Summary
Best selling authors of Finding God in the Lord of the Rings Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware team up again in a study of Philip Pullman’s popular His Dark Materials fantasy series. Unlike authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, Pullman writes from an intentionally anti-Christian perspective. As the authors explore Pullman’s themes, characters, and charges against Christianity, they ultimately conclude that though Pullman intended to do just the opposite, he has created a cosmos that seems to confirm the existence of a loving God--one where truth wins out over deception, grace trumps the virtue of self-reliance, and relationship is prized above independence. Released in conjunction with the major feature film, Shedding Light on His Dark Materials will equip parents, teachers, and readers to better understand and respond to Pullman’s brilliant but troubling work.

Back Cover Copy

Like his fellow Oxford residents J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, Philip Pullman brings fascinating new worlds to life in his best-selling fantasy series. Yet the differences between his universe and those of Tolkien and Lewis are stark. In His Dark Materials, people and angels are spun from cosmic Dust rather than fashioned by a personal Creator. Rebels and dissenters lead the fight against the tyrannical “Authority” and his truth-suppressing church.

Bruner and Ware, authors of the best-selling Finding God in The Lord of the Rings, reflect on the deeper themes and characters of this popular series while offering reasoned responses to the charges Pullman levels against Christianity. They also uncover spiritual themes within the books, which, like shafts of light, break through an otherwise gloomy universe—despite Pullman’s best efforts to keep them out. In the end, the authors argue that Pullman offers an unwitting tribute to the God he intended to discredit.

Your curiosity is sure to be piqued—and your faith strengthened—as you travel with Bruner and Ware through the worlds of His Dark Materials.

Front Flap Copy

A universe “shot through from end to end with shafts of strangely conspicuous light . . .”

So Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware describe the worlds Lyra, Will, and their fellow characters inhabit in Philip Pullman’s popular His Dark Materials series. The authors argue that, though he intended to do just the opposite, Pullman has created a cosmos that seems to confirm the existence of a loving God—one where truth wins out over deception, grace trumps the virtue of self-reliance, and relationship is ultimately prized above independence.

Whether you’re a fan of His Dark Materials or a concerned observer of the phenomenon Pullman has produced, you’re sure to gain new insights into this best-selling author and his series through these thought-provoking reflections.