Hot on the heels of the “wonderland of new writing by J. K. Rowling” being released over at Pottermore, I’ve got good Philip Pullman news and bad Philip Pullman news for you. All we need now is for Suzanne Collins to unveil an exclusive new tale about The Hunger Games’ Gale and this Christmas will be complete.
We’re going to begin today with the bad, because that way we can conclude on the good: the long-awaited companion piece to His Dark Materials, The Book of Dust, isn’t even nearly here.
Pullman explains the situation:
My work on this has been interrupted over the past couple of years, but [The Book of Dust] is growing slowly and before long I shall take it up again full-time. What can I tell you about it? Nothing, except that it’s by far the most important thing I’m doing, and I intend to do it as well as I possibly can. When it’s finished, you’ll hear about it, I guarantee.
The author is “aiming” to complete The Book of Dust next year, but even if its composition proceeds apace, Pullman warns that the piece isn’t likely to be released until 2016. Happily, however, a new short story set in the series’ alt-Oxford was made available today… albeit only to members of Amazon’s audiobook arm, Audible.
Laurence Howell, director of editorial and merchandising at Audible, was chuffed to bits about this:
We are delighted to be able to offer our listeners another glimpse into the spellbinding world of the His Dark Materials trilogy. The Collectors is a perfect story for the Christmas season, written by a master of storytelling and narrated by the mellifluous voice of Bill Nighy. We love it and can’t wait to share it with our listeners.
“Set nearly 50 years ago,” The Collectors gives listeners an opportunity to learn more about “the mother of all evil,” Mrs Coulter, whose villainy evidently intrigued the author: “I thought it would be nice to show her as a younger woman, in a different sort of context,” Pullman put it. “And the idea of collectors and collecting things, of being greedy, is a fascinating psychological state.”
Now it’s not The Book of Dust, but The Collectors will do, to be sure. For the moment, the only way to hear it is by being or becoming one of Audible’s several million members, but if you don’t fancy that, The Bookseller has your back: Charlotte Eyre says that The Collectors “will be made available to Audible non-members in the New Year.”
Cheers!
Editor’s note: The Collectors will be available in the US on January 12th!
Niall Alexander is an extra-curricular English teacher who reads and writes about all things weird and wonderful for The Speculative Scotsman, Strange Horizons, and Tor.com. He’s been known to tweet, twoo.
Audiobook only? What about those of us who prefer to, y’know, read words on pages? (Not faulting you; faulting Amazon or Audible or Supermegaglobalcorp Inc.)
Is the rumored Green Book ever going to happen? I really like those novellas.
Good lord people will take any excuse to diss people who aren’t exactly like themselves. I read words on pages and I listen to audio books. I can drive, wash dishes, walk, garden, etc… all the while listening to a book. There are also a lot of people such as myself who live in the middle of nowhere and are really pleased that Amazon and Audible (also entities like Weightless Books and Librivox) exist. But where is the new story?! Couldn’t find on Audible site or Amazon…
I’ve searched Amazon, Audible, and Pullman’s webiste and I can’t find it. I’m assuming it hasn’t been released yet. Can you tell us the release date?
For those asking where to get The Collectors, it may yet be a few hours away, but the release date is certainly today. Meantime, here’s a tease.
Well, I have a good reason to hate audio book-only. I’m pretty damn close to deaf and thus CANT listen to audio books, no matter how loud the volume is.
However, i loved the His Dark Materials trilogy and wish i could read this story too. There should be a law preventing people from creating audio-only options if they have no plans to release in print. At least Tamora Pierce did the courtesy of printing one book that she originally released in audio.
“There should be a law preventing people from creating audio-only options if they have no plans to release in print.”
I remember listening to the first three books of a five book series, only to find out that the other two would never be produced. I agree with the quote above and think it should be extended so that said law should also prohibit people from creating print-only options if they have no plans to record an audio version.
Some serious never sell enough to continue as print editions. I’ve listened to several trilogies that Audible released as audio only productions iChat got abandoned by their publishing house.
And some things are better in audio I’d submit such as the superb full cast production of Gaiman’s Neverwhere or the same read by Gaiman as both add something incredibly magically to the text.
To respond to the email I got sent. Reading a new story by Phillip Pullman about how terrible and evil religion is over Christmas …. …. … no I would not say that would make Christmas time the best reading time. I guess maybe if you are heavily into situational Irony, but otherwise no.
As of 9:50 am PST still not listed on Amazon or Audible sites.