Daemon Voices: On Stories and Storytelling

Daemon Voices from Philip Pullman collects talks and articles about his Stories and Storytelling. This is a great treat for fans of Pullman who will find here his philosophies, ideas, and experiences as a story teller. Also collected are articles about some of the writers and books that he is personally a fan of, and some that have affected him. There are articles and talks about Milton, Oliver Twist, William Blake, The Brothers Grimm…. There are also less widely known children’s books and authors discussed. Pullman’s His Dark Materials where he imagines a fantasy world with talking bear warriors, an army of witches flying through the air on brooms, a magical religious organization with imperialistic ambitions, and all sorts of others is sort of steampunk with its machines, but also a fascinating exploration of a different world. The characters in this one have animal familiars called daemons, as might Pullman.

Pullman is forthright and a bit of an iconoclast taking offense sometimes with organized religion and the Inklings. He has created something different and maybe more topical, and is famous for it. He breaks with the past to an extent with his famous series, and has a lot of knowledge, but is clearly promoting something else. It is interesting to see his processes and hear his knowing voice.