La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust #1), by Philip Pullman

Prequels are tricky. Especially prequels to awe-inspiringly awesome series that were penned decades after the final volume of the original was published. Any fan of the original Star Wars trilogy will tell you this (Jar Jar Binks? Really? Was that nerve-grating annyoance really necessary? I ask you...)

So as much as I was thrilled to learn about La Belle Sauvage, the first volume in Philip Pullman's new Book of Dust series, a part of me was very nervous. This series was to be an expansion of the original His Dark Materials/Golden Compass trilogy. Which I absolutely adored, by the way. To me, this trilogy was better than Harry Potter (Rowling), Books of Pellinor (Croggon), Raven Boys (Steifvater), and The Alchemyst (Scott) series combined. I love, love, love everything about it. And to this day it's my "go to" series and the one I measure all other series against. 

So yes, I was extremely thrilled when I learned of La Belle Sauvage, which was supposed to be set when Lyra, the main character in The Golden Compass, was still an infant. 

And yes, I was also extremely nervous. Would the new story be as good as the original? Would it make the original better? Or, like the Star Wars prequels, destroy it somewhat (or a lot)? 

I almost didn't read it.

But then I did. And I'm so glad I did! 

This new story focuses on 11-year-old Malcolm, whose parents run the inn near the nunnary where infant Lyra Balaqua is being cared for by the kindly sisters. Malcolm finds himself pulled into political intrigue involving the child, who even then is prophecized to be The Chosen One. Not your typical hero, Malcolm is rather ordinary. But he is brave and curious and observant and exceptionally likable. He accidently becomes a spy, saves Lyra from the evil Magisterium, and ends up being a key player in how the girl ends up at Jordan College. In that, this story is more like Star Wars: Rogue One rather than The Phantom Menace (thankfully!). No more spoilers, though. 

Overall, I very much enjoyed this story. Pullman did an excellent job returning the reader to the world of Oxford. The details! The world building! The characters! Everything! Reading it, I almost felt as though I never really left this world. I would absolutely recommend this book, both to fans of the original trilogy and to those simply looking for something awesome (because even if you haven't read The Golden Compass, you will want to do so after reading La Belle Sauvage). 

--AJB