Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy....
Malcolm's father runs an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue.
He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust--and the spy it was intended for finds him.
When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, Malcom sees suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking …
Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy....
Malcolm's father runs an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue.
He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust--and the spy it was intended for finds him.
When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, Malcom sees suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl--just a baby--named Lyra.
Lyra is the kind of person who draws people in like magnets. And Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm.
This description comes from the publisher. La Belle Sauvage is the first volume of the Book of Dust trilogy, which takes place in the world of the His Dark Materials trilogy, the first of which is The Golden Compass or Northern Lights.
Review of 'The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust, Volume 1)' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
3.5, if I could I truly enjoyed the book & its narration by Michael Sheen. I didn't read far into The Golden Compass, because at the time that NOS was at that reading level, the content was not appropriate for him yet. We tabled it; I never returned. I may read the His Dark Materials series if I love the Book of Dust series.
Elements of La Belle Sauvage bring to mind Diane Setterfield's Once Upon a River, which I read in January and found even more captivating.
3.5, if I could I truly enjoyed the book & its narration by Michael Sheen. I didn't read far into The Golden Compass, because at the time that NOS was at that reading level, the content was not appropriate for him yet. We tabled it; I never returned. I may read the His Dark Materials series if I love the Book of Dust series.
Elements of La Belle Sauvage bring to mind Diane Setterfield's Once Upon a River, which I read in January and found even more captivating.
Review of 'The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust, Volume 1)' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Well that was disappointing. I loved the His Dark Materials books and their combination of imagination, action and big ideas and I looked forward to diving into Pullman's world again with the first in a prequel trilogy.
The story of La Belle Sauvage starts promisingly enough. Lyra is a baby and has been ordered into the protection of a nunnery near Oxford. Malcolm is a likable and plucky boy who works and lives with his parents at a nearby pub and often visits the nuns. The arrival of Lord Asriel to see his daughter draws Malcolm into a battle that is raging around the baby between the Magisterium and a secret network of spies called Oakley Street.
The witches in the north have a prophecy about the baby and others want to do her harm. During a violent storm and subsequent flood, Malcolm flees with the baby and Nancy, a …
Well that was disappointing. I loved the His Dark Materials books and their combination of imagination, action and big ideas and I looked forward to diving into Pullman's world again with the first in a prequel trilogy.
The story of La Belle Sauvage starts promisingly enough. Lyra is a baby and has been ordered into the protection of a nunnery near Oxford. Malcolm is a likable and plucky boy who works and lives with his parents at a nearby pub and often visits the nuns. The arrival of Lord Asriel to see his daughter draws Malcolm into a battle that is raging around the baby between the Magisterium and a secret network of spies called Oakley Street.
The witches in the north have a prophecy about the baby and others want to do her harm. During a violent storm and subsequent flood, Malcolm flees with the baby and Nancy, a serving girl, in his boat La Belle Sauvage across a drowned land.
The rest of the book - 50% of the text - centres on a series of adventures the three have, which become quite repetitive and have little to no bearing on the central plot. After a few chapters of this it begins to feel like incident for incident's sake. Filler. The central plot is also vague. There's talk of Dust and certain scientific research, but because Malcolm and Nancy are not part of the Magisterium or Oakley Street, their knowledge (and ours) is limited.
The whole series of events (it's not a plot really) peters to a predictable end with the promise that something interesting or really exciting might happen in the next book. I don't think I can be bothered.
Tout d'abord c'était un bonheur de retrouver cet univers qui avait baigné mon enfance et que je trouve qui n'est plus assez connu et apprécié aujourd'hui. Ce livre m'aura d'ailleurs donné envie de me refaire la trilogie originale avec un regard plus adulte tellement j'ai été surpris par la profondeur des thèmes développés que je n'avais pas forcément compris quand j'étais plus jeune. La Belle Sauvage est un retour aux origines, je ne m'attendais pas du tout à ce qu'il soit aussi proche temporellement de la trilogie originale c'est donc une très bonne surprise sur ce point, mais mes souvenirs étaient devenus trop flous. J'ai apprécié cette lecture mais elle n'a pas eu la même force que la trilogie originale, mais c'était un bonheur pourtant d'avoir tous ces souvenirs qui remontaient à la surface. A choisir j'aurais pris le temps de relire la trilogie originale, mais vu qu'il se passe …
Tout d'abord c'était un bonheur de retrouver cet univers qui avait baigné mon enfance et que je trouve qui n'est plus assez connu et apprécié aujourd'hui. Ce livre m'aura d'ailleurs donné envie de me refaire la trilogie originale avec un regard plus adulte tellement j'ai été surpris par la profondeur des thèmes développés que je n'avais pas forcément compris quand j'étais plus jeune. La Belle Sauvage est un retour aux origines, je ne m'attendais pas du tout à ce qu'il soit aussi proche temporellement de la trilogie originale c'est donc une très bonne surprise sur ce point, mais mes souvenirs étaient devenus trop flous. J'ai apprécié cette lecture mais elle n'a pas eu la même force que la trilogie originale, mais c'était un bonheur pourtant d'avoir tous ces souvenirs qui remontaient à la surface. A choisir j'aurais pris le temps de relire la trilogie originale, mais vu qu'il se passe avant je vais tenter de la relire avec un regard nouveau pour mieux la redécouvrir. Et je suis impatient de lire les deux tomes qui suivront !
