His Dark Materials: Serpentine

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Olivia Colman

A bewitching tale with a fascinating new glimpse of young Lyra and her dæmon, Pantalaimon. This companion to the New York Times best-selling His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust series follows Pullman's beloved characters on a brand new adventure.

After the world-altering events of The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Pan find themselves irrevocably changed. In this new companion story, set after the stunning conclusion to the original His Dark Materials trilogy, Lyra and Pan will journey to the far North once more, hoping to ask the Consul of Witches a most urgent question.

This brand-new story, a beguiling must-hear for Pullman fans old and new, is a perfect companion to His Dark Materials and a fascinating bridge to The Book of Dust.

Watch the HBO adaptation of His Dark Materials, an original series starring Lin Manuel Miranda, Dafne Keen, Andrew Scott, and Ruth Wilson!

©2020 Philip Pullman (P)2020 Listening Library

Critic reviews

“[Serpentine] brings with it all the familiar delights of Pullman’s work: its effortless clarity, its intelligence, its ineffable mix of coziness and darkness, innocence and experience.” —Lev Grossman, The New York Times

"A poignant return to Lyra and Pan."—The Wall Street Journal

“It’s a joy of a book.” —The Scotsman

Backstory is great!

I really liked the backstory of this little novella. I am happy it is published now and I cannot wait for the third book in “His Darker Materials” opus. The conversation between Lyra and Pantalaimon is beautiful. Thank you!

great writing and sound quality

Lovely story with a pleasing voice to tell it, will recommend to friends who haven't heard of the little extra stories after HDM

Short

I'm divided. The story is really short, but great. I don't know exactly why it needed to be published as a book. It's almost a footnote. But is great as the rest of the entire story of Lyra and Pan.

Cute but short

Looking forward to the Book of Dust trilogy as this little snip-it was cute but not enough to satisfy my curiosity about what happened to Lyra and Will at the end of the His Dark Materials trilogy.

Good but too short

Fun being back in Lyra and Pan’s world but I wish it was a little bit longer.

Too Short for the Price

I love Phillip Pullman but this would be better in a collection of short stories on Audible.

great 1/2 hour story, not worth 1 credit

If you are in love with His Dark Materials and are desperate to get a little bit more of the worlds within worlds you may find this tiny story to be worth one credit. Or, maybe you're rich, wealthier than me, and the cost of a credit is nothing to you. In either of those cases, pay for it because you get to spend time with Lyra Silvertongue and Pan again.

A pleasant short story

A very short story, I wouldn’t waste your credit on it, I’d just purchase it separately. Very enjoyable companion to the books, though I found the single narrator off putting, purely as I’d got used to a full case from the other productions and the voices of Lyra and pan etc. still worth a listen for the story!

short but sweet

this book was much shorter than I thought it would be. it's essentially 2 conversations between Lyra and 2 other characters. however, I still appreciate getting a little more insight into this world I love.

Warm and fuzzy

I’ve personally been waiting years and years for this little bit of closure. I was pleased!