Once Upon a Time in the North- Philip Pullman

Once Upon a Time in the North- Philip Pullman

Astute readers will infer from the title of this blog that I am at least passingly familiar with the world of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials. (The first person to correctly identify the reference in the comments wins a prize.) Passingly familiar is, however, a massive understatement. HDM is the series that revitalized my love of children's literature as an adult. It proved to me that the stories could be morally complex and ambiguous, while at the same time remaining true to notions of bravery, heroism, and sacrifice for the greater good. It also proved that stories for children could contain powerful ideas that maybe aren't so easily digested. These books made you THINK! I still remember finishing The Subtle Knife around 9:30 at night, and rushing out to my local bookstore to purchase The Amber Spyglass before it closed. Despite the disappointing (to me at least) movie, I remain a fan.

OUATITN is the second slim volume Pullman has written describing the exploits of characters from the original trilogy following Lyra's Oxford. OUATITN details the exploits of a young Lee Scoresby and his initial encounters with an extraordinary panzerbjorn named Iorek Byrnison. Apparently, before Pullman is finished, there will be a third mini-story featuring the adventures of Will. Perhaps Pullman will then turn his attentions to the long-rumored follow up trilogy to HDM.

The story begins with Lee and his beloved hare deamon Hester in dire straits as his newly-acquired balloon is losing altitude near the arctic island of Novy Odense. Lee makes quite an impression on the local populace (after a barely controlled crash landing.) Being the iconoclastic, fair-minded individual that he is, it doesn't take Lee long to run afoul of the local powers that be.

It seems Novy Odense, despite the best efforts of local government, is controlled by the machinations of the Larsen Manganese mining company. More interested in turning a profit than conducting fair business, the company is currently preventing a captain from loading his rightful cargo and departing the Port before paying extra taxes and fees. The captain cannot afford those prices, and risks losing his entire cargo and livelihood. Anyone who remembers Lee's selfless sacrifice from HDM knows that Lee Scoresby will not abide in the strong lording over the weak.

Lee and Iorek Byrnison team up to help the captain free his cargo. Along the way they run into a crooked mayoral candidate, a terrifyingly merciless gunfighter, and other assorted ne'erdowells. Will their efforts be enough? Can even the might of a panzerbjorn stand against the awesomeness of an early tank prototype? I won't give away the answer, but if you know anything about Iorek, then you can probably guess....

The story is brief, less than 100 pages, but the pace is brisk, and the reader is left wanting more. The volume is beautifully crafted, illustrated with engravings from John Lawrence. It is also interspersed with ephemera from the HDM such as pages from The Elements of Aerial Navigation, a how-to ballooning manual Lee uses, the rules for the board game Peril of the Pole (the actual game itself is also included in the book), and a newspaper article describing incidents from the book from a different perspective from that of the main characters. There are even hints at Lyra's future scattered toward the back, so make sure you read everything!

Overall, I highly recommend it, although there are some scary scenes in the book where violence is frankly discussed. Also, being British, Pullman is more casual toward some of the milder swear words that we are unused to in our American fiction for children. None are used gratuitously, and all fit in with the nature of the characters. In particular, I'm referring to the B word, the D word, the H word, and the A word. If you enjoyed the original HDM trilogy, then you'll love Once UPon a Time in the North.