the last fifth of this book sucked. it was basically all set up for the rest of the series which made it largely incoherent and sucked the joy right out of my reading experience. oh well!

Disappointing.

** spoiler alert ** Knowing that Malcom knew Lyra as an infant and still “falls in love with her” later just wigs me out

Loved this little trio of Malcolm, Alice and lyra.

I’m actually feeling very let down by this book. I think I hyped it up for myself because of how much I loved His Dark Materials Trilogy. It’s a plodding plot with only a rare very paragraphs that actually excite me. Really hope his next instalment will fair better. It’s actually really sad, as I’d wanted to like this book so much. The only redeeming chapters are the last two or three.

Beautiful prose and chilling villains can't save Pullman's "La Belle Sauvage" from feeling superfluous. While atmosphere and character work shine, the plot meanders, offering little new to His Dark Materials. Dust remains an enigma, action replaces explanation, and magical creatures feel bolted on. This 546-page baby-escorting adventure ultimately feels padded and unnecessary. Fingers crossed the sequels find their narrative compass.

must a book be good? Is it not enough for me to just enjoy the daemons and get excited when a character from the original trilogy appears?? rtc

This was a YA book club pick and I wasn't sure I'd be into it as fantasy isn't my genre of choice. It was slow going at first, but I got right into the story which was well crafted and interesting. But nearing the end it got into weird magical realms with faeries and witches and that pulled me out of things for the most part, too bad.

Good old fashioned story telling. It was a bit stretched, but maybe that will pay dividends in the next books.

*3.5

Good old fashioned story telling. It was a bit stretched, but maybe that will pay dividends in the next books.

it was good, but it was a very long read, it starts of brilliantly and then continues brilliantly! At times it can get a bit slow but if you power through it it comes to a brilliant and satisfying conclusion. I'm really glad I read it and it's a brilliant addition to Lyra's world from some of the other reviews I read I wasn't expecting it to be as good as I thought it was but i'm glad it exceeded my expectations! though it was alot darker in places than i thought it would be.. If you liked his dark materials then i'd recommend picking this up, but beware it can be a slow read at times but its worth reading! Can't wait for Book of Dust: Vol 2 now!

Wer Fantasy liebt und vor Kinderbüchern nicht zurückschreckt, dem ist sicherlich Philip Pulmans Serie „His Dark Materials“, die mit dem Buch „Der goldene Kompass“ (wurde verfilmt) gut bekannt. Die Trilogie „The Book of Dust“, von der nun Band 1 erschienen ist, spielt 10 Jahre vor dieser Geschichte und erzählt davon, wie die spätere Protagonistin Lyra ihren Weg ins Jordan Collage fand. In der späteren Serie war es die magische Welt, die mich faszinierte und ich freute mich, in diese zurückzukehren. Doch, wie der Autor bereits in diversen Interviews betonte, erwartete mich nun eine sehr viel düstere Version seiner Schöpfung. Ich traf auf Erwachsene, die skrupellos Kindern nach dem Leben trachten. Trotz allem erschienen mir die beiden Helden Malcolm und Alice ein wenig zu mutig angesichts der Gefahren, in denen sie sich unvermittelt befinden. Je weiter ich las, umso unglaubwürdiger erschien mir ihr Verhalten auf der einsamen Reise in einem kleinen Boot, auf der es einige extrem befremdliche Situationen gab. Wer die Serie chronologisch lesen möchte, stößt außerdem auf das Problem, dass der Autor wesentliche Elemente der Story wie u.a. die Existenz der „dæmons“ nicht mehr erläutert, vermutlich weil er davon ausgeht, dass seine Fans sie bereits aus seinen anderen Büchern kennen. Ich muss leider sagen, dass mich dieses Buch ein wenig enttäuscht hat. Es ist zwar wie gewohnt hervorragend geschrieben und mit viel Liebe zu Details, dennoch zieht es sich sehr in die Länge. Eigentlich paddeln die Kinder nur von A nach B, erleben dabei viele gefahrvolle Abenteuer und – wer „His Dark Materials“ kennt – weiß natürlich, wie diese Fahrt endet. Mir fehlten neue Aspekte der mir bekannten Welt, neue magische Momente. Ich weiß allerdings auch, dass ich eigentlich nicht zur Zielgruppe gehöre. Schade, ich hatte mir mehr erhofft. Dennoch ist es ein nettes Buch, das Kinder sicherlich lieben werden.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up. La Belle Sauvage is an interesting revisiting of Lyra’s world as developed in Pullman’s original series, His Dark Materials. Instead of continuing the story from where it left off at the end of The Amber Spyglass, we go back to the very beginning. Lyra’s beginning. We see that the wild adventure of her life didn’t start in The Golden Compass, but mere months into her life. The events that befell her before she had even spoken her first words are enough to put most adults in therapy. “Words belong in contexts, not pegged out like biological specimens.” While Lyra is the focus of the plot, she’s not the main character for obvious reasons. Instead, we are introduced to Malcolm, a boy who is far brighter and braver than he believes. Malcolm is not generally noticed, managing to blend in with his surroundings at his family’s inn, and he uses this talent to hear everything that goes on around him. When a baby is brought to live at the neighboring priory, Malcolm appoints himself her protector. This decision will result in the craziest, most terrifying days of his life. I love everything about Malcolm. He’s kind and considerate and curious without ever seeming rude. He can read people better than most any character I’ve encountered. As much as I love Lyra in the original trilogy, I think I love Malcolm just as much or even more. I found him to be the most wonderful element of this book, followed closely by the title’s namesake. “He was liked when noticed, but not noticed much, and that did him no harm either.” Malcolm’s prize possession is a little canoe that he has named “La Belle Sauvage.” This canoe becomes incredibly important and serves as the hinge upon which the entire narrative depends. Before I started reading this book, I had always found the title odd. Now, I don’t think it could’ve been any more appropriate. La Belle Sauvage is the little canoe that could, and I came to share Malcolm’s love for her. “If I told you half of what he's done to keep us alive and safe, well, you wouldn't imagine it could be true.” Once again, I found Pullman’s commentary regarding the religious establishment of Lyra’s world incredibly thought-provoking. In this novel we are introduced to the League of St. Alexander, and it is absolutely terrifying. The League is an arm of the Church that is aimed at drawing children into the fold of their enforcement branch. These children are encouraged to police their school, reporting teachers and students alike for anything that could be construed as sacrilegious or disrespectful of the church. This covers everything from teaching that the Bible might be metaphorical instead of literal in places, to neglecting to open each class period with a prayer, to simply being eccentric and not conforming to the norm in some way. The League is a disturbing blend of the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials and Orwell’s Thought Police. I shudder to think of it becoming part of our society, though I’m aware that there are places where it’s not so far off. For those who do these things in the name of Christianity, I can only say that Jesus would be absolutely furious. “Once we use the word spiritual, we don’t have to explain anymore, because it belongs to the Church then, and no one can question it.” As much as I enjoy Pullman’s books, I really think the fact that they’re billed as children’s literature is doing them a disservice. While I’m a firm believer in allowing kids to read any and everything that will not leave them psychologically scarred from consuming it too soon, I know many parents and teachers who would disagree. There are adults who will only allow children to read things billed as children’s fiction so that they can protect young minds from strong content until they are mature enough to handle it for themselves. There’s content in this book that would have those parents completely aghast, such as incredibly strong language at points and allusions to dismaying sexual content that doesn’t actually appear on the page but is clearly referenced. So if you’re one such adult who feels the need to filter what the children in your life read, be warned. “How can knowing something be sinful?” I enjoyed La Belle Sauvage, but it didn’t quite live up to the amazing standard set by His Dark Materials. That being said, I’m still very much eagerly awaiting the next installment. Any chance to revisit Lyra’s world is a one I’m going to happily take. You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

Probably more like a 3.75, but rounded up to 4 stars. Started off slow, but once I got into it, I was racing to the end. The end was a little anticlimactic, but I see it’s actually the first in another series. Looking forward to the next book!

A bit slower than I might like but, ya know, the beginning of a trilogy. Lots of groundwork to lay down about the political atmosphere. If this new set is meant to explore more about Dust, though, this installment is pretty light on it. Curious to see if this entire trilogy is a prequel to His Dark Materials. Based on one sentence in this book I’m hoping we hear more about Lyra, grown up. Certainly there’s a tie there, a character we come to know in this book who was only briefly mentioned at the end of The Amber Spyglass. 🤞

I recently finished this book. Here are my thoughts: Positive- • I really loved the story itself. From the beginning, the story had me hooked. I loved the mystery and the questions regarding Lyra. • I liked the characters a lot. Especially Malcolm, the main character, was realistic and relatable, especially considering how young he is. The author did a great job fleshing out the characters and making them feel like real people. • I loved the scientific parts of the story. I think that they were really well thought out and well-researched. Notable: • When the book started out, there was little to no swearing. As the book continued, however, the swearing became more prominent as the story went on. It continued escalating until the f-word was dropped near the end. This was slightly disappointing on my part because it brought my high regard for the book down a bit. If mild swearing isn't a problem for you, then this book is great! • Same as the swearing, the magic/witchcraft in the book wasn't a huge part of the story until closer to the end. There were mentions of witches near the beginning but nothing serious. Later, Malcolm comes face to face with a witch queen (???) Also, there were other magical elements that were not too prominent in the story but were definitely notable. • As far as sex goes, there was one scene where two people are implied to be intimate with each other, and the main character can't tell if it was forced or voluntary. My opinion on The Book of Dust #1 (don't read further if you don't want to know my opinion.) ~ these are entirely my own opinions and if you don't agree with me, that is totally ok with me! We can be friends anyway :) ~ I was entirely disappointed by this book. It started out great, with good characters, and an interesting story, and a mysterious element to it. However, as the story progressed, it went downhill. As a Christian believer, I don't like to read books with excessive sex and profanity. Also, witchcraft and dark magic is a big no for me. As the book went on, lots of these elements began to pop up. This was extremely disappointing because I wanted to finish it, but after a certain point, I had to skim the rest. Of course, if these things are not a problem for you then this book was great and I would totally recommend! For me personally, this book was not it. I hate to say it, but it's true.

What a brilliant book. Despite heavy topics, it was such a joy to read.

Very enjoyable and engaging read. Made me want to re-read His Dark Materials. Would recommend.

8 years! I still remember reading His Dark Materials at a young and extremely impressionable age & being utterly obsessed with it for months after, making my friends read the books, agonising what I wanted my daemon to settle as & making a whole lot of dubious powder called "Dust". I even think, to some extent, that this book was part of my deep-rooted childhood dream to study at Oxford. I got my copy of this at the midnight launch in Waterstones Oxford & although I was so tired by that point, I KEPT GOING FOR THIS BOOK & MY 10 YEAR OLD SELF. Returning to this book felt a lot like returning home to something familiar, and it felt like Philip Pullman understood that- the book is decidedly different from his style in His Dark Materials, and it reads as if he's now writing for the adults who read HDM as children, a more mature, grittier but no less gripping style. Be warned- spoilers ahead for the book! Personally, I enjoyed the more politically & morally dubious concept the narrative seemed to push, lots to deal with about sexual abuse and paedophilia. Things like the St Alexander's League, an obvious nod to the use of children as informants in past history, all the Biblical connotations the Flood brings, this whole book was a wild (boat)ride from start to finish, and I felt pleased every time I was like I know what context he's drawing this from..! Malcolm Polstead is a wonderful main character to view the story from, not very unlike a mirror & I enjoyed the quiet strength and determination Pullman chose to give him- so different from the characters of Lyra and Will- Malcolm is careful and resourceful, rather than headstrong & careless. Similarly, Alice, the jaded half-woman-girl that Pullman writes about is an unconventional, grudging heroine of the story, a point of view that I don't think is explored enough. Another thing that I really loved was that Pullman really gave us more of the backstory of the alethiometer and he incorporated so many more folk-elements to the tale!! Fairies? Sign me up. Giants and hordes of undead, dancing people? LOVE IT. I came out of the midnight launch for the first book feeling a little doubtful if I would ever do it again, finishing this book made me realise that for the next book, I'm probably going to be the first at the door.

This is the perfect MG read - edgy enough to be mature but not so that the magic and wonder is lost. A novel of our time in the theme of extreme weather and extreme political views. It’s started me re-reading the golden compass.

I didn’t find the story as good as the original books, although the originals are probably my favourite books of all time, so a pretty high bar! That said, Michael Sheen’s performance in the audio book is truly amazing and I strongly recommend checking out that version over the written one for that.

All in all I personally really enjoyed it. The beginning of the story is slow, which at some point felt more like setting the scene took too long, but it does get better and darker as the story progresses, even thrilling throughout the second half.