Order of Book Series
0

His Dark Materials Books in Order

Philip Pullman has written 11 His Dark Materials books, published between 1995 and 2022: 8 in the His Dark Materials series and 3 related titles. The first book is Northern Lights / The Golden Compass (1995) and the newest main-line book is The Collectors (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
11
Published
1995–2022
Confirmed
7 of 11 titles
Pages on record
1,169 in 7 of 11 books
Reading time
19–29 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,169 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 11 titles with a page count on record.

See all 11 books in order Printable His Dark Materials checklist

His Dark Materials is Philip Pullman's fantasy sequence, indexed here across 11 books. Northern Lights (1995) opens the sequence, followed by The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000), with the shorter Lyra's Oxford (2003), Once Upon a Time in the North (2008), Serpentine (2020) and The Imagination Chamber (2022) around them. Lyra Belacqua is the recurring figure, and graphic novel versions of The Golden Compass appeared in 2014 and 2015.

How many His Dark Materials books are there?

His Dark Materials has 11 books, released between 1995 and 2022. 8 of them belong to the His Dark Materials series, and 3 related titles sit outside it: graphic novels.

His Dark Materials Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 11 His Dark Materials books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Northern Lights / The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, book 1 of the His Dark Materials series (1995)
  2. Cover of The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, book 2 of the His Dark Materials series (1997)
  3. Cover of The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, book 3 of the His Dark Materials series (2000)
  4. Cover of Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman, book 5 of the His Dark Materials series (2008)
  5. Cover of The Subtle Knife Graphic Novel by Philip Pullman, book 3 of the His Dark Materials Graphic Novels series (2022)
  6. Cover of The Imagination Chamber by Philip Pullman, book 7 of the His Dark Materials series (2022)
  1. 1
    Northern Lights / The Golden CompassHis Dark Materials #11995 · confirmed 2/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Subtle KnifeHis Dark Materials #21997 · 288 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1997288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Amber SpyglassHis Dark Materials #32000 · 480 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2000480
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Lyra's OxfordHis Dark Materials #42003 · 49 pages · confirmed 3/4
    200349
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Once Upon a Time in the NorthHis Dark Materials #52008 · 112 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Golden Compass: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1His Dark Materials Graphic Novels #12014 · confirmed 3/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Golden Compass: The Graphic Novel, Volume 2His Dark Materials Graphic Novels #22015 · 80 pages · confirmed 3/4
    201580
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    SerpentineHis Dark Materials #62020 · 80 pages · confirmed 3/4
    202080
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Subtle Knife Graphic NovelHis Dark Materials Graphic Novels #32022 · confirmed 2/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Imagination ChamberHis Dark Materials #72022 · confirmed 3/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The CollectorsHis Dark Materials #82022 · 80 pages · confirmed 3/4
    202280
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

His Dark Materials Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the books of the His Dark Materials series run from Northern Lights / The Golden Compass (1995) to The Collectors (2022), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for His Dark Materials in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read His Dark Materials books in order?

You should read the His Dark Materials series in publication order, the order of the numbered table above; the 3 related titles (graphic novels) sit outside that sequence. The catalogue does not record whether each His Dark Materials book also stands alone.

Where to start with His Dark Materials

Start with Northern Lights / The Golden Compass (1995), the earliest published book in the His Dark Materials series.

What is the newest His Dark Materials book?

The Collectors (2022) is the newest book in the His Dark Materials series.

Is there a new His Dark Materials book coming?

No next His Dark Materials book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Award nominations for His Dark Materials

Wikidata records 7 nominations for His Dark Materials. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

His Dark Materials at a glance

Paused
No new main-line His Dark Materials title has appeared for 4 years. The last was The Collectors (2022).
Release pace
His Dark Materials books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
1,169 pages across the 7 of 11 books with a recorded length, a median of 80 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most His Dark Materials books, 4 of 11, were published in the 2020s.

What the His Dark Materials books are about

9 of the 11 His Dark Materials books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: fantasy is tagged on 6 of 9. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Philip Pullman

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.