Do you know that feeling, that you know you will love a book, even before you have turned the first page? You even love it just based on its cover, and you can’t wait to just hold (and maybe sniff) the book? That’s pretty much how I felt about La Belle Sauvage and The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman. Because I absolutely adore and admire his Dark Materials series, and I was simultaneously afraid that his new trilogy would live up to its standard, or that it would be even better. Fortunately, neither of these happened, and they lived up to their own standards. LBS and TBD are completely their own, all the while they still reference and hint a great deal to the books we already know and love.
In LBS Lyra does not play as great a role as she does in TBD, however Malcolm takes the stage and becomes our new protagonist. He also features a great deal in TBD as Lyra’s trusted friend. LBS tells the story of how Malcolm, under unpredicted happenings, was forced to grow up and face realities about the world around him. It is a story about a journey from boy to man, and the troubles you must face and accept on that particular journey. It is a look into the world we have come to love from Pullman, without the twisted workings we see from Lyra’s childhood. That only lingers on the horizon for Malcolm still.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ordmagikeren.dk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-Secret-Commonwealth-Volume-I-2-1024x576.png?resize=512%2C288)
Lyra still plays a part, but it is Malcolm we follow and it takes a few chapters for him to grow on you, mostly because we love Lyra so much. Malcolm’s story is no less important, because it is a story about the manipulation and struggle for power that is in full motion when Lyra grows up. However, for Malcolm it is only just starting to make its appearances in the world. Along Malcolm’s journey we are introduced to a bunch of creatures that we know and love from Pullman’s imagination, and we are reminded of the magic he can create with just a few simple words.
His power over words is the same in TBD. He can tell a story of sadness and growing apart, and yet still make it heart-warming. Because in TBD Lyra has grown up, and she tries desperately to forget many of her adventures from her childhood. Except a few things, such as Will of course. He is a constant ghost in her life, and the hardships they went through also haunt Pantalaimon. Mostly because Lyra seems to want to forget what it’s like being a child, which Pan does not. In his mind, her imagination has been stolen by all the grown up books she reads, and he sets of to find and retrieve it for her.
There’s much more to Lyra and Pan’s story than just this one problem. Because all the power struggles are in flux after their initial adventures, and people are always striving to seek control. Lyra must face many problems than just growing up, and growing apart from Pan. She must come to certain realisations about the world, and figure out how she can fit in.
![](https://i0.wp.com/ordmagikeren.dk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-Secret-Commonwealth-Volume-I-3-1024x576.png?resize=512%2C288)
It takes some getting used to, to read about Lyra and Pan in this way, because they are so grown up. They are still on an adventure and many things happen to them, and it is still in Pullman’s adventurous style, you just have to get used to the more adult version of Lyra and her problems.
The great thing about both these books is the web that is stretched out across them and the original trilogy. We feel the heart-breaking longing that Lyra has for Will, while all the plotting and conspiring draws us back to Malcolm’s childhood.
It is not the same magic spell you will be put under as from Lyra’s childhood, but it is a spell nonetheless. It’s a page-turner and an abrupt ending, that leaves you choking for more.
You should read these books if you have any love for His Dark Materials, or simply if you want to read a great pair of fantasy books. There’s the classic coming of age theme in both of them, spread across to significant times in our lives. LBS gives us an exciting look into the world of Pullman’s before it became His Dark Materials and TBD gives us an intriguing look into what it has become after. It’s an example of how far and extreme any religious organization is willing to go, in order to obtain and maintain power. Both books are a scary reflection of how any world could turn, with just the right amount of belief in the right (or believed to be right) thing.