Once Upon a Time in the North (His Dark Materials, #0.5)

by Philip Pullman

John Lawrence (Illustrator)

When Lyra is studying at Oxford University, she comes across the story of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnisson's first meeting, many years ago, along with much evidence of the adventure that brought them together.

When a young Texan balloonist, Lee Scoresby, comes down to earth in the harbour of an Arctic town in the North, little does he realise that he is about to be embroiled in an out-and-out political brawl.

Lee and his daemon, Hester, find themselves the target of political factions trying to take over the running (and oil) of the town. And also resident in the town are huge arctic bears, ignored and patronised by the people and treated like second-class citizens. When Lee and Iorek first meet, they cement a friendship that will continue throughout their lives, as the tensions and pressure in town lead to a deadly conclusion...

Another wonderful tale from a master story-teller, giving us more extraordinary insight into the world of His Dark Materials. Includes a thrilling board game!

• ISBN10: 0385614322
• ISBN13: 9780385614320
• Publish Date: 1 April 2008 (first published 1 January 1999)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 16 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: David Fickling Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 112
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Three and a half stars.

Once Upon a Time in the North is a short story prequel for His Dark Materials (AKA the Golden Compass series) that tells us of how Lee Scoresby comes to be friends with Iorek Byrnison (love him). For those that haven’t read His Dark Materials in ages (like me), Lee Scoresby becomes friends with Lyra during their time together. Seeing his origin story was actually pretty interesting, though I’ll admit to having forgotten what his daemon’s form was, or her name for that matter. Having it all refreshed was ideal – with the Book of Dust due to release shortly.
This short story has a bit of a slow start, but once it gets going it’s really quite hard to put down. Even knowing that Lee is safe in the end (logically he must be, in order to show up in later novels) I still felt myself afraid for his safety at times. Seeing Hester (Lee’s daemon) again reminded me of just how cute she is.
I absolutely loved seeing Iorek again, even better was seeing how he became a part of the series. I’ve always loved his character, so noble and stoic. So I’ll take any excuse to get a bit more information about it.
If you’re looking for a few extra details about the series, or just a refresher before the new book drops, this short story is perfect for you.

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

Welcome back to Lyra's world.

Once Upon a Time in the North is a fun little novella that gives fans of His Dark Materials a little peek into the life of aeronaut Lee Scorseby, his daemon Hester, and the armored bear Iorek Byrnison.  This story is definitely more of a snapshot than a complete story, and frankly, it just left me with more questions about Lee's history!  But it was still loads of fun to read a little about these characters outside of their roles in His Dark Materials.

While this book is short, it's bloody.

Even in his youth, Lee Scorseby has that cowboy-vibe and he's not afraid to pull out his pistol for the right cause.  This is definitely true of Once Upon a Time in the North, and I say this because the full second half of this book is a gunfight.  The physical copy of the book with its illustrated cover and lightweight pages and generally small size looks a lot like a early reader's chapter book - I think it's important that parents know that this is probably not well suited for a seven or eight year old, unless they want to be reading about bulletwounds?  Be ye warned.

One thing that I loved about this novella was Lee's daemon, Hester.  In the other books, Hester is a relatively quiet little daemon - especially compared to Pan - and we don't hear a lot about her.  Once Upon a Time in the North starts out much the same way, only Hester begins to unfold, ending in her own fight.  I thought she was very brave, but also delightful.

And, as a little bonus:

If you look through this book, there are loads of scraps and tidbits... shipping ledgers, handwritten notes, and the like.  At the VERY end, there are a few handwritten letters and a certificate of dissortation, which I nearly didn't read... READ THEM!  The source of this story made me smile.

Read more reviews like this and find other bookish goodness at The Literary Phoenix.

[wyvernfriend]

The story of the meeting and friendship that formed from that meeting of Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison, misunderstanding happens and the two have to help keep justice going. It's an interesting and touching short story with some fine engravings and illustations. This also includes a game.