Book Review: 'The Book Of Dust: Volume One - La Belle Sauvage' by Philip Pullman

Cover art by Chris Wormell

I'm re-reading Philip Pullman's wonderful 'His Dark Materials' / 'Book Of Dust' series, in chronological order, before the new book, 'The Secret Commonwealth', comes out, and with 'La Belle Sauvage' serving as a prequel to the other books in the series, it makes for a very welcome return to Pullman's alternate Britain.

The book follows Malcolm Polstead, a young lad who helps out his parents after school at The Trout, a village pub that they run, as well as helping out the nuns with chores at a local priory. But when Malcolm finds a mysterious object one day, and meets the new visitor at the priory, a baby called Lyra, his previously mundane life will change forever.

The book is excellently paced. It starts with a slow burn, the early parts of the book setting the foundations of the world building and plants the seeds of the character development in this parallel world, making this an excellent introduction to Pullman's world if you've not visited before. A few characters that appear in the 'His Dark Materials' books are also introduced here too. If you've never read the other books, then their significance won't mean too much here, as they are only cameo appearances. But if you have read the other books, then the mere mention of them will mean something, laying the seeds for what's to come. It was good to meet them again, albeit briefly. 

As the story progresses, things start to pick up, as the area succumbs to a devastating flood of near biblical proportions! Malcolm, Alice, a girl who also does jobs at Malcolm's pub, and their daemons, save Lyra from a would be abductor at the priory and escape down the river in Malcolm's canoe, La Belle Sauvage. But that is only the start of their adventure! As they flee from their pursuers they encounter all manner of strangeness, a secret commonwealth as the gyptians, the gypsy like river folk, call it.

Thanks to the slow build up and getting to know our characters properly, I found myself really latching onto Malcolm and Alice, as they overcome obstacles and do what they can to protect little Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon. The way Pullman writes them is really engaging and makes you feel for them when things don't go their way and cheer for when it does.

The gradual pacing also really helped with getting invested emotionally with the story, the characters and the world, and as the flow of the story quickened in the second half of the book, I was hooked! Having read the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy before, it was also a delight to pick up on some of the details and hints that foreshadow what's to come too. An excellent and enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

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