Description

From the author of the phenomenal His Dark Materials comes the next chapter in the story of Lyra Silvertongue . . .

Lyra is now studying at St Sophia’s College, Oxford, with her daemon Pantalaimon.

But, for the first time there are serious divisions between the two.
Lyra is questioning everything she once held dear. Pan misses the impulsiveness of their youth.

When an act of terrible violence breaks the peace of the Oxford night, Lyra and Pan’s relationship reaches a crisis and they are drawn, far from home, into the dangerous factions of a world they had no idea existed.

The Secret Commonwealth is truly a book for our times; a powerful adventure and a thought-provoking look at what it is to understand yourself and to grow up and make sense of the world around you.

This is storytelling at its very best from one of our greatest writers.

*Exclusive to the paperback edition, Chris Wormell’s new original illustrations bring Lyra’s world vividly to life.*
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Reviews for The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two:

“[Pullman] has created a fantasy world, made yet more satisfying in rigour and stylistic elegance. This is a book for getting older with” Guardian, Book of the Week

“The Secret Commonwealth is ablaze with light and life. The writing is exquisite; every sentence sings … To read Pullman is to experience the world refreshed, aglow, in Technicolour” i

“Pullman’s story is still thought-provoking … This book elegantly weaves in live issues, from Europe’s refugee crisis to facts in the post-truth era. And Pullman’s prose is rewarding as ever” The Times

“A long, taxing, complex journey, laced with beauty, terror and philosophy” Metro

“As ever, Pullman’s story is complex and vast but home to some of the finest storytelling in the 21st century. Revel in whole new worlds and enjoy one of literature’s most wonderful heroines before she comes to HBO and the BBC” Stylist

“Pullman is confronting readers with the horrors of our own world reflected back at us. In The Secret Commonwealthhe creates a fearful symmetry” The Herald

Publisher Review

High-octane adventure accompanies ingenious plotting * The Times * A rich, imaginative, vividly characterised rite-of-passage tale * Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times * No one else writes like Pullman . . . entirely worth the 17-year wait * Imogen Russell Williams, Metro * REVIEWS FOR LA BELLE SAUVAGE: THE BOOK OF DUST VOLUME ONE: Fans of His Dark Materials will find themselves joyfully immersed in a familiar world . . . meanwhile, awaiting first-time readers is all the pleasure of commencing their own journey into this most captivating of universes at the very beginning of Lyra's story * Independent * Pullman has created a fantasy world, made yet more satisfying in this new volume. This is a book for getting older with * Guardian * Pullman is confronting readers with the horrors of our own world reflected back at us. In The Secret Commonwealth he creates a fearful symmetry * The Herald * As ever, Pullman's story is complex and vast but home to some of the finest storytelling in the 21st century. Revel in whole new worlds and enjoy one of literature's most wonderful heroines before she comes to HBO and the BBC * Stylist * A long, taxing, complex journey, laced with beauty, terror and philosophy * Metro * The novel gallops forward, full of danger, delight and surprise. Nearly miraculous, it seems, is Pullman's ability to sketch character, place and motive in just a few lines * New Statesman * Pullman's story is still thought-provoking ... This book elegantly weaves in live issues, from Europe's refugee crisis to facts in the post-truth era. And Pullman's prose is rewarding as ever * The Times * Engrossing * Financial Times * Lyra is all grown up in a rich, vivid sequel * Telegraph * The Secret Commonwealth is ablaze with light and life. The writing is exquisite; every sentence sings ... To read Pullman is to experience the world refreshed, aglow, in Technicolour * Independent * [Pullman] has created a fantasy world, made yet more satisfying in rigour and stylistic elegance. This is a book for getting older with * Guardian, Book of the Week *