La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One

After much fanfare and anticipation, Philip Pullman's 'equel' to His Dark Materials is finally here; and as expected it's a superbly crafted and compelling story. Young Malcom Polstead lives at The Trout Inn on the banks of the Thames. An affable and helpful boy, he gleans much from the Inn's clientele but lives a pleasant and relatively uneventful life. All that changes when a baby is mysteriously placed with the nuns in the Priory where Malcolm performs odd jobs and spends much of his free time. Whispers and rumours surround the infant and, when a flood of almost biblical proportions swamps the city and destroys the Priory, Malcolm knows he must take the baby to safety. Hunted by the sinister CCD, a church court with far-reaching powers and unable to trust the police, Malcolm absconds with kitchen-maid, Alice, and baby Lyra in his trusty canoe La Belle Sauvage. With scholastic colleagues of Lyra's father, Lord Asriel, a secret agency and a convicted criminal also conducting a desperate search for Malcom, Alice and Lyra, the intrepid hero is unsure who to trust as he continues his epic journey down the swollen and dangerous river.& Malcolm and Alice are wonderful characters and fitting heroes for the beginning of this epic new series. Readers of His Dark Materials will find much that is pleasingly familiar but this can easily be read by newcomers to Philip Pullman's alternative world. The story builds nicely and with plenty of heroes, villains, witches and fairies there is so much to enjoy here. A light word of warning for younger readers as there are some mature themes and language but this a truly wonderful book and I can't wait for the next installment! 546 pages / Ages 12+ / Reviewed by Clare Wilkins, school librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 11+