The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust, Volume 1)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of His Dark Materials to expand on the story of Lyra, “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” (The New York Times Magazine).
Don’t miss Volume II of The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth!
Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, are used to overhearing news and the occasional scandal at the inn run by his family. But during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm finds a mysterious object—and finds himself in grave danger.
Inside the object is a cryptic message about something called Dust; and it’s not long before Malcolm is approached by the spy for whom this message was actually intended. When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he begins to notice suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl—just a baby—named Lyra.
Lyra is at the center of a storm, and Malcolm will brave any peril, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through it.
“Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen-year wait: The Book of Dust is one of them.” —The Washington Post
“The book is full of wonder. . . . Truly thrilling.” —The New York Times
“People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman’s new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when The Golden Compass came out.” —Slate
Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of His Dark Materials to expand on the story of Lyra, “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” (The New York Times Magazine).
Don’t miss Volume II of The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth!
Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, are used to overhearing news and the occasional scandal at the inn run by his family. But during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm finds a mysterious object—and finds himself in grave danger.
Inside the object is a cryptic message about something called Dust; and it’s not long before Malcolm is approached by the spy for whom this message was actually intended. When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he begins to notice suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl—just a baby—named Lyra.
Lyra is at the center of a storm, and Malcolm will brave any peril, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through it.
“Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen-year wait: The Book of Dust is one of them.” —The Washington Post
“The book is full of wonder. . . . Truly thrilling.” —The New York Times
“People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman’s new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when The Golden Compass came out.” —Slate
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Community Reviews
I have been waiting for this book ever since I read the first trilogy. This next series of books is a prequel to Lyraâs life and is set in the same wonderful and magical world we knew. It makes me want to revisit the original series again. Iâm so excited to see where these stories go. This world is such an interesting take on everything.
The Lyra prequel is just as good as I hoped it would be -- as always with Mr. Pullman, it's full of magic, adventure, human foibles and strength, and triggers for deep thought of your own. I found nothing at all to complain of, except that the next book isn't out yet.
I read this aloud with my ten year-old and actually enjoyed it even more than the His Dark Materials trilogy. Philip Pullman takes us back to Lyra's Oxford in order to give us this prequel to his famous trilogy. In this book, the reader learns how Lyra, as a baby, ends up under the care of the Master of Jordan college. Fans of the first three books will not be disappointed: La Belle Sauvage contains much of the same mystery and magic as the first three books, and features many of the previous, major characters. That said, La Belle Sauvage introduces us to two new heroes - Malcolm and Alice. I really liked Malcolm, and particularly enjoyed following his relationships with the priory nuns and Dr Hannah Relf, who provoked fond memories of Dr Mary Malone. Without giving too much away, Malcolm's canoe (the book's namesake) plays a major role in the events of the story, almost as a character in itself. This was really clever and enjoyable. We are moving straight onto The Secret Commonwealth and really hope it won't be too long before Pullman publishes the third and final installment!
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