Texan aeronaut, Lee Scoresby and his daemon, Hester, land in Novy Odense with the aim to find work and replenish their empty pockets. But instead of work, they mainly find trouble. Luckily they also find a lifelong friendship with bear, Iorek Byrnison.

This is a short novella telling the story of how Lee, Hester and Iorek meet and become friends and the trouble they get into while they do.

I enjoyed this a lot. I loved Lee and Iorek so it was fun to revisit their first meeting. The plot was enjoyable - I liked the political drama surrounding the town and the nosiness of Lee. Lee and Hester were amusing and I loved how they looked after one another. My favourite bit would have to be the advice given to Ms Lund and resulting discussion though.

‘I am most grateful,’ she said.
‘Happy to help, miss, and I wish you very well,’ said Lee. ‘I truly hope you can stop worrying about this.’

A few chilly seconds later he was in his own bed, with Hester beside him on the pillow. ‘Well, Hester,’ he said, ‘what was that all about?’
‘You don’t know? She had a proposal of marriage, of course, you big fool.’
‘She did? No kidding! How about that. And what did I advise her to do?’
‘To say yes, of course.’
‘Sheesh,’ said Lee. ‘I hope I got that right.’

Pullman, Philip. Once Upon a Time in the North (His Dark Materials) (p. 42). Penguin Random House Children's UK. Kindle Edition.

I especially liked that her fiance helps him out because he's grateful Lee advised her to say yes. Although to be fair he did just say to do what was best for herself and would make her happy.


A fast paced and enjoyable fantasy tale - I only wish that I got to see more of Iorek. 4 stars. ( )

C+ (Okay).

There's not much more to it than a shootout, but it's reasonably entertaining for what it is.

(Oct. 2023) ( )

A prequel to His Dark Materials, although it does well enough as a stand-alone book. If you’re not familiar with Philip Pullman, he’s been described as a sort of “Anti-Tolkien, Anti-C.S.Lewis, Anti-J.K. Rowling” fantasy author, based on his atheism. I’m not sure I buy that; Pullman’s world doesn’t come across as anti-religious as much as anti-totalitarian.

In Once Upon A Time In The North, we’re introduced to Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison, both of whom figure prominently in His Dark Materials. I can’t go much further without introducing spoilers, but I found this a quick and enjoyable addition to the Pullman canon. ( )

Last read it in 2010, around the time when I started properly recording what books I read and when. It's longer than I remember.

Pullman's writing is sharp as ever. His world(s) are hard to stay away from! Looking forward to the new book this year. ( )

Good! ( )