As a massive fan of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, I could not wait to read La Belle Sauvage, The Book of Dust, Volume One, which takes the reader back into the parallel universe inhabited by Lyra Belacqua. In this opening salvo, Lyra is still a baby and is being looked after by the nuns at Godstow Priory. Opposite the priory, on the other side of the River Thames, sits the Trout Inn, where eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead lives with his parents and, of course, his daemon, Asta. Everyone in this world has a visible entity called a daemon, who takes the form of an animal and accompanies you throughout your life. Malcolm's pride and joy is his canoe - La Belle Sauvage - and he spends many happy hours on the river. His world is turned upside down when he sees a man dropping something, and when Malcolm finds it, intending to return it, he witnesses the man being detained by the authorities. He finds that the item dropped contains a message, which he feels is important, but doesn't understand. When he later learns that the man has been killed, he finds that local scholar, Hannah Reid, may provide some answers via her studies using an alethiometer. An air of menace begins to grow both at school and in the general population, and when Malcolm learns that Lyra is in danger he goes to warn the nuns, but events are overtaken by a flood. He rescues Lyra and, together with Alice, the servant girl from the pub, they try to get her to the safety of her father, Lord Asriel. I loved the first half of this book - it felt like an old friend who had come to visit after many years of being away. Malcolm is an engaging protagonist, though maybe unrealistically wise and more capable than his eleven years would suggest. The ground is laid for the future story to unfold and the action bowled along. I particularly liked the scenes between Malcolm and the nuns. However, during the flood scenes, things started to go awry for me. Yes this is a fantasy novel, but there were faerie-like characters and ethereal scenes that seemed at odds with the rest of the book and I didn't think they added anything to the story. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they were a bit confused and actually interfered with the main action. Maybe they will turn out to be significant further down the line? And so, by the end of the novel, I was feeling a little disappointed, which I almost cannot bear to admit. There is still much to admire and maybe, if you hadn't read His Dark Materials, the book would be more enjoyable. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the next instalment will be better.
POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 17: A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift.
My STAR rating: FOUR.
Length: 546 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from local library.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.
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