I enjoyed Philip Pullman’s La Belle Sauvage (book one of the Book of Dust triology) – at least the first third when Malcolm is getting hooked in to the mysterious elements of dust, of factions vying for control, of trying to sort out how a baby, Lyra, might fit into it all.
Once the flood comes (spoiler, there’s a flood) the story turns into a quest narrative of trying to get through the various and sundry challenges between them and safety (think Odysseus trying to get home). I found everything from this point on less satisfying – like it felt like it was just trying to draw out a whole book? that everything that needed to be conveyed could have just been explained without them having to wander to different worlds or face various challenges/monsters – maybe because the characters (Malcolm and Alice) didn’t develop much through these challenges (except for a budding romance, which again, could have been conveyed without ‘and now! a giant to exchange riddles with!’). Not that I’m against quest narratives – give me The Hobbit any day – just that this one felt like an exercise in wasting time rather than doing anything substantive for character, plot or theme.
Was I annoyed enough not to read book two? Yes. Might a 12 year old have a difference experience of reading this one? Absolutely. So if you were into the Golden Compass series (this one is a prequel) or you have a different tolerance for Adventure For The Sake of Adventure then by all means: go in.
(also realizing nearly 20 years in (!) that I don’t have a category for ‘fantasy’. oops).
Literary Vice 