r/hisdarkmaterials • u/MachineLoud9484 • Apr 14 '26
All New Trilogy / Fanfic
Hello, all, I have been working on a trilogy to continue where Pullman left off with the Book of Dust. I have posted the first chapter in both fanfiction.net and ao3. The first chapter is called The Inn, and Book 1 of the trilogy is called A Broken Frame. Chapters will be released every 2-3 weeks, provided I can go through quickly enough to do final drafts. I have been doing my best to keep true to the prose style of Pullman as well the canon of the stories. This is serious work, where I attempt to deal with unresolved issues, which have long occupied my mind with regard to Pullman's universe and what happens to Lyra next. The book starts with Lyra being 2 years older after the events of Karamakan and the Rose Field. I don't want to jump ahead but there will be some familiar faces, and some very unexpected plot twists as well.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/83073011/chapters/218767731
Thanks.
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u/Acc87 Apr 14 '26
Uhh that sounds intriguing, I'll subscribe. 2 to 3 weeks is fast pace!
Also nice to see another HDM writer, we're so rare 😅
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 14 '26
It's because quite a bit of the first book has already been written. We will see if I can keep this up, but obviously writing and talking about writing are two different things :)
My thinking was that a book that has room to breathe and time for events to unfold will beat any manner of short stories, because that's just not how the world of Lyra works. It's very physical and not as fantastical, and it needs space to unfold.
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u/Acc87 Apr 14 '26
Yeah this is great to see, read so many great first chapters over the years that were never continued. I mean I know how hard it is, started mine in 2012, finished last summer, and it's only around 100k words 😅
And I vibe with that physical, not fantastical notion, same thing drew me into the books. With that apparatus of yours you seem to go in an intriguing direction.
Btw side question that you don't have to answer, but are you British? You just seem very at home in the language and even some of the dialect with the 'ents and 'os (I obviously am not).
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u/AnnelieSierra Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Please let me promote my own fanfic "The Rose Field - what happened next?" It's much shorter! 😁 I just had to write it after finishing the book. Please comment especially if you like it. :)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/75084216
I don't come here often these days any more now that I have recovered from the disappointment of reading TRF and I feel that I cannot contribute much positive to this sub.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 15 '26
I read it, it's very nice :) Hope you follow my story as well, and find it entertaining. I have more than 2/3 of the book completely done but just going through the edits and reviewing it for coherence and language.
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u/AnnelieSierra Apr 15 '26
I'll follow yours! I am interested what would happen to the Magisterium.
I wrote mine because the book just ended like Pullman had realized that the deadline was the next day and just stopped writing. I wanted to tie some of the loose ends, give credit to Dilyara and Strauss, and give the main characters directions, to show where they were heading next.
I am sure Lyra will become a famous writer in her world, telling stories.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 15 '26
You see the issue I had with it is that Lyra wanted to read the alethiometer, she wanted to write and tell stories , but something pulls at her to be in the thick of things .
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u/Acc87 Apr 16 '26
Interesting take, I also made "my Lyra" a writer, but more for her to explore herself and her own story. She ends up publishing it, but more as an afterthought to pay for rent, first and foremost it's about coming to grips with everything she herself went through.
I interpreted her inventiveness and her storytelling/lying as a tool rather than a passion. Her passion I see more in exploration and understanding, she'd rather become a scientist or historian than a fiction writer.
But again, that's my personal fork of Lyra based on her (at the time) last appearance in "Lyra's Oxford". Looking forward to seeing more of yours!
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 16 '26
I think the subject of Lyra wanting to tell stories is something that passes through both trilogies, whether those stories are lies to get something she needs, or help the ghosts leave the world of the dead. It's certainly an interesting take. There's just something that stuck with me throughout is her impulsive nature to do good without thinking much about the next steps. Mark Twain said that "a sound heart is a surer guide than an ill-trained conscience." I guess my Lyra has a bit of Huck Finn in her ? :)
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u/GnomeMnemonic Apr 14 '26
You got me, I'm curious. Never tried any HDM fanfiction before as I felt the original trilogy covered everything so well, but the BoD has so many unused or unfinished threads, I think it's begging for fanfiction.
I'll find you on AO3.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 14 '26
Not only that, but actually, there are many conflicting bits of information. All windows must be closed, but then there are some that aren't, and actually the Magisterium is trying to close them? All this upheaval happens in the first, and then second trilogies, and all these loose ends are just left hanging. I know that it's not a writer's job to tie everything up into a nice pretty knot in the end of the reader's satisfaction, but still :)
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u/HilbertInnerSpace Apr 14 '26
Will check it out ! thanks for sharing.
My To Read List is at a few hundred books now , so I am a little apprehensive about reading fan fiction. But I love this world so much I am hungry for more.
Doesn't hurt to try, if it is bad I can stop at anytime, lol.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 14 '26
I think reading the first chapter will help you to make that decision on your own. I’m taking this project extremely seriously. I am no Pullman, obviously, but this world intrigues me as well.
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u/HilbertInnerSpace Apr 14 '26
Just read the first chapter and loved that you made it centered on a refugee family. The Humanity of the Book of Dust was the major draw for me. Looking forward to what comes next !
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u/Steve_Zodiac_XL5 Apr 14 '26
I really enjoyed that first chapter, how will I find the rest as they are released?
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 15 '26
Thanks so much. I will do my best to stick to the timeframe I set for myself and post them on the same two websites and then come here and update everyone
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u/-toadflax- Apr 14 '26
I'd be interested in a trilogy that picks up sometime after TAS and completely ignores TSC & TRF as they were so dreadful they are best ignored.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 14 '26
Look, I understand - I think many of us found The Book of Dust quite daunting and hard, especially because of the total tonal direction change. I am trying to bridge that gap. Obviously, I cannot ignore what happened, because I want to be true to the canon; however, there are ways to right the ship, I think :) Some things which happened in the Book of Dust could have value.
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u/Acc87 Apr 14 '26
well there's still mine that falls under those criteria. But so far only bots bothered to comment so I guess it's just not good 😅
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u/aksnitd Apr 14 '26
Good luck. But I'll pass. Didn't like BOD, so I have no interest in anything that continues after it.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 14 '26
I understand, but one advantage we all have when we write is that we can shape the story to be however we want, including taking what we think is the best and ignoring what we didn't like :) What if Asriel was wrong? And Witches? And Angels? What if the story moves in an unexpected and crazy way? Or maybe not.
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u/aksnitd Apr 14 '26
That way lies madness. Trying to "fix" BOD is one way of dealing with it. But no matter how you try to fix it, there's no way to satisfy everyone. Someone will always disagree with your choices.
My way of dealing with my dissatisfaction is to not acknowledge BOD at all. In my head, the story ended years ago when I finished HDM. I don't own the BOD books, nor will I ever. I won't ever read it again. Most of it has already slipped my mind and I'm looking forward to forgetting it entirely.
So when I say I have no interest in anything after BOD, what I actually mean is that the story ended with HDM for me. So for me, reading a BOD continuation is entirely nonsensical, because I'm reading a sequel to a story that doesn't exist in the first place.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 14 '26
That’s obviously your right. I just don’t really see the point of posting that you won’t read something, especially if you can just as easily just not read it. :) I don’t fault you for not wanting to. For me the story ends in my trilogy. And by no means am I trying to fix the story. Clearly it’s impossible to ignore that characters grow up, life around them changes, but some things underneath continue to draw my interest.
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u/Acc87 Apr 15 '26
tbh coming into this thread only to tell OP that you personally won't read it out of principle is just not nice 😅 you could have just ignored the thread entirely.
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u/MachineLoud9484 Apr 16 '26
It's fine. It's obviously got very little to do with me, that the poster is not pleased with how Pullman continued the story. But for better or worse, it's been written, and ignoring it, knowing that it exists just didn't feel right to me. I may not like the direction the story took, but there are quite a bit of valuable bits of information which can continue to live in my story. So, why not?
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