After finishing a great book, sometimes it's hard to know where to
turn next. Let us help. Each of our "further recommendations" pages
provides knowledgeable suggestions, hand-picked by our staff, to satisfy
your hunger for more great reading.
AFTER
YOU'VE READ...
MAKE
YOUR NEXT BOOK ONE OF THE FOLLOWING...
The
Earthsea Cycle by Ursula
Le Guin
A reckless youth unwittingly unleashes evil upon the world; he masters
his power, tames a wild beast, and crosses into another world in order
to restore the balance. Later, in his search for a great treasure, he
frees a long-sequestered priestess and leads her out of darkness. Finally,
the hero journeys through the land of the dead in order to heal the
land. Adult and young adult readers who, upon finishing Pullman's works,
find this familiar plot intriguing can look to A
Wizard of Earthsea, the first story in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea
cycle. Le Guin's diverse literary repertoire has earned numerous
Hugo and Nebula
awards, the last Earthsea book capturing the Nebula in 1990.
The
Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan
Cooper
Middle and young adult fantasy readers who liked Pullman's children-against-universal-evil
themes may appreciate similar struggles in Susan Cooper's The Dark
is Rising sequence. Simon, Jane, and Barney, later joined by Will,
engage in a perilous search for a grail that holds the power to fight
against evil. Without the grail, the world is doomed; only the children
can keep the Dark from rising. Also consistent with Pullman, Cooper's
diction and setting are distinctly British; this makes for a smooth
transition to an already somewhat easier read. The first book in the
sequence is Over
Sea, Under Stone, though many readers prefer to start with The
Dark is Rising.
The
Immortals Series by Tamora
Pierce
Pierce's strong female characters make her stories particularly
popular among female fantasy readers, though girls are not the only
fantasy fans to appreciate Pierce's imaginative plots and well-crafted
characters. The Immortals makes a good starter series for people
unfamiliar with Pierce; Wild
Magic, the series's first book, centers around a magical girl whose
ability to communicate with animals coud ultimately restore the lost
balance of nature.
The
Lost Years of Merlin Series by T.
A. Barron
T. A. Barron's Lost Years of Merlin series is particularly
popular with young male fantasy readers, but is also recommended for
any young adult interested in the well-known Arthurian magician. In
this award-winning series that starts with The
Lost Years, Barron creatively depicts the harrowing confrontations
and spiritual battles of Merlin's adolescence. Perfect for readers who
took special interest in Pullman's Will Parry.
Paradise
Lost (or at least the Cliffs
Notes) by John
Milton and Roy
C. Flannagan, respectively
It makes sense that Philip Pullman chose for an epigraph to The
Golden Compass a quote from Paradise Lost; both Milton and
Pullman address the same the same theological dilemma. Are the ways of
God to men justified, or is the Christian god (and church) cruel? Though
Pullman's trilogy skillfully introduces to young readers questions that
have long been at the heart of Christian theological debate, Milton's
seventeenth-century masterpiece is the definitive exploration.
The
Obvious Suggestions
Though we also recommend these books for fans of Harry
Potter, each has a separate and obviously valid relationship to
Pullman's works:
The
Hobbit & The
Lord of the Rings by J.
R. R. Tolkien
What good fantasy writer has never been compared to Tolkein? Though
Pullman states in an interview
with Powells.com that his books "aren't like Lewis or Tolkein,"
he does refer to Tolkein as the reference point in fantasy literature
from which all other books are measured – reason enough to read
or revisit the works of the master.
The
Chronicles of Narnia by C.
S. Lewis
Though both Pullman and Lewis are deeply concerned with Christian
issues; their attitudes about them are quite different. Pullman's trilogy
was not written in answer to The Chronicles of Narnia, but the
two together provide an interesting compliment of viewpoints. Religious
debate aside, the adventure and fantasy of Lewis's stories have kept
the series popular for fifty years. Though most Narnia readers
are familiar with The
Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the series actually begins with
The
Magician's Nephew.
The
Harry Potter Series by J.
K. Rowling
People lined up outside of bookstores, dressed in their pajamas
in the middle of the night to buy The
Goblet of Fire, Rowling's fourth Harry Potter book. The uproar was
not all favorable, however: protest grew against the witchcraft and
magic in Rowling's works. Though Pullman's series is recommended
for young adult readers as opposed to younger, middle readers, the content
is similarly controversial. Pullman indicated in an interview
with Powells.com that he was pleased with the attention that the
Potter series drew, if not redirected. The first book in the series
is Harry
Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone.
The
Redwall Series by Brian
Jacques
Pullman's animal daemons play important roles in His Dark Materials;
Jacques's animals play all of them in Redwall. As we mentioned
in our Harry Potter recommendations, "Brian Jacques's books set
the standard for successful fantasy series for young adults...The Redwall
adventures grab their readers with grand quests and heroic archetypes
and have been a staple for imaginative young readers since the first
book [Redwall]
was released in 1986."
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