Whatever Happened To...His Dark Materials
The title to this article may be a little dramatic and it can be stated categorically that these books are still very valuable in the grand scheme of things, and some of the most valuable ultra-modern firsts; well Northern Lights is at least. So why selected for a Whatever Happened To... analysis? Simply because prices have dropped drastically over the last year or two. For those who have avoided, or are unaware of the His Dark Materials books, they are a science fiction trilogy by renowned British author Philip Pullman. This is not the usual science fiction though (the type shunned by readers who feel it's too geeky or not proper literature), no, this has be de-genered and to refer to it as science fiction would be too give it a black mark. The books were published in the last nineties (1995, 1997, 2000), and comprises of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. The trilogy follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua in her supernatural, spiritual, emotional and sexual awakening. The books are very well written, with great analogy to the scientific and religious real-world counterparts, colourful story and wonderful use of language. Easily comparable to the greatest trilogies of all time. So a high price is understandable, but why the fall?
In February 2008, Bloomsbury Auctions sold a full set of the three books for £2200, against an estimate of £2500 - £3000. In January of the same year, I recall seeing similar sets at a book fair for between £4000 and £5000. In July of this year two sets were offered, again at Bloomsbury. The first set, was unsigned and had an estimate of £1500 - £2000, the second set was signed and had a couple of original illustrations from the cover artist David Scutt. Both sets were unsold. In Bloomsbury's next auction for Modern Firsts, a set similar (if not the same set) to the unsigned July set is offered with an estimate of £800 - £1200. So what is happening?
Well, the price guides are still quite generous and sets for sale are still in the £3000 and £4000 ballpark. Well, it appears that this may well be another set of books swept up in the Harry Potter storm, accounting perhaps for some bloating. But it would appear that the killer here was the Golden Compass movie (the American published name for Northern Lights; publishers really have little faith in America's understanding of the world). The movie was not atrocious, but it wasn't great. It needed a team like Peter Jackson had to do it justice, it needed a much better screenplay and should've played to adult audiences as well as the children. So it seems that film is not always the big, historical foundation for books. On this occasion it did a fair amount of damage. But, and this is very pertinent, do not lose sleep over this. These are very, very good books. The Folio Society has just republished them in a glorious set and Pullman is still writing. My advice is don't sell, don't get out whilst you can, rather, keep these books they will rise in value and perhaps over a number of decades (hey, we're collectors - we deal in epochs) these books will rise well above their highest value over the last decade. These books have not gone, they've just taken a hit.
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