When Lyra's friend Roger disappears, she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, are determined to find him. The ensuing quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice, witch-queens fly through the frozen skies and a team of scientists are conducting experiments too horrible to speak about. Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find something yet more perilous waiting for her - something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights.

Philip Pullman was born in Norwich on 19th October 1946. The early part of his life was spent travelling all over the world, because his father and then his stepfather were both in the Royal Air Force. He spent part of his childhood in Australia, where he started to read comics, and grew to love Superman and Batman in particular.

From the age of 11 he lived in North Wales. It was a time when children were allowed to roam anywhere, to play in the streets, to wander over the hills, and he took full advantage of it. His English teacher, Miss Enid Jones, was a big influence on him, and he still sends her copies of his books.