philip pullman has been talking to the bbc.efore his dark materials and continues roughly ten yea rs dark materials and continues roughly ten years after his dark materials so we see ten years after his dark materials so we see lyra as ten years after his dark materials so we see lyra as a ten years after his dark materials so we see lyra as a baby. she is an important baby so all sorts of activity goes on around her and we see her in the second book as an adult. she is 20 years old. the ideal reader is someone who has read his dark materials or maybe read it asa his dark materials or maybe read it as a child. that's not to say this book can only be read by people who have passed a test by reading his dark materials first. i felt one day i would write something that would bea i would write something that would be a success. why did i feel that? conceit, i expect. in our brighton newsroom is the children's author and critic nick tucker. in huddersfield isjoanne harris, who's an admirer of pullman's work and herself an author. an