NEW YORK TIMES  BESTSELLER   Philip Pullman returns to the parallel world of His Dark Materials—now an HBO original series starring Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, and Lin-Manuel Miranda—to expand on the story of Lyra, “one of fantasy’s most indelible heroines” ( The New York Times Magazine ).   Don’t miss Volume II of The Book of Dust:  The Secret Commonwealth !   Malcolm Polstead and his daemon, Asta, are used to overhearing news and the occasional scandal at the inn run by his family. But during a winter of unceasing rain, Malcolm finds a mysterious object—and finds himself in grave danger. Inside the object is a cryptic message about something called Dust; and it’s not long before Malcolm is approached by the spy for whom this message was actually intended .  When she asks Malcolm to keep his eyes open, he begins to notice suspicious characters everywhere: the explorer Lord Asriel, clearly on the run; enforcement agents from the Magisterium; a gyptian named Coram with warnings just for Malcolm; and a beautiful woman with an evil monkey for a daemon. All are asking about the same thing: a girl—just a baby—named Lyra.   Lyra is at the center of a storm, and Malcolm will brave any peril, and make shocking sacrifices, to bring her safely through it.   “Too few things in our world are worth a seventeen-year wait:  The Book of Dus t is one of them.” — The Washington Post   “The book is full of wonder. . . . Truly thrilling.” — The New York Times   “People will love the first volume of Philip Pullman’s new trilogy with the same helpless vehemence that stole over them when  The Golden Compass  came out.” — Slate