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His Dark Materials #3.7
The Imagination Chamber
A book of stunning, moving, exhilarating, breathtaking scenes set during the events of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
Master storyteller Philip Pullman returns to the world of Lyra and Will, Mrs Coulter and Lee Scoresby, Pantalaimon and Iorek Byrnison, in this must have companion to the His Dark Materials trilogy.
Master storyteller Philip Pullman returns to the world of Lyra and Will, Mrs Coulter and Lee Scoresby, Pantalaimon and Iorek Byrnison, in this must have companion to the His Dark Materials trilogy.
87 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2022
50 people are currently reading
4557 people want to read
About the author
Philip Pullman
260 books25.7k followersSir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 285 reviews
February 25, 2024
The Imagination Chamber: Cosmic Rays from Lyra’s Universe is the latest work from Philip Pullman. He is my favorite author!
Way back on January 21, Philip Pullman announced the release of The Imagination Chamber on Twitter, and I put in my order at Waterstones, a UK bookstore.
This short book, 85 pages in length, is simply gorgeous and high quality. The cover feels like linen, and the pages themselves are extremely thick. In other words, the feel of this book in your hands is magic. Usually, I like to have ebooks to conserve my limited space, but this book is such a tactile phenomena. Additionally, the pages are tinted red. The publisher, Scholastic, spared no expense putting this delightful book together.
This book is a bit different than any of Philip Pullman’s other works. For example, it is not exactly a short story. Most pages only contain one paragraph. Some pages contain as many as four paragraphs. This book is meant to be cosmic rays from the imagination chamber. They are very short little bursts of brilliance. Each one of the pages could lead to a book or chapter in its own right. This would make a great gift to anyone with a penchant for writing.
The Imagination Chamber proves just how brilliant Pullman is. He has developed a world that has so many interesting characters with rich backstory. Who will make it into the final book?
Pullman, I saw it. Page 51. “A beautiful blue cat-daemon was gazing up at her. When Lyra was nine or ten she went there on her own, often, and sat in front of the picture, whispering to her.”
As for the writing itself, Pullman does not disappoint. However, The Imagination Chamber does refer to characters in His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust. This book will make much more sense if you have read the two series first.
The last page of the book makes me cry. I can’t help but think of the parallels between Farder Coram and Philip Pullman, how he is starting to contemplate how everything will come to an end. Can he find the words to pull off one last spectacular novel? The play on words in the previous sentence is intentional.
The Imagination Chamber might give some hints as to what is to come in the third book of The Book of Dust series. Fans (including myself) have been asking for the release date of the final installation in The Book of Dust for years now. In the beginning of the book, Pullman shares his experience writing the final book in the series. There is some hope though! In the “Selected Works by Philip Pullman” page, under THE BOOK OF DUST, it states, “Book three coming soon”!!!!!!!
The Imagination Chamber is a perfect gift for those fans of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, especially those still waiting, patiently or impatiently, for the final book in The Book of Dust series.
Need more bookish thoughts? Check out Lisa of Troy’s homepage!
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
Way back on January 21, Philip Pullman announced the release of The Imagination Chamber on Twitter, and I put in my order at Waterstones, a UK bookstore.
This short book, 85 pages in length, is simply gorgeous and high quality. The cover feels like linen, and the pages themselves are extremely thick. In other words, the feel of this book in your hands is magic. Usually, I like to have ebooks to conserve my limited space, but this book is such a tactile phenomena. Additionally, the pages are tinted red. The publisher, Scholastic, spared no expense putting this delightful book together.
This book is a bit different than any of Philip Pullman’s other works. For example, it is not exactly a short story. Most pages only contain one paragraph. Some pages contain as many as four paragraphs. This book is meant to be cosmic rays from the imagination chamber. They are very short little bursts of brilliance. Each one of the pages could lead to a book or chapter in its own right. This would make a great gift to anyone with a penchant for writing.
The Imagination Chamber proves just how brilliant Pullman is. He has developed a world that has so many interesting characters with rich backstory. Who will make it into the final book?
Pullman, I saw it. Page 51. “A beautiful blue cat-daemon was gazing up at her. When Lyra was nine or ten she went there on her own, often, and sat in front of the picture, whispering to her.”
As for the writing itself, Pullman does not disappoint. However, The Imagination Chamber does refer to characters in His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust. This book will make much more sense if you have read the two series first.
The last page of the book makes me cry. I can’t help but think of the parallels between Farder Coram and Philip Pullman, how he is starting to contemplate how everything will come to an end. Can he find the words to pull off one last spectacular novel? The play on words in the previous sentence is intentional.
The Imagination Chamber might give some hints as to what is to come in the third book of The Book of Dust series. Fans (including myself) have been asking for the release date of the final installation in The Book of Dust for years now. In the beginning of the book, Pullman shares his experience writing the final book in the series. There is some hope though! In the “Selected Works by Philip Pullman” page, under THE BOOK OF DUST, it states, “Book three coming soon”!!!!!!!
The Imagination Chamber is a perfect gift for those fans of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, especially those still waiting, patiently or impatiently, for the final book in The Book of Dust series.
Need more bookish thoughts? Check out Lisa of Troy’s homepage!
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
December 20, 2022
It’s a beautiful looking package but no book cover can make up for a fundamental absence of content and £13 is a cheek. Every second page features little deleted/tangential bits from HDM and BOD, each only a paragraph. Every facing page is blank. The snippets are certainly wonderful to read to a fan like me but not the kind of content alone I think you can justify charging for (a few of these snippets have appeared elsewhere, eg in the ‘lantern slides’ extra material in some editions of NL).
Penguin were similarly skimpy in their last HDM-tie-in publication, Serpentine. And what galls me is that neither company needs to be so stingy. HDM is a valuable property surely worth living up to. Scholastic/David Fickling Books could have commissioned new illustration to add value to this material, or published a bigger volume gathering a lot of further supplementary material which HDM has accrued a lot of in its 20+ years of existence.
I’d be more forgiving if this was a peak publication due the Christmas market where gift books are allowed to get a bit silly and cheerfully cash-grab-ish, but as it is it feels a little insulting to readers.
Penguin were similarly skimpy in their last HDM-tie-in publication, Serpentine. And what galls me is that neither company needs to be so stingy. HDM is a valuable property surely worth living up to. Scholastic/David Fickling Books could have commissioned new illustration to add value to this material, or published a bigger volume gathering a lot of further supplementary material which HDM has accrued a lot of in its 20+ years of existence.
I’d be more forgiving if this was a peak publication due the Christmas market where gift books are allowed to get a bit silly and cheerfully cash-grab-ish, but as it is it feels a little insulting to readers.
August 1, 2022
This felt like a complete waste of paper. I love Lyra and the His Dark Materials world, but this added nothing to the story or world building. It took 2 minutes to read, and I'm still questioning what the point was. It's just random sentences or thoughts from Phillip Pullman with little to no context.
Don't waste your money.
Don't waste your money.
September 10, 2024
I have mixed feelings about this audiobook which turned out to be 30 minutes of actual book and an hour of interviews. I didn't know this going in, perhaps my error in not reading the small print.
My favorite passage from The Imagination Chamber (30 minutes):
“Fader Coram in his old age – words like ill trained dogs become indifferent and disobedient, you call them, you whistle and try to remember their names, no success. In a field where you once had complete command, you stand mouthing silence – the dogs out of sight doing something else, the sheep grazing blandly, the grass noticing nothing. Everything continues nevertheless.”
Interview between Nicky (Senior Rights and Content Director at Bolinda) and Philip Pullman – Behind the scenes of The Imagination Chamber (15 minutes):
Philip Pullman’s love of libraries truly comes across and he shares some of his own stories of library experiences growing up. Here’s what he says about how he values libraries:
“I love libraries, and I’m reduced to despair sometimes by the carelessness, the simple vandalism of governments that think that they’re not important and we can do away with them. They are vitally important.”
Panel interview – About the making of The Imagination Chamber – the TV series (30 minutes). Included: two short readings from Philip Pullman’s books.
Audience questions (last 15 minutes).
My favorite passage from The Imagination Chamber (30 minutes):
“Fader Coram in his old age – words like ill trained dogs become indifferent and disobedient, you call them, you whistle and try to remember their names, no success. In a field where you once had complete command, you stand mouthing silence – the dogs out of sight doing something else, the sheep grazing blandly, the grass noticing nothing. Everything continues nevertheless.”
Interview between Nicky (Senior Rights and Content Director at Bolinda) and Philip Pullman – Behind the scenes of The Imagination Chamber (15 minutes):
Philip Pullman’s love of libraries truly comes across and he shares some of his own stories of library experiences growing up. Here’s what he says about how he values libraries:
“I love libraries, and I’m reduced to despair sometimes by the carelessness, the simple vandalism of governments that think that they’re not important and we can do away with them. They are vitally important.”
Panel interview – About the making of The Imagination Chamber – the TV series (30 minutes). Included: two short readings from Philip Pullman’s books.
Audience questions (last 15 minutes).
May 1, 2022
Is this worth the money I paid to own this title? Absolutely not! It has a gorgeous cover with sprayed edges and my copy is signed but it's only 96 pages long and there's a lot of white space inside which could have been filled with illustrations.
But, am I glad I read this book? Hell yes! I love to get hold of as much His Dark Materials content as I can even if they are only snippets and scraps like this. And I absolutely adored the crumbs about Will. It has certainly got me excited for the next instalment of the Book of Dust.
But, am I glad I read this book? Hell yes! I love to get hold of as much His Dark Materials content as I can even if they are only snippets and scraps like this. And I absolutely adored the crumbs about Will. It has certainly got me excited for the next instalment of the Book of Dust.
April 25, 2022
Oddly, when reading about the book before its release, the general synopsis seemed sort of vague. It mentioned scenes & illuminations.
A part of me thought that it may just be illustrations or new illustrations of scenes throughout the series so far.
It isn’t. The book is lovely aesthetically but the contents very lacklustre much akin to Serpentine.
Each page has an empty page to follow which could easily have had an illustration or some wondrous content but, alas, half the book is empty.
Anyway, I thought I’d throw in a few words as didn’t see many.
Let’s hope Book of Dust 3 is worthwhile.
A part of me thought that it may just be illustrations or new illustrations of scenes throughout the series so far.
It isn’t. The book is lovely aesthetically but the contents very lacklustre much akin to Serpentine.
Each page has an empty page to follow which could easily have had an illustration or some wondrous content but, alas, half the book is empty.
Anyway, I thought I’d throw in a few words as didn’t see many.
Let’s hope Book of Dust 3 is worthwhile.
June 21, 2024
this is daylight robbery
April 28, 2022
Pretty book that is over half empty. Sorry I love the series but this was a massive waste of money and paper.
September 22, 2023
Picture a mood board for interior design, or an evidence board for a police investigation: its images, press clippings and suggestions of cross-links are there to explore relationships, build a bigger picture and perhaps lead to conclusions.
Philip Pullman likes the metaphor of a cloud chamber, in which “the passage of charged particles, or cosmic rays” are made visible; he believes his mind “has become accustomed to working like a cloud chamber, in which minute particles charged with story can find something to condense around them and make them visible for a fleeting moment.”
Mood board, evidence board or cloud chamber – The Imagination Chamber is a collection of those very particles charged with story which throws light on Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust. Since 2007 some have been published in various editions under the heading Lantern Slides (the 2011 one-volume compendium in Everyman’s Library contains nine of these); a total of forty-two are included here, many apparently for the first time.
For anyone who’s a fan of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust this may be a wonderful reminder of incidents, scenes and characters, or glimpses of niches or corners in the otherwise familiar narratives which would repay investigation: Lyra’s scowling face for the annual photogram, the endless steppes of Central Asia, the cause of Jordan College’s Master’s food poisoning, the softer side of Mrs Lonsdale, Will’s subtle surgeon-like skills a hint of the future, the contradictory stories told to Lyra about the fate of her mother…
Some of the entries are short, almost epigrammatic, for example: On the beach, the alethiometer suddenly inert in Lyra’s hands, as if it had abandoned her. Some are longer – though never longer than a page – enigmatic vignettes that give glimpses of infinite perspectives, as when Mary Malone gradually comprehends how the mulefa understand their history, although never discovering whether they had a concept of fiction.
One entry is a self-referential consideration of the storyteller’s art, namely drawing out a tale from notional scraps of paper with writing divorced from a context, watching “a story growing out in every direction like frost on a window pane.” Whether they’re used consciously or not, each is a potential seed which can develop in unpredictable ways; and The Imagination Chamber is full of such examples.
Published while the author still works on the final volume of The Book of Dust this could be seen as a stopgap offering consisting of a collection of aphorisms and vignettes, or an expensive publication cynically cashing in on readers’ desire for more on Pullman’s multiverse. Pages intentionally left blank opposite each entry and the lack of images other than Pullman’s raven dæmon (designed by John Lawrence) may suggest the latter. Personally I’m in the former camp, appreciating the mood board and watching out for the trails created by those charged particles.
Philip Pullman likes the metaphor of a cloud chamber, in which “the passage of charged particles, or cosmic rays” are made visible; he believes his mind “has become accustomed to working like a cloud chamber, in which minute particles charged with story can find something to condense around them and make them visible for a fleeting moment.”
Mood board, evidence board or cloud chamber – The Imagination Chamber is a collection of those very particles charged with story which throws light on Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust. Since 2007 some have been published in various editions under the heading Lantern Slides (the 2011 one-volume compendium in Everyman’s Library contains nine of these); a total of forty-two are included here, many apparently for the first time.
For anyone who’s a fan of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust this may be a wonderful reminder of incidents, scenes and characters, or glimpses of niches or corners in the otherwise familiar narratives which would repay investigation: Lyra’s scowling face for the annual photogram, the endless steppes of Central Asia, the cause of Jordan College’s Master’s food poisoning, the softer side of Mrs Lonsdale, Will’s subtle surgeon-like skills a hint of the future, the contradictory stories told to Lyra about the fate of her mother…
Some of the entries are short, almost epigrammatic, for example: On the beach, the alethiometer suddenly inert in Lyra’s hands, as if it had abandoned her. Some are longer – though never longer than a page – enigmatic vignettes that give glimpses of infinite perspectives, as when Mary Malone gradually comprehends how the mulefa understand their history, although never discovering whether they had a concept of fiction.
One entry is a self-referential consideration of the storyteller’s art, namely drawing out a tale from notional scraps of paper with writing divorced from a context, watching “a story growing out in every direction like frost on a window pane.” Whether they’re used consciously or not, each is a potential seed which can develop in unpredictable ways; and The Imagination Chamber is full of such examples.
Published while the author still works on the final volume of The Book of Dust this could be seen as a stopgap offering consisting of a collection of aphorisms and vignettes, or an expensive publication cynically cashing in on readers’ desire for more on Pullman’s multiverse. Pages intentionally left blank opposite each entry and the lack of images other than Pullman’s raven dæmon (designed by John Lawrence) may suggest the latter. Personally I’m in the former camp, appreciating the mood board and watching out for the trails created by those charged particles.
May 4, 2022
There is a long held dream that book lovers often talk about: the desperate wish that they could see inside a beloved author’s notes and discover the alchemical process in which they created their favourite characters. The snippets of inspiration and the tiny clues that will allow us to peek behind the veil into the magical world that the author has created.
I think it was this concept that led to the creation of The Imagination Chamber and, unfortunately, the reality falls far short of the dream. Filled with tiny thoughts and ideas, featuring characters from His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, the book itself may have been more appealing if presented as a notebook with pictures and doodles and scribbles- instead it resembles a hymnal - and expects the reader to treat it as such.
The introduction- indeed the longest piece of text in the book - provides a comparison with ‘cloud chambers’ and magical concepts for stories and characters that drift in and out of writers minds. It even ascribes a certain spirituality to this idea. The magic of the unobserved character.
However, each of the scenes don’t so much read as scenes that we’re waiting out of sight but instead tiny scenes that were rejected in favour of superior material that then was included in the novels. Many are a mere two or three sentences long.
There is some beautiful writing here certainly and fans of Pullman’s will certainly be interested to pick apart little revelations about their favourite characters but the problem is that they are that: little revelations. They are not major and not perhaps worth the cost on their own.
It reads like the DVD extras: something you would be delighted to pay more for in a special edition of the novels - but not something that you would necessarily want by itself. I found myself wondering if this indeed is the best of the rejected notes for the version of The Book of Dust that used to be described as ‘an encyclopaedia of Lyra’s world.’
The book itself is a beautiful object and sometimes we will forgive beauty for a lack of substance - but often that only applies to books that have little writing but lots of illustration and that is of course greatly substantial- this book unfortunately has no illustrations to speak of and is far more beautiful on the outside than it is on the inside.
A particularly low review for me, an unfathomably low review when you consider it’s Philip Pullman: but I couldn’t bring myself to love it. If you are indeed a die hard fan of Pullman’s then I would recommend borrowing it from your local library rather than buying- and while you are there telling the librarian just how grateful you are that they exist. I’m sure Pullman would approve.
I think it was this concept that led to the creation of The Imagination Chamber and, unfortunately, the reality falls far short of the dream. Filled with tiny thoughts and ideas, featuring characters from His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, the book itself may have been more appealing if presented as a notebook with pictures and doodles and scribbles- instead it resembles a hymnal - and expects the reader to treat it as such.
The introduction- indeed the longest piece of text in the book - provides a comparison with ‘cloud chambers’ and magical concepts for stories and characters that drift in and out of writers minds. It even ascribes a certain spirituality to this idea. The magic of the unobserved character.
However, each of the scenes don’t so much read as scenes that we’re waiting out of sight but instead tiny scenes that were rejected in favour of superior material that then was included in the novels. Many are a mere two or three sentences long.
There is some beautiful writing here certainly and fans of Pullman’s will certainly be interested to pick apart little revelations about their favourite characters but the problem is that they are that: little revelations. They are not major and not perhaps worth the cost on their own.
It reads like the DVD extras: something you would be delighted to pay more for in a special edition of the novels - but not something that you would necessarily want by itself. I found myself wondering if this indeed is the best of the rejected notes for the version of The Book of Dust that used to be described as ‘an encyclopaedia of Lyra’s world.’
The book itself is a beautiful object and sometimes we will forgive beauty for a lack of substance - but often that only applies to books that have little writing but lots of illustration and that is of course greatly substantial- this book unfortunately has no illustrations to speak of and is far more beautiful on the outside than it is on the inside.
A particularly low review for me, an unfathomably low review when you consider it’s Philip Pullman: but I couldn’t bring myself to love it. If you are indeed a die hard fan of Pullman’s then I would recommend borrowing it from your local library rather than buying- and while you are there telling the librarian just how grateful you are that they exist. I’m sure Pullman would approve.
September 7, 2023
Lovely little snippets from the world of His Dark Materials / The Book of Dust. There isn’t a lot here, it really is just 81 pages of paragraph snapshots into moments of various characters lives, but it was still quite beautiful all the same. I did loan it from the library, which I was happy about, as, unless you’re a massive fan who would like the book for your collection, I don’t think it’s worth the price point for the amount of content in here.
I was, however, very happy to have a little bit of new Will content, and it’s a nice thing to tide people over until the next book in The Book of Dust series releases.
I was, however, very happy to have a little bit of new Will content, and it’s a nice thing to tide people over until the next book in The Book of Dust series releases.
August 29, 2023
Damn, they are really milking every last bit out of HDM. I think I would be displeased if I had spent £13 on this (I almost said "$26" automatically before realizing that is not at alllll the exchange rate anymore), but I borrowed it from my mom (thanks, mom!) so I can just enjoy these snippets. They have the feel of poetry, drabbles, tumblr meta all at once -- tiny nuggets or bursts of canon, beautifully written, of course.
Is this a book? Idk. But I enjoyed it for whatever it was.
Is this a book? Idk. But I enjoyed it for whatever it was.
April 26, 2023
Half the book being empty leaves a bad taste in my mouth but the world has a chokehold on me.
Cute little insights but that’s about it.
Cute little insights but that’s about it.
December 26, 2025
Pullman delivered that Book of Dust 3 foreshadowing like Keke Palmer describing Titanic to Yvette Nicole Brown (hope this is not too niche)
June 1, 2022
Not much new here, except for a couple of interesting tidbits about Will. I love Pullman's work but this book is made up of small fragments of writing that nobody would ever usually get published, unless they're as prestigious an author as he is... While the other short stories in the HDM series are worth your time, this is not.
July 31, 2022
Made me feel like I was back in Lyra’s world. That was all I wanted from this book. ✨
May 5, 2024
‘The Imagination Chamber’ (or Cosmic Rays from Lyra’s Universe, as Philip Pullman explains in his introduction), was such a delightful book to read that I simply did not want it to end. I did take my time to read it, savouring only a few pages each day. As a great fan of the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, this book felt like a gift, with pages written almost exclusively for me.
Imagine being able to glimpse random moments from the previous books, to revisit them, even if just for a few seconds.
“On the beach, the alethiometer suddenly inert in Lyra’s hands, as if it had abandoned her.”
Wouldn’t you like to see again, if only for brief moments, those characters we so loved? Lyra, Will, Mary Malone, Lee Scoresby, Serafina Pekkala... This book also offers glimpses of their own journeys, parts of the story unknown to us until now.
“Asriel, among the bears: ‘Iofur Raknison, I’m going to be entirely frank with you,’ followed by a string of confident and overbearing lies — had he noticed the bear king’s doll-daemon, the clue that he was unbearlike enough to be tricked? Or was it just luck? — but he knew the bears well enough. He was very like his daughter.”
Some of those glimpses, as I call them, offer us small but significant revelations that perhaps would have changed our perspective of certain characters had this information been mentioned in the books.
“Every year the Domestic Bursar at Jordan would send for Lyra, — or have her tracked down and caught — and have a photogram taken. Lyra submitted indifferently, and scowled at the camera; it was just one of the things that happened. It didn’t occur to her to ask where the pictures went. As a matter of fact, they all went to Lord Asriel, but he would never let her know.”
Some of those little texts are funny and bring a smile to your face. Some make you reflect thoroughly. Some make you feel melancholic. And some bring a gasp of surprise or realization to your mouth. Here is one of my favourites:
“John Parry and the turquoise ring: how did he get hold of it? You could tell a story about the ring, and everything that happened to it since it left Lee Scoresby’s mother’s finger; and you could tell a story about Lee himself, and recount his entire history from boyhood to the moment he sat beside the little hut on the flooded banks of the Yenisei, and saw the shaman’s fist open to disclose the well-loved thing that he’d turned and turned round and round his mother’s finger so long ago. The storylines diverge, and move a very long way apart, and come together, and something happens when they touch. That something would lead Lee to his death, but what happened to the ring? It must still be around, somewhere.”
There are glimpses that show Will, in our world, now a successful surgeon thanks to the ability, the sense his hand and mind had learned together when using the Subtle Knife, searching among the tiniest particles of the air. He never lost it.
“In Lyra’s world daemons, in the world of the Mulefa the oil-bearing wheels — both ways of making the workings of Dust apparent. In our world, what?”
That one kept me wondering and thinking for quite a long time. I do not have an answer for it.
And lastly, I would like to mention a final glimpse; one that takes us back to THAT one moment in ‘The Amber Spyglass’:
“Lyra at eighteen sitting intent and absorbed in Duke Humfrey’s Library with the alethiometer and a pile of leather-bound books. Pushing the hair away from her eyes, pencil in mouth, finger moving down a list of symbols, Pantalaimon holding the stiff old pages open for her… ‘Look, Pan, there’s a pattern there – see? That’s why they are in that sequence!’ And it felt like the sun had come out. It was the second thing she said to Will the next day in the Botanic Garden.”
It was a great pleasure to enter the Imagination Chamber and revisit this universe and those characters. It was even more pleasant to realize that Philip Pullman’s universe is so vast that Lyra still has some discoveries to do in the final part of ‘The Book of Dust’, the second trilogy that is being published by the author. I can’t wait for the last book to finally come out so I can read the three of them one after the other.
Imagine being able to glimpse random moments from the previous books, to revisit them, even if just for a few seconds.
“On the beach, the alethiometer suddenly inert in Lyra’s hands, as if it had abandoned her.”
Wouldn’t you like to see again, if only for brief moments, those characters we so loved? Lyra, Will, Mary Malone, Lee Scoresby, Serafina Pekkala... This book also offers glimpses of their own journeys, parts of the story unknown to us until now.
“Asriel, among the bears: ‘Iofur Raknison, I’m going to be entirely frank with you,’ followed by a string of confident and overbearing lies — had he noticed the bear king’s doll-daemon, the clue that he was unbearlike enough to be tricked? Or was it just luck? — but he knew the bears well enough. He was very like his daughter.”
Some of those glimpses, as I call them, offer us small but significant revelations that perhaps would have changed our perspective of certain characters had this information been mentioned in the books.
“Every year the Domestic Bursar at Jordan would send for Lyra, — or have her tracked down and caught — and have a photogram taken. Lyra submitted indifferently, and scowled at the camera; it was just one of the things that happened. It didn’t occur to her to ask where the pictures went. As a matter of fact, they all went to Lord Asriel, but he would never let her know.”
Some of those little texts are funny and bring a smile to your face. Some make you reflect thoroughly. Some make you feel melancholic. And some bring a gasp of surprise or realization to your mouth. Here is one of my favourites:
“John Parry and the turquoise ring: how did he get hold of it? You could tell a story about the ring, and everything that happened to it since it left Lee Scoresby’s mother’s finger; and you could tell a story about Lee himself, and recount his entire history from boyhood to the moment he sat beside the little hut on the flooded banks of the Yenisei, and saw the shaman’s fist open to disclose the well-loved thing that he’d turned and turned round and round his mother’s finger so long ago. The storylines diverge, and move a very long way apart, and come together, and something happens when they touch. That something would lead Lee to his death, but what happened to the ring? It must still be around, somewhere.”
There are glimpses that show Will, in our world, now a successful surgeon thanks to the ability, the sense his hand and mind had learned together when using the Subtle Knife, searching among the tiniest particles of the air. He never lost it.
“In Lyra’s world daemons, in the world of the Mulefa the oil-bearing wheels — both ways of making the workings of Dust apparent. In our world, what?”
That one kept me wondering and thinking for quite a long time. I do not have an answer for it.
And lastly, I would like to mention a final glimpse; one that takes us back to THAT one moment in ‘The Amber Spyglass’:
“Lyra at eighteen sitting intent and absorbed in Duke Humfrey’s Library with the alethiometer and a pile of leather-bound books. Pushing the hair away from her eyes, pencil in mouth, finger moving down a list of symbols, Pantalaimon holding the stiff old pages open for her… ‘Look, Pan, there’s a pattern there – see? That’s why they are in that sequence!’ And it felt like the sun had come out. It was the second thing she said to Will the next day in the Botanic Garden.”
It was a great pleasure to enter the Imagination Chamber and revisit this universe and those characters. It was even more pleasant to realize that Philip Pullman’s universe is so vast that Lyra still has some discoveries to do in the final part of ‘The Book of Dust’, the second trilogy that is being published by the author. I can’t wait for the last book to finally come out so I can read the three of them one after the other.
October 31, 2024
The Imagination Chamber is a lovely book, but be aware: This is not a novel, a novella, or an actual narrative. The Imagination Chamber is a collection of snippets, little bits and pieces of text from the author's imagination that float through the worlds of His Dark Materials. Some pages contain just a sentence or two; some, a few paragraphs. There's no overarching story, just a sampling of ideas. I thought it was quite special, but it seems that people picking this up with different expectations walk away frustrated.
In my opinion, this would make a great gift for anyone who loves the series.
In my opinion, this would make a great gift for anyone who loves the series.
November 24, 2022
This made me so nostalgic, I'm obsessed with this universe 🥰
May 10, 2022
As a huge fan of His Dark Materials, I was looking forward to this companion novel.
It was a really interesting read but way too short. These pieces in my opinion could have easily been published online considering the length, surely though it's a must have for any fan of His Dark Materials, especially for those who don't have the Lantern Slides editions.
The page dedicated to Will (which gave me good hopes for the third novel of The Book Of Dust) was wonderful and all those with Lyra at Jordan College were great as well. It always warms my heart to see what she did as a child at Oxford and reading about how she imagined her parents really moved me.
It was a really interesting read but way too short. These pieces in my opinion could have easily been published online considering the length, surely though it's a must have for any fan of His Dark Materials, especially for those who don't have the Lantern Slides editions.
The page dedicated to Will (which gave me good hopes for the third novel of The Book Of Dust) was wonderful and all those with Lyra at Jordan College were great as well. It always warms my heart to see what she did as a child at Oxford and reading about how she imagined her parents really moved me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2022
This book is a companion book. So, you need to have an attachment with the whole 'His Dark Materials', Book of Dust, Serpentine. The style of writing seems to me like stream of consciousness. Without a chronological order when we think about our past memories. Although, the purpose felt like our imagination should fill the blank pages. Like the book is in a meditation. Every time I turn a page, I felt my finger is like the subtle knife, and I am transitioning to a different world. I have the key, hints, I have to walk the path alone with my imagination to feel the void. The red border in each page, and the blank even number pages go with the motion.
I think this is a book which will give you a different experience each time you explore it (I am carefully avoiding the word 'read').
I think this is a book which will give you a different experience each time you explore it (I am carefully avoiding the word 'read').
July 18, 2022
Picked this up from the library because of the beautiful cover and sprayed edges. I'm very grateful I didn't buy this. 12.99 for roughly 42 pages and even then the pages are just lil writing prompts or the first outlines of ideas of the characters in the dark materials series. Was the writing bad? No. But this book just wasn't necessary. Seems to me like a money grabber and I can't get over that.
March 14, 2024
bro this is not a book, or even a collection of anything. it's a bunch of (not even profound, beautiful, interesting or expanded on) ideas, sentences and paragraphs Pullman couldn't fit or make work in his main series, biffed haphazardly into something he could sell. if this book didn't have it's hard cover, triple weight pages and 80% blank space it would be a pamphlet. he's written so many great books, HOW was he not profoundly embarrassed to publish this. this should have been posted on a blog. my condolences to anyone who paid money for this "book". (i'm feeling grumpy today can you tell...)
edit: i did enjoy about 20% of the exerpts. and i suppoooose it's a pretty collectible for MASSIVE fans of the series
edit: i did enjoy about 20% of the exerpts. and i suppoooose it's a pretty collectible for MASSIVE fans of the series
February 25, 2023
How do you rate a book based on the stories you liked so much? His Dark Materials series are probably my most fave story of all time, and I’m truly fascinated by Lyra and her dæmon, the multiple universe and everything related to it
This book contains a little snippets of the story, more like written mood boards, that give you a little more insights how the worlds were, how the characters were, even after they grew up and grew apart.
If you ask me as a fan, I love this book, but maybe it’s not so interesting for others who aren’t into it as much as I do. So, four stars it is 😅
This book contains a little snippets of the story, more like written mood boards, that give you a little more insights how the worlds were, how the characters were, even after they grew up and grew apart.
If you ask me as a fan, I love this book, but maybe it’s not so interesting for others who aren’t into it as much as I do. So, four stars it is 😅
August 2, 2022
This book really shows how much Philip Pullman loves the world he’s created for Lyra. It was essentially a series of snapshots into the world of His Dark Materials, and in his foreword Pullman said he wrote most of them without intending to publish them. It was like an insight into his mind and how he creates such believable worlds, which I loved, and all of the excerpts were so evocative and well written. Page 57 was my favourite! This book probably was a money grab, especially as every left hand page was blank, but it didn’t feel like that at all when I was reading it and I really enjoyed it.
November 24, 2025
Última historia de la saga 'La materia oscura' y es la que menos sentido tiene. Lo que tenemos acá son fragmentos de lo que se le pasaba por la mente a distintos personajes en algunos momentos que aparecen (o no) en los libros. Lo único que rescato es que vemos un poquito de que fue de la vida de Will ♥ pero lo demás me parece completamente sin sentido.
June 9, 2022
Such short snippets! But I'll take any scraps of this world I am given... Cannot wait for
The Collectors and Book of Dust part 3!
The Collectors and Book of Dust part 3!
January 2, 2024
I really like the His Dark Materials series, so I was excited for more snippets and stories with the main characters. However, this wasn’t even necessary to read tbh.
August 27, 2022
This is so beautiful and good!!! This is definitely something you should only pick up when you're already invested in this world, but I absolutely love all the little notes and moments here, and I LOVE how they vary in character and timeline and mood!!!! It's excellent and a super quick read!!!!
February 21, 2023
Don’t bother. Adds nothing to the storyline. 2 stars
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