Pullman gives God a break for Easter

18 March 2008

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The author of His Dark Materials talks to A.S.H. Smyth about the latest episode in the saga in which he turns towards politics — with a nod to The Magnificent Seven along the way

It tells the story — as requested by Pullman’s thirty-something son — of an early voyage by the Texan balloonist Lee Scoresby, and his first meeting with Iorek Byrnison, the armoured bear, on the White Sea island of Novy Odense. (These two characters subsequently become brothers in arms and principal companions in the various travails of Lyra Belacqua, heroine of the His Dark Materials trilogy.)

In the new book, the pair, finding that their interests mutually coincide with those of a Dutch merchant whose cargo has been illegally impounded, pool their strengths, automatically and almost wordlessly, in defence of the little man.

‘I stole the idea from The Magnificent Seven. There’s a moment there when the two main characters, Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen, who’ve never met before, join forces in this sort of laconic way, to get something done.’

Pullman has often said that the first four words of Northern Lights — ‘Lyra and her dæmon...’ — defined the whole book. Here, he opens with ‘The battered cargo balloon...’.

‘It’s not a smart new piece of equipment; it’s a shabby, patched up, botched together, hanging-on-by-its-toenails bit of old kit that he’s won in a poker game. And it’s not a balloon for sightseeing or exploring; it’s a cargo balloon, and Scoresby’s a working man.’

Every hero needs his weapons, of course. In hero lore, weapons — and the gaining of them — are often emblematic of their owners (much like the dæmons in His Dark Materials). The winning of the balloon and the gift of a Winchester rifle (from the Dutchman) both prefigure Scoresby’s eventual death, especially since he dies using them once again to defend someone else’s cause, for no material gain.

Scoresby is supposed to be a mercenary, though, and you have to wonder how he breaks even. Noble deaths make for great movies, but they don’t tend to pay the bills.

‘That’s right. It wasn’t until I was well into this book that I realised it was about honour. Lee follows a pattern here that he’s going to follow throughout his life. He’s always going to do the honourable thing, but reluctantly.’ He knows where the money is, and knows it’s nowhere near him.