The University Bookman   Volume 44, Number 1 (Fall 2005)  Spilt
Religion: Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials  His Dark
Materials (complete trilogy) by Philip Pullman. Alfred A. Knopf
(New York City, New York), cloth, 2000.  Craig Bernthal
Although Philip Pullman’s trilogy of fantasy books for children,
His Dark Materials, is barely known in the United States, that
is set to change. The books are more popular in England than
Harry Potter; Pullman is a better writer in every way than J. K.
Rowling, and given the cinematic success of Lord of the Rings,
Pullman’s eminently filmable work will undoubtedly soon show up
at a theater near you. The books have already been broadcast by
the BBC as radio theatre and dramatized for the stage. Current
versions are playing in lavish productions at the Royal National
Theater (Olivier) as His Dark Materials I, and II, each over
three hours long.  Pullman writes with energy and at times,
beauty. His imagination works on a grand scale. As we follow the
quest of his two child p