Do the books have demonic themes? Didn’t he write these books as a response to the The Chronicles of Narnia?
No. There are fictional creatures in the books called daemons. The “daemon” is a character out of Greek mythology and shouldn’t be confused with the demons of the Bible. In Greek mythology a daemon can be good or bad. In Pullman’s world, a daemon is a creature that bonds with a human and serves as their assistant or guide.Pullman is open about his dislike for the Narnia books. He’s repeatedly called them “poison.” He claims the books are misogynistic. I suspect his biggest objection is that C.S. Lewis communicated the Christian story so well in these books. Regardless, is not a sin to dislike C.S. Lewis.Milton’s Paradise Lost is actually the work that inspired His Dark Materials (“His dark materials” is a phrase from Milton’s poem). In Paradise Lost sin enters the world when Adam and Eve give into temptation and bite the apple. Pullman turns the story on its head and casts the eating of forbidden fruit as a good thing—the key to gaining more wisdom.
