The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust, Volume 1)
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4.4 • 531 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • DON’T MISS THE EPIC FINALE TO THE BOOK OF DUST: THE ROSE FIELD, AVAILABLE NOW!
Return to the world of His Dark Materials with the first book of a landmark trilogy.
“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
“It’s a stunning achievement, this universe Pullman has created and continues to build on.”—The New York Times
Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything, and the things he sees trouble him deeply. Enforcement agents from the Magisterium appear in his family’s inn. The explorer Lord Asriel has a precious secret to hide. A gyptian named Coram warns him of a coming flood. A criminal and a beautiful woman, both with disturbing daemons, ask about the same thing—a child, just a baby, named Lyra.
Lyra is the kind of person who draws people in like magnets. Malcolm sees that she is at the center of a great and powerful storm. And he will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to see her safely home.
Look for the entire trilogy of THE BOOK OF DUST:
La Belle Sauvage • The Secret Commonwealth • The Rose Field
And Lyra’s adventures begin in HIS DARK MATERIALS:
The Golden Compass • The Subtle Knife • The Amber Spyglass
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Fans of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series will rejoice at the return of his longstanding muse, Lyra Belacqua. Set a decade before Northern Lights, The Book of Dust tells the story of Oxford boy Malcolm Polstead as he encounters our plucky heroine and embarks on a bracing adventure against the backdrop of a tyrannical regime that stifles curiosity and free speech. Meticulously detailed and packed with new characters, Dust is as magical, magisterial, and mysterious as you’d expect from Pullman.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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 Lyra sought by her mother, Mrs. Coulter (younger but no less chilling than in the His Dark Materials books), and her father, Lord Asriel is 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 14 up.
Customer Reviews
I enjoyed it
The first half of the story is a lot slower than the second. It introduces ideas, characters and some of the political powers of the story.
The second half of the story has a faster pace. There are some fantastical elements that I was surprised to see, as they weren’t really hinted at in the His Dark Materials trilogy.
Good
Nice
So f@$@&&$& good
It was so good but it was not meant to be a children’s book.