The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

Book of Dust, Volume 1

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Michael Sheen

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times best seller!

2018 Odyssey Honor

2018 ALSC Notable Children’s Recording

The Washington Post Best Audiobook of 2017

Slate Best Audiobook of 2017

Booklist Editor’s Choice Audio for Youth

AudioFile Best YA Audiobooks of 2017

"Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen year wait: The Book of Dust is one of them." (The Washington Post)

Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of his groundbreaking novel The Golden Compass to expand on the story of Lyra, "one of fantasy's most indelible characters." (The New York Times Magazine)

Malcolm Polstead is the kind of boy who notices everything but is not much noticed himself. And so perhaps it was inevitable that he would become a spy....

Malcolm's parents run an inn called the Trout, on the banks of the river Thames, and all of Oxford passes through its doors. Malcolm and his daemon, Asta, routinely overhear news and gossip, and the occasional scandal, but during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm catches wind of something new: intrigue.

He finds a secret message inquiring about a dangerous substance called Dust - and the spy it was intended for finds him.

When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he sees suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl - just a baby - named Lyra.

Lyra is the kind of person who draws people in like magnets. And Malcolm will brave any danger, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through the storm.

"The book is full of wonder.... Truly thrilling." (The New York Times)

Note: This audiobook was recorded from the UK edition.

©2017 Philip Pullman (P)2017 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman's new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when The Golden Compass came out." (Slate)

"There’s something pleasingly old-fashioned about Michael Sheen’s narration, which is matched by the pleasure of returning to Pullman’s world of daemons and Dust. Sheen fully inhabits the text... It’s a rip-roaring start to Pullman’s new trilogy, and fans will be impatient to dive into the next installment." (AudioFile)

Very Engaging

Michael Sheen does a great job creating tension and distinctive characters with his reading style, and the book itself was one of the more engaging I've read this year. I devoured this book, and will certainly be relistening to it. Prepare to fall in love with Mal and to be genuinely invested in his struggles.

A masterpiece

This book does the impossible: it rivals the books that make up *His Majesty’s Dark Materials* in story, style, and significance. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece.

As for Michael Sheen’s performance, it is far and away the very best performance of narrating that I have ever heard (and I have listened to hundreds of audible books). Sheen’s talent for voicing different characters and instincts regarding pacing, rhythm, and inflection are nothing short of astonishing. So gifted is Sheen that I cannot imagine anyone experiencing this marvel of a book except through Sheen’s performance.

Loved the book, but many cuss words

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Depends on their age, as verbiage includes many cuss words including the F!#@ word. Other than that issue, the book is well written and as good as all other books in this series

Michael Sheen just as noteworthy as Pullman

This book is fantastic! Very relevant for today's "climate". So get used to that, art imitates life and vise versa. I'm sure there are reviews bashing this book for not subtly at all raising a political perspective. Get over it.

It was so fun returning to this world. I read HDM as a kid in middle school. Coming back to this world as a young adult was so refreshing. I forgot how much I missed these books. Reread HDM if you have not already.

My hat goes off to Mr. Sheen, absolutely riveting and flawless performance.

Also, just download "Secrets of the Commonwealth" right after downloading this one, save yourself the time going back.

A wild ride!

Imaginative, wonderful, everything you want from a Philip Pullman novel. I really couldn’t ask for more having the story set in Oxford. Really I enjoyed it so much.

Confusing second half, overall good story.

Narrator took getting used to, but enjoyed afterwards.
First half of story is very slow, detailed, and enjoyable with interesting characters throughout. Second half moves much faster, is confusing at parts, and leaves many unanswered questions. The book abruptly ends leaving me feeling unsatisfied and hopeful, yet unsure, that many things get explained in the sequels.

A Brilliant Performance by Michael Sheen

As wonderful as the novel is, Michael Sheen's reading is a marvel. Don't hesitate to buy.

Joy to revisit the world of Malcolm and Lyra!

I was overjoyed to get back in the world of dust, to hear of Lyra as a baby, and to get to know Malcolm as a young boy protecting his cherished Lyra. This revisit of an older trilogy is worth reading. It answers questions of the beginning years and feels like a prequel to The Golden Compass trilogy. Enjoy!

Starts out strong, but loses strength in the end.

If you loved the original Dark Materials series and want to see more of their world from a sort of day to day perspective- than you will love this book as much as I have! Likeable characters and fantastic story telling, that never stops being interesting and engaging...until the final few chapters. It's almost as if the author wanted to have his own version of The Odyssey, but once he ran out of ideas the ending happens. I still enjoyed the story and the performance was great! I would recommend this to any fans of the original series.

Amazing

The narrator did an amazing job of bringing this brilliant piece of art to life. Had my heart racing a couple times with the horribly dreadful hyenas cackle.