Review: Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman

“Once Upon a Time in the North” (Philip Pullman)

Given the huge success of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy, the first volume of which, The Golden Compass on this side of the pond, has been made into a major motion picture, it’s no surprise that Pullman has since continued to tell stories in this alternate universe. His latest forray into this world, the short story (novella? novelette? I can never keep track of these somewhat arbitrary terms) “Once Upon a Time in the North”, chronicles the meeting of Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby and armored bear Iorek Byrnison, two beloved characters in the His Dark Materials series.

Once again, I consumed this story in aural form via Audible.com, which in this case was a treat since Pullman himself narrates the tale, along with a full cast of voice actors. I can’t swear to this, but it sounds to me like a different voice actor played the role of Lee Scoresby in the original His Dark Materials dramatization, and I never quite grew accustomed to this new actor. Overall, though, the production values and voice acting are strong.

Once Upon a Time in the North follows the brief, tumultuous events of Lee Scoresby’s visit to the arctic island of Novy Odense. In short order, the balloonist becomes embroiled in the political struggle in the community between the local officials and the rising corporate powers. On little more than a whim, he agrees to provide armed support for a captain who needs to load his purloined cargo on board his ship so he can cast off.

Pullman once again proves his prowess as a fine storyteller. The characters are vividly drawn, the action sequences are suitably hair-raising, and the atmosphere of this little arctic town is finely wrought. It’s a pleasure to spend some more time with the Han Solo-like Scoresby, who despite an overall mercenary attitude still manages to maintain a strong sense of honor, and his sweet-tempred hare daemon Hester. The panzerbjorn Iorek Byrnison receives less airtime, but the scenes in which he does appear are certainly memorable.

Unlike Lyra’s Oxford, the story set in the His Dark Materials universe, Once Upon a Time in the North lacks the philosophical or spiritual significance that, in my view, made Pullman’s novels such a success. Nary a mention of Dust or the Oblation Board or Lord Asriel or Mrs. Coulter is to be found here. The result is a well-told tale, but ultimately a superficial one. I hope that Pullman will either once again delve into these issues which made His Dark Materials such a thought-provoking series, or will wow us with an entirely new world of wonder to explore.

Still, if you’ve come to love Pullman’s characters as I have, spending another couple hours with them is no bad thing.