Philip Pullman's The Rose Field (Penguin and David Fickling) has been published and reached the top of the Official UK Top 50, according to NielsenIQ BookData's Total Consumer Market (TCM).
Pullman's Northern Lights and Book of Dust trilogies have a massive crossover appeal. The Rose Field has been classified as Science Fiction & Fantasy, giving Pullman his first adult number one title since 2010's The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (Canongate).
Total week one sales came to 49,878 copies, down 9 from the previous instalment.
Although confusion over the category has not hampered its sales, anticipation may have lost Pullman some readers.
Author's summary: Philip Pullman returns to the top.