The new trilogy is dubbed The Book of Dust, and begins with a prequel novel called La Belle Sauvage. (It's said that not all of the series is to be set before the events of the original trilogy, but the first book, at least, is a prequel.) Set a decade before His Dark Materials, La Belle Sauvage centers on a young boy named Malcolm, who helps at his parents' inn and owns the trusty canoe the book is named for. He spends time helping the nuns at the nearby priory, and takes an interest in a baby girl named Lyra who has been left there. When government schemers, a crazed psychopath, and even a natural disaster all seem to conspire against the baby, Malcolm decides it's up to him to save the day.
Ultimately, La Belle Sauvage is a book about how the protagonist of the original trilogy winds up where she does at the start of the book. Fortunately, though, this is a rather tangential thread of the new story. This book is really a self-contained adventure starring this new character of Malcolm. Moreover, it's a revisiting of the wonderful fantasy world Pullman created years ago.
The world of His Dark Materials (and now the Book of Dust) is deeply fascinating to me. It proceeds from the simple premise that in a world otherwise exactly like ours, every person's "soul" is manifested as a physical animal familiar that lives outside them. One of the best parts of the original series is how Pullman explored so many facets of that idea, creating conflict that could only exist in his world, while using it as effective allegory for our own. Though the new book doesn't have too much new cleverness to add on this front, its social commentary on authoritarian religion is as sharp as ever. In any case, I'm happy just to spend more time in one of the more fascinating fantasy settings I've ever come across.
I'm also fascinated just to read more of Pullman's writing. That's the real star here. Philip Pullman has an incredibly compelling manner of telling a story. Without seeming too fussed over, his way of putting a sentence together always seems perfect to me. He's also excellent at writing for a child protagonist. The child or teenage protagonist is a staple of fantasy literature, but inevitably the reader has to overlook that these characters usually aren't written quite right -- "children" are wise beyond their years, pouty lodestones on the plot, or otherwise "off." I feel like Pullman gets them just right, capturing their sense of wonder and desire for adventure, while tempering it with the emotional and physical limitations that come with immaturity.
The plot itself? Well, that might be the weakest part this time around. Not to say that I thought the story was bad -- it's more that the first half of the book really layers in a lot of compelling suspense and detail that isn't totally paid off in the back half. (It reads much like a stand-alone novel, though I suppose this is really material to be picked up later in the trilogy?) The back half of the book is essentially a long chase that strangely isn't quite as engaging as the slower paced, more thoughtful material that came before. (It also takes a strange turn into supernatural territory for a chapter or two that doesn't quite feel of a piece with the rest.)
Still, I'm enthused to have the book even with its flaws. Pullman's writing style and overall creation make up for any shortcomings. I'd grade La Belle Sauvage a B+. If you've read the first series, you should definitely pick this one up (even if you're worried about starting a new, unfinished trilogy. As I said, this one really plays like it stands alone, leading up to the original trilogy.) If you've never read the original series, go grab a copy of The Golden Compass (or, as it's known outside the U.S., Northern Lights) and get started!
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