Philip Pullman

In a time before Lyra Silvertongue was born, the tough American balloonist Lee Scoresby and the great armoured bear Iorek Byrnison meet when Lee and his hare daemon Hester crash-land their trading balloon onto a port in the far Arctic North and find themselves right in the middle of a political powder keg.

Once Upon a Time in the North

When Lyra is studying at Oxford University, she comes across the story of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnisson's first meeting, many years ago, along with much evidence of the adventure that brought them together. When a young Texan balloonist, Lee Scoresby, comes down to earth in the harbour of an Arctic town in the North, little does he realise that he is about to be embroiled in an out-and-out political brawl. Lee and his daemon, Hester, find themselves the target of political factions trying to take over the running (and oil) of the town. And also resident in the town are huge arctic bears, ignored and patronised by the people and treated like second-class citizens. When Lee and Iorek first meet, they cement a friendship that will continue throughout their lives, as the tensions and pressure in town lead to a deadly conclusion... Another wonderful tale from a master story-teller, giving us more extraordinary insight into the world of His Dark Materials. Includes a thrilling board game!

I really needed a good Lee Scorseby and Iorek Byrnison story. That's what this is. 

An excellent part of the already magnificent His Dark Materials universe.

Liam Richardson

I really needed a good Lee Scorseby and Iorek Byrnison story. That's what this is. 

An excellent part of the already magnificent His Dark Materials universe.

Marloes

Celeste Richardson

This was a fun little story set in Lyra's world long before Lyra was born. We get to meet a young Lee Scoresby, at the beginning of his aeronautical adventures. We also witness his first introduction to Iorek Byrnison. These two are some of the best supporting characters in Pullman's His Dark Materials series, so it was really fun to get some backstory on them.

Jeni Enjaian

For one to fully understand this story, one would need to be familiar with the Dark Materials trilogy. It has been a while since I read those books but I remembered enough of that particular world so as to avoid being completely lost while reading this book. That being said, I have never really been a fan of this trilogy. Pullman's worldview differs greatly from mine and this is quite evident in his books. While well-written, they are just not my cup of tea. This book could also be described as such.
The narrative maintains a brisk but unrooted pace that leaves the reader wondering at times just how exactly they got that far in a few pages.
If you are a fan of the trilogy, this book is a must read. Otherwise you could take it or leave it.

Andrew Ireland

Caroline Boone

Hannah Pollock

Cody Degen

Suzanne

Lorelei Petcu

Haley Murray

Kerstin Cherry

Ahmed Bakr

Katie Galvin

Jordan /

Tess 

nico alexander

Diego Franco

Joshua

Sandra Bartos

Julieta Nardin

Fruzsina Juhász

A mesmerising episode from the universe of His Dark Materials and The Book of Dust, giving us an extraordinary insight into this world and its characters. When Lyra is studying at Oxford University, she comes across the story of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnisson's first meeting, many years ago, along with much evidence of the adventure that brought them together. She discovers that when a young Texan balloonist Lee came down to earth in the harbour of an Arctic town in the North, little did he realise that he is about to be caught in a war between the residents of the town and the huge arctic bears that also live there. And when Lee meets one of these bears - Iorek - for the first time, they cement a friendship that will continue throughout their lives, as the tensions in the town threaten to erupt ... Another wonderful tale from a master story-teller, which includes beautiful illustrations and maps.

Once Upon a Time in the North

Reviews