During the childhood of its associated human, a dæmon can change its animal shape at will, but with the onset of adolescence it settles into a fixed, final animal form. Books I, II and III in Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy -- The Golden Compass (1996), The Subtle Knife (1997), and The Amber Spyglass (2000). Faced with difficult choices that only later become apparent, he tries unsuccessfully to poison Lord Asriel. The story refers to the early life of Mrs Coulter and is set in the senior common room of an Oxford college.

First Editions, First Printings of ALL three books "Northern Lights" "Subtle Knife" and "Amber Spyglass" Each book is SIGNED by Philip Pullman. After winning his hot-air balloon, Scoresby heads to the North, landing on the Arctic island Novy Odense, where he is pulled into a conflict between the oil tycoon Larsen Manganese, the corrupt mayoral candidate Ivan Poliakov, and his longtime enemy from the Dakota Country, Pierre McConville.

In The Subtle Knife, the story moves between our own world, the world of the first novel, and a third world containing the city of Cittàgazze. The destiny that awaits her will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clans reign and ice-bears fight. I thought such a claim was laughable, which is a shame because I know some folk who have been put off reading them because of that claim. After his father's death, Will discovers that Lyra has been kidnapped by Mrs Coulter, and he is approached by two angels requesting his aid.

Set in an England familiar and strange, Philip Pullman's lively, taut story is a must-read and re-read for fantasy lovers of all age. Although he is the overarching antagonist of the series, the Authority remains in the background; he makes his only appearance late in The Amber Spyglass. Lyra's Oxford is a sequel to The Amber Spyglass, and tells the story of a witch who seeks revenge for her son's death in the war against the Authority.At the rear of the book is a gilt-stamped pocket housing a suite of six plates, each signed by the artist and countersigned by Philip Pullman. He explains how the title came about: "The notion of dark matter struck me as an intensely poetic idea, that the vast bulk of the universe is made up of stuff we can't see at all and have no idea what it is. Will's fate is strangely linked with hers; and together they must find a powerful and secret object which people from many worlds would kill to possess. Lyra's Oxford is a short book by Philip Pullman depicting an episode involving the heroine of His Dark Materials, Pullman's best-selling trilogy. Set after the events of The Amber Spyglass and before The Secret Commonwealth, Lyra and Pantalaimon journey back to the far North to meet with the Consul of Witches.