Tings are unraveling in the concluding book of The Book of Dust, the second of the author's grand trilogies set in a universe that manifests, now more than ever, as a intense and slanted version of our own. Institutions are failing, or reorganizing themselves along unfamiliar and disturbing lines. An unseen force "is destroying the air and the seasons"; concurrently, "money's going bad, and no one knows why". Control is flowing away from authorities, and gathering in the halls of religious leaders, the vaults of corporations, the control of rioters. "Something is at work, very quietly, imperceptibly", says merchant a merchant figure, keeping a watchful eye on the ancient paths from his post in an Aleppo cafe. "Elements we thought were secure and solid are deteriorating and collapsing."
Core Enigma and Lyra's Journey
Exactly what that something might be, and methods to fight it, is the inquiry that drives this final volume, which continues where The Secret Commonwealth left off. This is, according to many, Pullman's final venture into the intricately constructed, endlessly enchanting universe he first revealed 30 years ago, with the release of Northern Lights. It's a domain whose geography maps on to that of this world, but whose history veers and changes with ours; where the humans appear and reason and behave like us, but are paired by external spirits, souls in beast form; where the air are teeming with witches and legendary creatures, but underneath, buses are caught and tea is consumed, and older scholars carry Harrods shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first encountered as a 12-year-old in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then revisited as a baby in La Belle Sauvage, the prequel with which Pullman began the series, is now a adult: still recognisably the prickly and tenacious protagonist of the prior volumes, but more mature, more sorrowful, warier, more doubtful. This circumscription is heightened by her split from her soul companion, her daemon – but it was also, ironically, the cause which caused him to abandon her in the first place.
Interwoven Plots
Pan's decision to leave in pursuit of that youthful part of her which she may have forgotten (an aspect which he epitomises as her "creativity"), and her journey to reunite with him, were the driving forces of The Secret Commonwealth, which chronicled the protagonist undertake a picaresque trek across Europe and into the Caucasus, encountering with marvel and risk on the way. But from the outset, deeper currents were in play, and malevolent elements at work. The church authority – the religious controlling power, and Pullman's deliciously chilling embodiment of rigid, procedural evil – is under recent guidance, and showing its strength. Lyra's uncle – Lyra's relative, who faults her for his sibling's death – has positioned himself into the position of leader of the Magisterium's governing body, and is intent on using his fresh influence to expand the institution's control. Another protagonist, who rescued young the heroine to refuge along a swollen Thames as an young boy in La Belle Sauvage, is now an academic with a sideline in espionage: he is assigned to a key location to learn more about Delamare's intentions. And underlying all of this is the enigma surrounding the rare and costly botanical extract which manifests in some way to be the origin of a social and financial disturbance rippling out from the region. The extract is regarded by certain groups as a commercial product, by alternate groups as a research-based or spiritual miracle, and by others still – the fanatical "men from the mountains" – as a wellspring of darkness; an affront that must be obliterated. The question of its origins, what it stands for, and if it should be removed or safeguarded is escalating in importance.
Similar to the first series, Lyra's deeds, and her future, are shown to be deeply connected with the fate of the universe
In The Secret Commonwealth, these plots ran broadly in tandem. In the conclusion, they come together. Similar to the first trilogy, the protagonist's choices and her fate are revealed to be inseparably linked with the destiny of the realm. Her individual quest to rejoin with her daemon and recover her creativity becomes the primary struggle in a wider battle with an oppressive system which, as these systems typically do, is attempting to suppress autonomy of reason, originality and expression: all the internal, resistant ways in which people can be liberated.
Atmospheric Fissures and Ideological Conflicts
The book opens with the unveiling of a set of curious cracks in the fabric of the world's air: windows that look to lead to alternate realities. One such portal manifests to be the source of the highly contested mystical extract. The Magisterium, with Delamare at its helm, designates these portals as a problem to the church's doctrine and sets out to eliminate them. As the heroine begins to move from inflexible logic and return to instinct, yet, her certainty that these locations must be defended – that their meaning and what they offer is in some way crucial – grows. "The substance, or the substance, or the creativity, or the field of roses, or no matter what we label it," she says, "it is necessary." The stage for a philosophical conflict between innocence and knowledge is prepared.
Plot Rhythm and Character Development
At a substantial length, The Rose Field|this volume|the
