Philip Pullman announces a follow-up to "His Dark Material". "Book Of Dust" as described by the author himself is neither a prequel or a sequel. The English novelist described it as an "equel".

"His Dark Material" is a trilogy of fiction novel written by Philip Pullman. The epic trilogy includes "Northern Lights", "The Subtle Knife", and the "The Amber Spy Glass" which received several novel awards and remarkable reviews. The three books center on two main characters Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry who lives in a parallel universe inhabited by witches and armored polar bears.

After 17 long years, Pullman was able to write three new books following the preceding trilogy. The readers of the author's previous trilogy are now anticipating the release of "Book of Dust".

The title of the first volume of the book is not yet revealed. The plot is also kept confidential but the author himself hinted that the first volume will recount as to why Lyra Belacqua ended up at Jordan College. Pullman also said that the first two installments will mainly focus on Lyra Belacqua.

The "Book of Dust" was dubbed by Pullman as an "equel" as the story will pick up right after Lyra Belacqua was born and will end as a grown-up. As to why it was titled "Book of Dust", Pullman tells BBC Radio that the idea of the"Dust" that "were already causing strife 10 years" in the original series "will be much clearer and clearer."

The first volume of the "Book of Dust" will come out sometime in October this year. Meanwhile, Philip Pullman is being compared to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Both of the English novelists are successful in their work of fantasy novels. However, both of their works are also criticized by religious organizations for introducing witchcrafts and other fantasy elements.