Fantasy author Philip Pullman echoes this idea in the fantasy series His Dark Materials, in which the characters finally come to the conclusion that people should make life better on Earth rather than wait for heaven ( this idea is known as the Republic of Heaven ).

* The secondary / parallel world ( s ) is entered through a portal from the primary world ( e. g. Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials, Xanth, The Dark Tower, and Avantasia )

Some examples of this are: R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt of " The Legend of Drizzt ", Kathryn Lasky's Soren of Guardians of Ga ' Hoole, David Eddings ' Belgarion in the Belgariad and Malloreon, Terry Brooks ' Shea and Wil Ohmsford of The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara, Terry Goodkind's Richard Cypher, Robert Jordan's Rand al ' Thor of The Wheel of Time, Pug and Arutha of Raymond Feist's Riftwar Saga, Philip Pullman's Lyra Belacqua of His Dark Materials, Ursula K. Le Guin's Ged, Aerial of the Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce, and Christopher Paolini's Eragon of The Inheritance Cycleand Ashalind of the " Bitterbynd Trilogy ".

Pullman has published two short stories related to His Dark Materials: " Lyra and the Birds ", which appears with accompanying illustrations in the small hardcover book Lyra's Oxford ( 2003 ), and " Once Upon a Time in the North " ( 2008 ).

The title of the series, His Dark Materials, comes from seventeenth century poet John Milton's Paradise Lost, Book 2:

* Lord Carlo Boreal, a fictional character in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy

The Thames also features prominently in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, as a communications artery for the waterborne Gyptian people of Oxford and the Fens.

* In Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Lord Asriel constructs an " adamant " fortress.

* The ' Ancient of Days ' is a term for God in Phillip Pullman's ' His Dark Materials ' trilogy.

Philip Pullman, the author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, went further when he remarked that:

Harpies are commonly depicted as a race of bird-women, such as in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials book series.

It is also mentioned in Lyra's Oxford, a book in the universe of His Dark Materials.

Exeter College is the real life basis for the fictional Jordan College in Philip Pullman's novel trilogy His Dark Materials.

New College appears in the alternate Oxford of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials as ' Wykeham College '.

Applying the term to the work of Philip Pullman ( His Dark Materials ), Schweizer clarifies that he does not mean the term to carry the negative connotations of misanthropy: " To me, the word connotes a heroic stance of humanistic affirmation and the courage to defy the powers that rule the universe.

Philip Pullman's previously mentioned trilogy, His Dark Materials, presented the theme of a negligent or evil God to a wider audience, as depicted in the 2007 film The Golden Compass based on the first book of this trilogy.

* Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy-The trilogy takes place across several universes including " ours ".

* In the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman, trepanation is referenced as a method to draw Dust, the agent of human consciousness and creativity, to the trepanned person in greater quantity.

* His Dark Materials, a two-part adaptation of Philip Pullman's novel directed by Nicholas Hytner starring Anna Maxwell Martin and Dominic Cooper ( 2003 )

In the His Dark Materials trilogy, the universe the protagonist starts in is a Victorian counterpart to ours, although it takes place at the same time.

In His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, the two protagonist Lyra and Will find themselves lost amongst many worlds, and travel them looking for the other.

Harry Potter is the powerful young wizard, one of the children of The Dark Is Rising series is an immature Old One with magical abilities, and in the His Dark Materials series the children have magical items and animal allies.

Throughout the Dark ages, it is clear, the Greek world had been developing slowly but consistently.

Willie's wonderful walloping Sunday -- four home runs -- served merely to emphasize how happy he is to be playing for Alvin Dark.

" The Dark " or " Misty Hel ") This realm is roughly analogous to Greek Tartarus.

The place-name itself is Pictish, implying an origin in the Dark Ages: aber ' confluence '.

Dark energy is also an area of intense interest for scientists, but it is not clear whether direct detection of dark energy will be possible.

He is one of ten San Francisco Giants to appear on the cover, along with Kelly Downs, Rick Reuschel, Willie Mays ( nine times ), Alvin Dark, Juan Marichal, Will Clark, Tim Lincecum ( twice ), Brian Wilson, and Buster Posey.

After he becomes Clayface, he is then replaced by Ellen Yin ( also based on The Dark Knight Returnss character Ellen Yindel ).

* The concluding scene in The Dark Knight, where Two-Face holds Gordon's family at gunpoint, is reminiscent of the Year One scene where Gordon's family is at danger from The Roman and Loeb's men.

This journal was continued under a new title but with the numbering continued from No 1, thus the first issue of The Dark Eidolon: The Journal of Smith Studies, ( Necronomicon Press ) is numbered " 2 " ( it appeared June 1989 ).

1984 – 2000 ) has even more potential starting points, but is generally agreed to be the publication of Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's Watchmen by DC Comics in 1986, as well as the publication of DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths, written by Marv Wolfman with pencils by George Pérez.

" People of the Dark " is a remembrance story of " past lives ", and in its first-person narrative the protagonist describes one of his previous incarnations: Conan, a black-haired barbarian hero who swears by a deity called Crom.

There is also a track on the accompanying EP Vempire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein titled " Queen Of Winter Throned " which contains the lyrics: " Iniquitous / I share Carmilla's mask / A gaunt mephitic voyeur / On the black side of the glass ".

A clerihew much appreciated by chemists is cited in Dark Sun by Richard Rhodes regarding the inventor of the thermos bottle ( or Dewar flask ):

Dark chocolate is produced by adding fat and sugar to the cacao mixture.

Dark chocolate, with its high cocoa content, is a rich source of epicatechin and gallic acid, which are thought to possess cardioprotective properties.

A well-known example of a non – carbon-based life-form in science fiction is the Horta in the original Star Trek episode " Devil in the Dark ".

Pink Floyd recast itself from its 1960s guise as a psychedelic band into a commercial success with its series of concept albums, most famously with The Dark Side of the Moon ( which, according to the RIAA, is the second best selling album in history ) and later with the double album rock opera The Wall.

Heavy metal band Iced Earth, released their 1996 album The Dark Saga which is based upon the comic book character Spawn, created by Todd McFarlane.

The popularity of Star Wars-themed WADs is rumored to have been the factor that prompted LucasArts to create their first-person shooter Dark Forces.

* Stephen King's The Dark Tower series mentions Discordia in several contexts ; one of the main characters, Mordred Deschain, is from Discordia, and the castle that is home to the main antagonist is called Castle Discordia.

Dark matter is estimated to constitute 84 % of the matter in the universe and 23 % of the mass-energy.