I may be biased, since I always liked the character of Lee Scoresby and his Daemon, Hester. It is therefor not a big surprise that I liked this small book very much, but I feel that it is a wonderful read for every fan of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. The plot is mainly concerned with the politics of a small mining colony in the high north and, ofcourse, the starting point of Iorek Byrnison's and Lee Scoresby's friendship. The book is another shining example of Phillip Pullmans skill in word-weaving, which alone is reason enough to read this marvellous book.