Exciting news for book lovers everywhere! After almost five years since the second novel in Philip Pullman's Book of Dust series was released, the beloved author has confirmed that the third one is very nearly finished. We don't know about you, but we can't wait!
Replying to fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, Philip confirmed that the third instalment of the series was almost complete, writing: "I'm about to start writing the very last scene." A few days later, another fan asked if the novel was completed, to which he replied: "Very nearly." In October, he replied to a fan photo writing: "Hello, Dolly! I'm glad you enjoyed that book. The next one is coming before VERY long. I've been working on the last chapter this morning."
He also offered some writing advice to a budding author, explaining: "Every sentence I write I intend to stay writ. In other words, I never write with the thought that I can change it later, it's only provisional, even when I immediately do that very thing. Remember: structure is superficial. Tone is fundamental."
Philip is the bestselling author of the series His Dark Materials, which was adapted into a movie starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, as well as a popular BBC series starring James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson. The story follows a young girl called Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon in a parallel universe where a person's soul takes animal form.
The Book of Dust series is both a prequel and sequel to the original series, with the first novel, La Belle Sauvage, taking place when Lyra was a baby. The synopsis reads: "Eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and his dæmon, Asta, live with his parents at the Trout Inn near Oxford.
"Across the River Thames (which Malcolm navigates often using his beloved canoe, a boat by the name of La Belle Sauvage) is the Godstow Priory where the nuns live. Malcolm learns they have a guest with them; a baby by the name of Lyra Belacqua."
The second novel in the series, The Secret Commonwealth, skips ahead to when Lyra is 20 years old, with the description reading: "Lyra... and her daemon Pantalaimon [are] forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined and drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed.
"Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right."
Book of Dust TV adaptation
Producer Jane Tranter, who produced BBC's His Dark Materials series, said that she would be keen to adapt the Book of Dust series. Speaking at a Q&A, she said: "As Philip Pullman calls it, there is an 'equal' which is La Belle Sauvage and then there's a sequel, which is The Secret Commonwealth.
"And I have made absolutely no secret of the fact that I am really very keen to do The Book of Dust and Philip has already said that he would love us to do it. But he needs to finish the third book. We would love to do that, but you need to go out and ring the bell very loudly for that as well, so we can get the combined might of HBO and the BBC to say it's an absolute done deal."