La Belle Sauvage captures the spirit of the original trilogy without undercutting Lyra's own story, and Pullman's writing is as sharp and as transportive as ever. As of yet, the title of the book is unknown, but Sir Philip Pullman has revealed it will have something to do with roses - possibly with the name being The Garden of Roses or Roses from the South. While paddling the canals of Oxford, Malcolm accidentally finds himself at the center of a strange mystery, with dire consequences that could reshape the whole of his world. The Book of Dust Volume Three is the third and final book in The Book of Dust trilogy. This first volume follows Malcolm Polstead, an innkeeper's son, along with his dæmon Asta and his trusty canoe, the titular La Belle Sauvage. Only Pullman could start off a book with cozy, comforting descriptions of fried potatoes and friendly nuns, and then catapult his reader into a pulse-pounding, surreal river voyage that is half spy adventure, half mythical odyssey. I should have trusted in Philip Pullman, an undisputed master of the fantasy novel. Rowling and George Lucas, we've all seen creators go a little overboard in adding extra backstory to their respective fantasy realms.īut I am here to tell you that The Book of Dust Volume One: La Belle Sauvage is the perfect reintroduction to the steeples and canals of Lyra's Oxford. My friends and I spent hours on the school courtyard, seriously debating what shape our own dæmons would take (for the record, mine is a lynx).

The Golden Compasswas such a defining part of my childhood. Pullman conceived The Book of Dust before the publication of Lyra's Oxford in 2003, originally as a single volume.23 Writing was under way by 2005,4 but by 2011 Pullman said that he was considering splitting the novel into two volumes, one set before His Dark Materials and the other set afterwards.

I, for one, was a little nervous to read it. At long last, Philip Pullman returns to us with volume one of The Book of Dust, a companion trilogy to his much beloved His Dark Materials.

Philip pullman book of dust volume 3