HIS DARK MATERIALS/THE ROUGH GUIDE

The Rough Guides are admired for going boldly where other savants fear to tread. But even for them, the alternate worlds of Philip Pullman are a daring departure.

But thank goodness they have found the gumption. Because seldom has a territory been more convoluted and contradictory.

This is a distant zone where only the foolhardly can expect to savour the full juice of the nuances without a little direction.

This Rough Guide offers that and much more, making it a fun read even if you don't give a damn about the original book, let alone the film.

Fact is, His Dark Materials is a cultural phenom and, if you expect to be able to hold your own at dinner parties and the dance floor over the next few weeks, you would do well to be informed about its dynamic.

So bend back the cover to discover what PP drew on for inspiration, from climate change and John Milton to string theory.

Understand the story without even troubling to read the novel by having the key mysteries explained. With photos and diagrams and such cheaters to help you.

Get more gossip from the film set than you will find in variety.

Travel to all the relevant locations from the safety of your own armchair, taking a tour of Oxford, Geneva and Venice.

Finally cast your vote on whether Pullman deserves to be crucified for offending the Catholic Church by hearing first hand what he himself has to say about religion.

The Guide is out now and cost £7.99 at most shops in this world. The price in alternative landscapes is uncertain.

Posted December 5, 2007.