Exclusive First Read: Philip Pullman's 'The Book Of Dust'

Philip Pullman introduced readers to his alternate Oxford, full of magic and danger, in the His Dark Materials trilogy, beginning with 1995's The Golden Compass. The story of young Lyra Belacqua, her soul-companion Pantalaimon, and their battle against the oppressive forces of the quasi-religious Magisterium became a massive world-wide hit. Now, he's returning to that world in The Book of Dust, which will explore how Lyra came to live in Oxford.

We're excited to have this exclusive first look at The Book of Dust, with a brief introduction from Pullman himself. We'll also have a profile of Pullman coming the day the book comes out — Oct 19. And he'll be speaking with Weekend Edition's Scott Simon on Saturday, October 21.

Malcolm Polstead, the 11-year-old at the center of the story, sees a great deal of the secret life of Oxford from the perspective of the rivers and the canal in his canoe La Belle Sauvage. Here he witnesses something he'd never expected to see, and discovers something that will change his life.

-- Philip Pullman

Malcolm let the canoe drift to a halt and then silently slipped in among the stiff stems and watched as a great crested grebe scrambled up onto the towpath, waddled ungracefully across, and then