La Belle Sauvage

The start of the prequel series to His Dark Materials.

I enjoy Philip Pullman's writing and it was lovely to reconnect with the world of Lyra's Oxford once again. There are a few familiar characters in this book (Asriel, Farder Coram, Mrs Coulter and of course Lyra) from His Dark Materials ; but we also meet some new characters notably Malcolm and Alice.

The story follows Malcolm and how he becomes entangled in the workings of a secret society, and his attempts to protect the baby Lyra. As with all of Pullman's works the prose is beautifully written, combining eloquence with biting criticism of organised religion, as with His Dark Materials.

The story started off sedately, with Malcolm's adventures in his canoe La Belle Sauvage, his conversations with the local nuns and the cosy scenes of home in a pub. A chance encounter leads Malcolm to uncover a coded message, resulting in an unexpected meeting with an Oxford academic who is studying the alethiometer.

Without wanting to give the plot away, this was a compelling read, the pace building up to a crescendo which peaks almost at the very end of the book. I really want to continue the series but Book Two has not yet been published. ( )

Immensely enjoyed the first half more than the second half. There is something between the politically-driven context setting and character introductions in the first half versus the plot-driven young adult-ish boat adventure in the second half that just doesn't make sense to me. That said, I like Malcolm. He's a good character so far. ( )

I'm just a sucker for Philip Pullman. The character development was superb -- Malcolm, Alice, Dr. Relf, Lyra, Sister Fennella, etc., they all became old friends very quickly. By turns interesting, scary, and exciting. Can't wake for the next one. ( )

Enjoyed this book.
Clearly it is difficult to follow a hugely, critically acclaimed, venture like the Dark Materials Trilogy. However, this book had a reasonable story and was an engaging read.
There were a few odd transitions throughout that made it a bit strange. One minute there is an adventure story and the next we seem to have landed in some kind of dystopian Midsummer Nights Dream for a couple of chapters. The we are back to the adventure...
Maybe the next two books are going to tie things together. I only ever had the full trilogy, but I can imagine that the first book of the series may have been considered a bit odd if stood by itself?
Certainly wouldn't criticise it as much as some reviews here.
It did help having an understanding of the human-daemon relationship from the Dark Materials and I would certainly point a new reader to those books first. ( )

This is an epic fantasy adventure starring eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead who works in his parents' inn and also with the sisters at the Priory. There he becomes involved with the fate of a baby named Lyra who is left at the Priory by her father and who is the target of many different factions.

This story is largely concerned with protecting her during an epic flood which sees Malcolm, his friend Alice, and baby Lyra fleeing various villains including Gerard Bonneville - a mad physicist with a sick passion for young girls - and the CCD - an agency of the Church concerned with heresy and unbelief. The trio faces all sorts of obstacles during their trip to bring Lyra to her father Lord Asriel.

The world building will be familiar to those who have read Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It is a fascinating world where every person has a personal demon. There are witches and fairies and all sorts of paranormal creatures. There is also a complex political system which is being invaded by a religious system which encourages children to spy on their parents and turn them in to the authorities if they have "heretical" opinions. And there is a secret underground trying to overthrow these religious fanatics.

Young Malcolm finds himself involved in the revolution when he innocently sees a man drop an object and then be arrested by the CCD. Returning it leads him to various spies and into a conspiracy that he is too young to understand.

The story was fast-paced, packed with adventure, and excellently read by Michael Sheen. I couldn't put it down and am now off to devour book 2 even knowing that book 3 hasn't yet been written. ( )