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It's
been a good couple of years for Philip Pullman. His epic children's
trilogy His Dark Materials has reached new heights
of popularity, he's had one of his books turned into a major
motion picture, and extreme Christian fundamentalists haven't
blown up his house. Things are really looking positive.
At this
point, it makes sense for Pullman to capitalize on this streak
of good fortune, while at the same time enjoying some of the
leisure being an internationally famous author allows. With
an entire fantasy world (and adjacent dimensions) having burst
forth from his pen, he has scores of characters and locations
already in place. He now has the ability to take it easy by
using these pre-created people and places for his writing
and still satisfy his fans' desire to delve further into the
world of his alternative Oxford. His good luck continues.
Once
Upon a Time in the North is another chapter in the life
of everyone's favorite Texan aeronaut, Lee Scoresby. This
novella gives Pullman the chance to explore one of his most
charming and exciting characters who was, sadly, not as prevalent
in the trilogy as some would have liked Scoresby to be. Once
Upon a Time is a prequel of sorts, involving an episode
in the then-young Texan's life, right after he won the hot
air balloon for which he was known. The author paints a picture
of a more foolhardy and less assured Scoresby crashing into
the northern land of Novy Odenese, in search of money and
adventure but only finding the latter. He crashes, of course,
because the copy of The Elements of Aerial Navigation
he won with his balloon had the second half missing (which
would, presumably, cover the landing portion of learning to
fly a balloon).
One could
accuse Pullman of slacking off. One hundred and twelve pages
isn't exactly a grand re-opening, and this is the second such
re-visiting novella in as many years (the other being 2007's
Lyra's Oxford). He isn't just tossing off thoughtless
product, though. It seems a healthy amount of thought has
gone into making the slim tome worth the price of admission.
As an
example, the packaging is magnificent. Each book is a cloth-bound,
travel-sized literary companion, complete with little surprises
and extras. Once Upon a Time in the North comes with
a fold-out board game, as well as some newspaper clippings
about the novella's events, letters, and other such ephemera.
These thoughtful touches help turn the novella from a cast-off
episode into an inhabitable world. It appeals to the romantic
in the reader, as it's a bit of a flashback to a youthful
world of decoder rings and tree houses and adventure. It would
seem Pullman is attempting to create a fully immersive experience
rather than a book.
It's
humorous to note that while Pullman is no longer railing against
the possible corruption of organized religion, he still manages
to sneak in a bit of left-leaning morality. Over the course
of the novel, Scoresby discovers quite rapidly that in the
land of Novy Odenese, an omnipresent oil company is muscling
their way around with the help of certain politicians who
care more about helping the evil, wealthy corporation than
the citizens, and they're slandering Novy Odenese's talking
bear community in an effort to distract the population from
these military-industrial complex evils. Sound familiar at
all?
All that
being said, it's a fun read. While not quite an afterthought
of a book, it most certainly isn't as grand as His Dark
Materials. It can't be. Epic tales and low page counts
rarely go hand-in-hand. Thankfully, Pullman's writing ability
still transforms this novella into an exciting, episodic adventure.
In its short duration, Scoresby crash lands, makes some friends,
makes some enemies, learns the lay of the land, falls in love,
gets into a shootout or two, befriends an armored bear that
fans may recognize, and makes a daring escape. And he does
it all with the expected level of wit, Southern charm, and
gun-slinging heroics, as well as a mixture of skill and floundering
luck.
(May,
2008)
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