La Belle Sauvage

Starred review from October 23, 2017
For more than 15 years, fans of the His Dark Materials trilogy have longed to return to the world Pullman created. Now, finally, begins a new trilogy, the Book of Dust, that again immerses readers in a thrilling alternate landscape of animal daemons, truth-revealing alethiometers, and the mysterious particle known as Dust. Lyra, the beloved heroine of the original books, is just a baby; 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead is the hero this time, and a worthy one. Malcolm helps out at his family's inn in Oxford and at the priory where Lyraâsought by her mother, Mrs. Coulter (younger but no less chilling than in the His Dark Materials books), and her father, Lord Asrielâis being cared for by nuns. Inquisitive and observant, Malcolm gets involved with scholar-spy Dr. Hannah Relf and meets (and adores) baby Lyra. But free thinkers are at war with the oppressive religious regime, and everyone wants control of Lyra, who is "destined to put an end to destiny." Amid the roaring waters of a historic flood, Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, attempt to keep Lyra safe, braving kidnappers, government enforcers, murderers, and classmates who, chillingly, are being trained to turn in those perceived to be disloyal to the regime. Fortunately, he has a fleet canoe, the Belle Sauvage of the title, and help from Alice, a cranky and courageous 16-year-old. The new characters are as lively and memorable as their predecessors; despite a few heavy-handed moments regarding the oppressiveness of religion, this tense, adventure-packed book will satisfy and delight Pullman's fans and leave them eager to see what's yet to come. Ages 14âup.

Starred review from April 23, 2018
Narrator Sheen’s sonorous, dramatic reading immediately pulls listeners back into the mysterious world of Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Set 10 years before The Golden Compass begins, this series launch focuses on 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead, the son of the innkeepers at the Trout Tavern and Inn. Malcolm is a curious, insightful, kind-hearted boy who helps out at the Priory of St. Rosamond, where the sisters are caring for Lyra, a newly arrived infant who is far from home and has captured the attention of several suspicious characters. Alongside the disagreeable Alice, a lanky 15-year-old who also works at the tavern and the priory, and their magical animal companions,Malcolm embarks on a turbulent, terrifying race down the raging Thames in his beloved canoe, La Belle Sauvage, to deliver Lyra to her parents. Talented Welsh actor Sheen masterfully conveys every bit of the drama, suspense, and emotion of Malcolm’s adventure, right to the very end as Malcolm and Alice arrive at their destination “filthy, exhausted, bloody.” The audio edition will leave listeners counting the days until the next installment. Ages 14–up. A Knopf hardcover.

January 1, 2018
This prequel to the His Dark Materials trilogy finds infant Lyra in the care of eleven-year-old Malcolm, an appealingly sturdy hero. Malcolm, accomplice Alice, and the baby make their way to hoped-for safety through flooded Oxford. Although set a decade before �cf2]The Golden Compass�cf1], readers should start there--a good deal of this entry's pleasure comes from familiarity with the world's conventions and characters.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2018
Baby daemons are just as adorable as you'd think, and when it's baby Lyra's baby daemon we're talking about--well, you could write a book. Set a few months after Lyra's birth, this first volume of a planned prequel (Pullman calls it an "equel") trilogy to His Dark Materials finds the kidnapped baby first dubiously protected in a convent and then in the care of a new protagonist, eleven-year-old Malcolm. Malcolm is an appealingly sturdy hero, not drawn with much nuance but a good boy who accepts the charge of protecting an infant whose importance is clear, although the to whoms and for whats provide a level of thematic suspense to match the considerable physical action of (the second half of) the book. Pursued by the chilling and mysterious Gerard Bonneville, Malcolm, his accomplice Alice, and the swaddled Lyra make their way via canoe (the "Belle Sauvage" of the title) to hoped-for safety, through an immense flood that has transformed the landscape of Oxford and its surroundings. Their journey contains both dangers and wonders as well as the more prosaic details of, say, finding more disposable diapers for the ever-pooping baby. Although the events of this book are set a decade before The Golden Compass (rev. 7/96), readers should start with that book first, as a good deal of the pleasure of this first Book of Dust entry comes from our familiarity with both the world's conventions (daemons, alethiometers) and characters (Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, along with a host of new nasties). Identifying the age of this book's intended audience is complicated: on the one hand the book is a thrilling middle-grade adventure; on the other, Pullman's railings against the Church (here explicitly named as Christian as well as personified in variously deluded, corrupt, or debauched nuns) ask for a sophisticated reader--another reason to keep this for after The Amber Spyglass (rev. 11/00). roger Sutton

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 15, 2017
Pullman's return to the realms of His Dark Materials moves the timeline back to Lyra's infancy with a tale of young people struggling against outsized forces of both nature and evil.It's a story in two parts, as the author devotes nearly the entire first half to a slow buildup of tension around a certain baby recently consigned to the indulgent sisters of a nearby priory, to setting the cast in place, and to the founding of a network of student informants dubbed the "League of St. Alexander" (after an early convert who consigned his pagan parents to the flames--it's clear the author continues to wield his anything-but-subtle knife on organized Christianity). Then, impelled by a devastating flood and the attentions of a sinister stranger with a horribly wounded, abused hyena for a daemon, 11-year-old Malcolm Pollstead undertakes a desperate rescue. He bundles the laughing infant into his canoe (named La Belle Sauvage) along with teenage acquaintance Alice Parslow. The terrifying hazards they encounter are natural, unnatural, and even supernatural. The rescue becomes a long flight--part idyll, part nightmare--that ultimately leaves the burbling babe and her daemon, Pantalaimon, ensconced in Jordan College. First, though, come encounters with Lyra's larger-than-life parents and numerous other characters met in other books in the series, no fewer than three of the world's six alethiometers, the odd fairy or river god, and a sick, twisted villain whose relentless pursuit leads to a rape in the tale's most hideously violent episode. Save for a few "gyptians," the human cast is white. Illustrations not seen.Magisterial storytelling will sweep readers along; the cast is as vividly drawn as ever; and big themes running beneath the surface invite profound responses and reflection. (Fantasy. 13-adult)

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