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The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two
Book of Dust Series (Related to this series)
- Narrator
- Michael Sheen
- Publisher
- Penguin Random House Children's UK
- Publish Date
- 3 October 2019
- Run Time
- 19 hours 44 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: Epic fantasy / heroic fantasy, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Crime and mystery fiction
- Rating
- 4.8 (6 reviews)
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What to expect
Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.
Winner of Best Solo Narration at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020
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.
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
"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
"Michael Sheen throws himself wholeheartedly into narrating this sequel to La Belle Sauvage and listeners will be rapt. For the ever-expanding international cast of characters, Sheen conjures a multitude of accents and delivers rapid-fire conversations between them. He's in step with the text at every turn; when situations become fraught or dangerous, Sheen ramps up the tension exquisitely. Thanks to Pullman's intricate storytelling and Sheen's propulsive narration, listeners will be on the edge of their seats right up to the cliff-hanger ending" AudioFile
© Phillip Pullman 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2019
Critics Review
-
[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
Independent
-
Lyra is all grown up in a rich, vivid sequel
Telegraph
-
Engrossing
Financial Times
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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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
-
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
-
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 Commonwealth he creates a fearful symmetry
The Herald
-
Pullman has created a fantasy world, made yet more satisfying in this new volume. This is a book for getting older with
Guardian
User Reviews
Book 4.8
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Narration by Michael Sheen really brings out the magic of the writing - also brilliant and prescient of the times we find ourselves in now.
jo tait 2026-01-03
Details
- Author
- Philip Pullman, illustrated by Chris Wormell
- Narrator
- Michael Sheen
- Duration
- 19 hours 44 minutes
- Release Date
- 3 October 2019
- ISBN
- 9780241379332
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Random House Children's UK
- Genre
- Children’s / Teenage fiction: Epic fantasy / heroic fantasy, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Crime and mystery fiction
- Rating
- 4.8(6 reviews)
- Narration
- 5.0(6 reviews)
Synopsis
Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year at the British Book Awards 2020.Winner of Best Solo Narration at the New York Festival Radio Awards 2020From 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.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"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"Michael Sheen throws himself wholeheartedly into narrating this sequel to La Belle Sauvage and listeners will be rapt. For the ever-expanding international cast of characters, Sheen conjures a multitude of accents and delivers rapid-fire conversations between them. He's in step with the text at every turn; when situations become fraught or dangerous, Sheen ramps up the tension exquisitely. Thanks to Pullman's intricate storytelling and Sheen's propulsive narration, listeners will be on the edge of their seats right up to the cliff-hanger ending" AudioFile© Phillip Pullman 2019 (P) Penguin Audio 2019
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