<i>Once Upon a Time in the North</i> (review)
2008; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 61; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.0.0108
ISSN1558-6766
Autores ResumoReviewed by: Once Upon a Time in the North Karen Coats Pullman, Philip Once Upon a Time in the North; illus. by John Lawrence. Fickling/Knopf, 2008 104p ISBN 978-0-375-84510-9 $12.99 R Gr. 7–10 Throughout His Dark Materials, the fiercely loyal friendship between Lee Scoresby and the armored bear Iorek Burnison hints at a moment in which their brotherhood was born; this is the story of that moment. Scoresby blows into a northern port city caught in the throes of corruption as a mining company seeks to challenge the power of a legitimate civic authority. The mining company has their champion, a disgraced former senator who is running for mayor on a platform to get rid of the bears that hang about the town, and, with Lee’s arrival, the company now has their scourge. When Lee decides that the politician is up to no good, he intervenes in a standoff between the mining company and a ship captain whose cargo they are holding; Iorek joins him against their common enemy, and, in the ensuing gun battle, their friendship is sealed. Scoresby is in his element here, with a showdown and gunfight that would have been at home in any spaghetti Western if it hadn’t been for the presence of Iorek. Indeed, fans might want a bit more Iorek; he only [End Page 440] shows up in the pivotal moment to tip the scales and ensure Lee’s victory, but the nature of their relationship, as well as Lee and his daemon Hester’s taste for dangerous justice, is well established in this quick novella. Occasional artwork in elegant wood engraving lends atmosphere to this already contextualized tale; appended newspaper articles, pages from aeronautical books, a bill of lading, and letters from Lyra add to the context. Also included is an inventive board game called Peril of the Pole so that aeronaut wannabes can get their polar adventure on. Copyright © 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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