The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust, Volume 1) (Book of Dust, 1)

"Reading this novel is like standing in a room in which suddenly all of the windows have blown open at once." --Slate

"It's a stunning achievement, the universe Pullman has created and continues to build on." --The New York Times

"A phantasmagoric waterborne odyssey. Mr. Pullman is a supple and formidable writer." --The Wall Street Journal

"Enthralling, enchanting. The first half reads like a thriller. The story becomes darker, deeper and even more engrossing when a cataclysmic flood overtakes Southern England. Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen year wait: The Book of Dust is one of them." -- The Washington Post

"Pullman's writing is as deftly brilliant as ever. A triumphant return to the alternate Oxford we love."--Bustle

"The Book of Dust passes by in one tumultuous wave of literature, that leaves you queasy, but wanting the next volume as quickly as possible. It deserves not only a reread, but an unpacking. It is not a one and done novel, something that, in a time where binging and passing is the status quo. This is a novel to digest. One to take in, let settle, and then revisit. We are lucky to have Pullman's words. Words that will continue to nourish the souls and imaginations of readers for a long, long time." --Hypable

"Once again, Pullman's fantasy arrives precisely when it can teach us the most about ourselves, as if it were guided by Dust itself." --Entertainment Weekly

"High-octane adventure accompanies ingenious plotting." The Times (London)

"Lyra Silvertongue, Lyra Belacqua, but really just Lyra: one of those characters--Pip, Emma, Lolita--who is on first-name terms with her public."--The New York Times Magazine

"Pullman's imagery is as dazzling as ever. La Belle Sauvage reveals the incredible ways in which 'ordinary' children can react whenplaced in extraordinary circumstances: with kindness, bravery and cunning." --The Bookseller

"A rollicking adventure. Delightful." --Mother Jones

"A stunning, otherworldly journey. La Belle Sauvage dives deeply into magic and intrigue. What a gift it is to be allowed back into this universe." --BuzzFeed

"Full of acute observation. A rich, imaginative, vividly characterized rite-of-passage tale." --London Sunday Times

"Thrilling and thought-provoking." --Times Literary Supplement

"A singularly beguiling work of fantasy. [Pullman is] perhaps the best fantasy writer alive." --The A.V. Club

"A profoundly compelling foundation for a new trilogy." --Vox

"This tense, adventure-packed book will satisfy and delight Pullman's fans and leave them eager to see what's yet to come" --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Pullman is an easeful storyteller and an intricate and inventive world-builder, and everything he has to write is worth reading." --The Telegraph

"Magisterial storytelling will sweep readers along; the cast is as vividly drawn as ever; and big themes running beneath the surface invite profound responses and reflection." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Luminous prose, heady philosophical questions, and a lovable protagonist combine with a gripping plot sure to enchant fans and newcomers alike." --SLJ, starred review

"Pullman demonstrates that his talent for world building hasn't diminished, nor has his ability to draw young characters--here, Malcolm, who is layered enough to carry an adventure through multiple dimensions." --Booklist, starred review

"Pullman's immense powers of kinesthetic visualization keep the story pulsing on an epic scale."--The Guardian

"An immersive, creepy, edge-of-your seat adventure." --Shelf Awareness

"To connect once more with a fictional universe of such great power is a delight." --Financial Times

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

"Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen year wait: The Book of Dust is one of them." —The Washington Post

Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of his groundbreaking novel The Golden Compass to expand on the story of Lyra, "one of fantasy's most indelible characters." (The New York Times Magazine)

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 parents run 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, he 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.

"The book is full of wonder. . . . Truly thrilling." —The New York Times

"People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman's new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when The Golden Compass came out." —Slate