"His Dark Materials" is an epic trilogy that includes this book, featuring experiments with a substance called "Dust."
His Dark Materials: His Dark Materials is an epic trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of "Northern Lights" (1995, published as "The Golden Compass" in North America), "The Subtle Knife" (1997), and "The Amber Spyglass" (2000). Northern Lights (novel):  Set in a parallel universe, it features the journey of Lyra Belacqua to the Arctic in search of her missing friend, Roger Parslow, and her imprisoned uncle, Lord Asriel, who has been conducting experiments with a mysterious substance known as "Dust".
Northern Lights