it T*EkEsn, Lew[s had m*thEng un autftmg"FE'tiHip Fullman tsy M|C[{AEL GILTZ ffiritish author Philip ff# Puliman has acirievcd ffi almost everything he ELF could imaeine with his fantasy triiogy, "Ifis Dark Materials." The 55.year-old writer, iaterviewed from his home in Oxford on his birthday, has received crit- icai orarse. sold more than a million copies of tire se- ries a-nd staked a claim as the iatbst professor from that universit)' - along with J.R.R.</p><p> Tolkicn, C.S.</p><p> Lewis and Leu.is Carroll - to write a great work of fantasy.</p><p> But thcre's one thing Pulln',an hasn't achieved with the trilogl:, which comprises "The Golden Compass." "Tiie Subtle Ihife" and "The Amber Spyglass," and r.hici: Dei Rey has just published il paperbacli: controversy. "I must confess, I am a iittle surprised," ad-urits Pulima-u, who will be at the Uaion Square Barnes & Nobie at 6 p.m.</p><p> Tuesday to promote thc paperback release, along with the charming audio version, which features an entire cast and Pulimal as narra- tor (Listening Library). "After al!, here i am kill- ing God,'t sa)rs Pullman, referrine ro the rcbellious angels in his trilogy who battle a God-like "Author- itv."i'I wculd have thoueht irl a country as renglous as the United States, there mieht harre been one ortwo readers picking up on that," he sayd,' e.rt "oo6odi' seens t<l have noticed vet." I.iobody, that is, except fellow authors.</p><p> They-"'e long been familiar rvith his work, especially tire rnar- veious Victoriaa trilogy featuring Salh' Loc khar-t.</p><p> J.tr(.</p><p> Rowiing, author cf the Harrv Potter books (thai some have tried to ban from school libraries), has trumpeted Pullman, rthose works, like hers, are read by bc',i kids a:rC adults.</p><p> Rowling told me y'g3ig aso in one of her first Almerican interviews, "If he wrote in any genre other than children's fic- tion. he would be much better knolln and ac- claimed as one of the best wriiers working today." Elorror and fantasy nov- elist Clive Barker is also a fan- "Oh, I love ttrem," says Barker of Pullman's books.way through the wriring of the trilogy, aad I thcught ne was lust Delng cneelry.</p><p> But sexualiq' is ai the heart of these bocks - though tlgre is nothi:rg more el?lrcrt than a pas- sionate kiss in any of thers- "In part, they're about the awakening of 'rite sex- rral impulse, the awaken- iag of the body," says Full- man" who is malried and has two sons. "Tiris is ttre thins that Tolkien imores and-Lewis activeii sup- presses and condeu.ins." - Now, afier more than seven years of worli, Puli- man can en'iov the success of his booki. 'iA,fter a-11, not everyone attempts to re- write moral history or use a classic like "Faradise what Puliman is tackling: Basically, it's a reimagin- ing of Milton's "Paradise Lost," with l,ullman stag- ing ari epic batile befweenRings' having sex?" Pull- man asked durine an eariier inter-view at his home. "Of course not." At the time, he vras half-
