion the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy is much more engaging than ‘Lord of the Rings’, and more intellectually stimulating than ‘Narnia’. Although Pullman has been compared to C.S. Lewis and Tolkien, the coming of age story is closer to Le Guin’s ‘Earthsea Trilogy’. The bottom line is that HDM will remain one of the the most loved stories for decades to come and it will be read in a century from now. Unfortunately the suboptimal adaptation as ‘The Golden Compass’ was Hollywood rubbish and did not do Pullman and the book justice. However, a BBC/ HBO TV-adaptation (2019 onwards) with Pullman is an improvement. The TV-series format is certainly more suitable for a story of that magnitude. However, no adaptation can match the reader’s own imagination which knows no bounderies. That is the beauty of reading.