Serpentine by Philip Pullman, Read by Olivia Colman

Every Monday through Friday, AudioFile’s editors recommend the best in audiobook listening. We keep our daily episodes short and sweet, with audiobook clips to give you a sample of our featured listens.

Actress Olivia Colman is a new voice to the His Dark Materials series, and she slips easily into Lyra’s boots in Serpentine. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this puzzle piece of an audiobook that helps to complete the full picture of Pullman’s fantastic world. Set after the events of The Amber Spyglass, this short story serves as an effective bridge between that book and the second in Pullman’s new Book of Dust trilogy, The Secret Commonwealth. Colman captures Lyra and Pan’s rapid-fire, affectionate bickering flawlessly.

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