Philip Pullman to Release ‘The Book of Dust,’ First in New Trilogy

The novelist Philip Pullman, known for his wildly popular fantasy series “His Dark Materials,” will release the first book in a new trilogy in October, he told the BBC on Wednesday.

The first volume in the new series, called “The Book of Dust,” is to be released in the United States and Britain on Oct. 19. The name of the first volume has not been announced.

“At the center of ‘The Book of Dust’ is the struggle between a despotic and totalitarian organization, which wants to stifle speculation and inquiry, and those who believe thought and speech should be free,” Mr. Pullman said in an earlier statement. The new books will center on Lyra Belacqua, the heroine of “His Dark Materials,” who is trying to discover the secrets of “dust,” a mysterious cosmic force whose powers are a subject of recurring mystery in the first series.

The “His Dark Materials” trilogy, released from 1995 to 2000, consists of “The Golden Compass” (published as “Northern Lights” in Britain), “The Subtle Knife” and “The Amber Spyglass.”

The series centers on the coming-of-age of Lyra and Will Parry, heroes with intertwined fates who take on epic quests in fantasy universes, often battling with members of a sinister organization called the Church.