Our booksellers rave about Philip Pullman’s blistering, brilliant new fantasy adventure, La Belle Sauvage – the first book in The Book of Dust trilogy.

Set 10 years before Pullman’s original His Dark Materials trilogy, this thrilling adventure sees two young people embark on a dangerous trip to save a baby named Lyra whose life is under threat by various shadowy forces.

‘Lyra, a baby with mysterious provenance, is proving to be a strange magnet for dangerous types with designs on her future. Sinister forces are at work in Oxford and beyond, when the city is engulfed by an enormous, possibly magical, flood. This is a tense and sometimes dark novel that fans and newcomers will be equally thrilled by.’ – George Delaney, bookseller at Readings Kids

‘How exciting it has been to return to the phenomenal world Phillip Pullman created in the His Dark Materials trilogy. The philosophy is thought-provoking and the relationship between human and daemon fascinating, while the sheer force of the narrative drive pulls the reader ever onwards – just like the magnificent river that flows through the centre of it all. Once again, Pullman has imagined a charismatic, intelligent and compassionate hero in 12-year-old Malcolm. His ingenuity, resourcefulness and devotion to baby Lyra are a delight to read. Many other characters are also equally compelling and there is a deliciously evil baddie who is absolutely terrifying.

I devoured this book and my only complaint is that I can’t bear to wait until I can read the next book in the series. Apparently it has already been written so hopefully I can get my hands on it soon!’ – Angela Crocombe, shop manager at Readings Kids

‘I first read Phillip Pullman as a child and for a number of years, I have counted his Sally Lockhart mysteries and His Dark Materials trilogy among my absolute favourites. I’ve reread the books from both these series over the past few years, and they are just as brilliant to my adult mind as they were when I first read them. Sadly I’ll never have the chance to read La Belle Sauvage with anything but the brain of a grown-up. But I’m happy to report that this doesn’t take away from how absolutely stunning the book is.

This novel is brimming with adventure, and its young protagonist, Malcom Polstead, and his daemon Asta, are such an empathetic, curious and clever duo. They are exactly the kind of unforgettable fictional characters you become genuinely attached to, and keep in your mind forever. This novel is certainly not exclusively for young people either – it can (and definitely should be) enjoyed by all sort of adults. Via Malcolm, Pullman also invites us to enter the book’s world – with its daemons, alethiometers and most importantly, the mysterious particle named Dust – from a new angle, which means you don’t have to have read the original trilogy to enjoy it.

What I’m saying is that everyone should read this book!’ – Ellen Cregan, bookseller at Readings Doncaster

‘This is one of my absolutely favourite books of the year. Philip Pullman more than lived up to my excessively high expectations buy delivering a novel that is even darker and stranger than the original trilogy. If you’re a fan of the original you won’t be disappointed. The book’s magical imagining of England is satisfyingly familiar territory, but Pullman adds new colours and contours that expand his literary landscape in unexpected, often stirring ways. Readers new to the series won’t be disappointed either – La Belle Sauvage is a brilliant, gripping adventure in its own right.

There are moments in the narrative that are hands-down edge-of-your-seat, heart-stoppingly terrifying. My heart was wrung out and my nerves completely shot-through by the time I finished this novel. The central villain is so frightening and distressing that I was moved to tears at one point. Seriously, read this book.’ – Bronte Coates, bookseller for Readings Online

‘It has been such a pleasure to be reading Philip Pullman’s stories again. It has been some time since I read the original trilogy and so while there were certainly tantalising references to half-remembered parts, I think I can also imagine how fascinating it must be to come new to La Belle Sauvage and its dramatic story.

Pullman seems to write effortlessly. The story completely took over my imagination – it was real but other, layered and mysterious, complex and utterly involving. I heard an interview recently in which Pullman said he could not write with music playing. The grandchildren playing in the corner was fine, or workmen out in the street, but not music. He needed to be able to hear the rhythm of the story. As he writes, he may not know what he is going to say in the next sentence, but he knows the shape of it.

And maybe it is that flow that captures us, young reader and adult alike. We 'feel’ the story, like we feel music and bring our own understanding and life experience to interpreting it which means it works on many levels. So a younger reader may feel the evil in the more confronting bits, without needing to understand, or we may be tantalisingly aware of the profound importance of Dust, but have no idea why.

Profound simplicity is enchanting and I, like many, am all in!‘ – Kathy Kowlowski, bookseller at Readings Kids