The Collectors: His Dark Materials Story

by Philip Pullman

‘But the thing is,’ said Horley, ‘they didn’t know each other at all. Never heard of each other. It wasn’t about the makers. Only about the works.’

On a dark winter’s night in 1970, Horley and Grinstead huddle for warmth in the Senior Common Room of a college in Oxford. Conversation turns to the two impressive works of art that Horley has recently added to his collection. What the two men don’t know is that these pieces are connected in mysterious and improbable ways; and they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story which has travelled time and worlds.

A His Dark Materials story.

• ISBN10: 1448197163
• ISBN13: 9781448197163
• Publish Date: 9 March 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
• Imprint: RHCP UK Digital
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 16
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Quick note: There is an audiobook version of this narrated by Bill Nighy. I wasn’t aware of this until recently, but it’s utterly worth a listen!

The Collectors is an exceptionally short story, being only twenty-four pages long. So it’s fun for a quick read. I’ll admit that I missed its publication until recently. I’m reading it along with all the other short stories in order to prepare for the Book of Dust (which I seriously can’t wait for!).
The Collectors is a prequel to the events that occur in the His Dark Materials trilogy (soon I can’t even call it that!) and predates it by several years. This short story has a more mature audience in mind (as in, not just a child’s book – the other two shorts feel more like children’s books than I remember the series being) and has a very creepy tone to it.
Maybe it’s the art history lover in me, but I actually really enjoyed this story. I wish there had been more time to dig my teeth into it, but if we’re being honest and good short story will do that to you.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks