Sir Philip Pullman: fantasy can be unsatisfactory

Oct 31, 2025

Sir Philip Pullman, the acclaimed author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, discusses his new book, The Rose Field. He critiques conventional fantasy for lacking psychological depth and explores the tension between personal faith and institutional religion. Pullman shares insights on the importance of imagination, stating it perceives non-physical realities. He reflects on childhood experiences that shaped his writing and expresses concern about declining reading rates among children, advocating for family reading and libraries as solutions.

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INSIGHT

Psychology Over Mechanical Fantasy

Philip Pullman rejects mechanical fantasy and prioritizes psychological depth in stories.
He writes to explore how people think, feel and see the world differently.

INSIGHT

When Religion Becomes Political Power

Pullman criticises 'political religion' where institutions use faith to justify power and punishment.
He compares secular states like Soviet Russia to religious systems with prophets, holy texts and denunciation.

INSIGHT

Imagination As Perception

Pullman defines imagination as a form of perception that reveals a 'Rose Field' around things.
The Rose Field contains ghosts, memories, hopes and likenesses that imagination makes visible.

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‘A lot of the fantasy that I have read is unsatisfactory for me because it's not interested in psychology, it's not interested how people think or feel’

Katie Razzall speaks to renowned British author Sir Philip Pullman as he publishes his latest, and final book in the series, The Rose Field. He’s best-known for writing the award-winning ‘His Dark Materials’ - a series of novels beloved by children and adults alike all over the world. The books follow the adventures of the two main characters - Lyra and Will - across a series of parallel universes, where Pullman blends magical storytelling with physics, philosophy and theology.

Pullman was a part-time English lecturer when the first instalment in the series was published thirty years ago. Tens of millions of copies have been sold across multiple continents, and the stories have been translated into 40 languages.

The commercial and critical success spawned a follow-up series, The Book of Dust, which came out nearly a decade ago. The 79-year-old has now picked up his pen to publish this latest and final instalment.

Although loved all over the world, the stories have also attracted controversy for their criticism of religion. Pullman, who once described himself as a ‘Church of England atheist’, is outspoken on a number of modern-day issues - such as politics, free speech, and indeed faith - with his views regularly influencing his writing.

Thank you to the Culture team for their help in making this programme. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Katie Razzall Producers: Ben Cooper and Roxanne Panthaki Editor: Justine Lang

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(Image: Sir Philip Pullman. Credit: Massimiliano Donati/Awakening/Getty Images)