Things are falling apart in the concluding book of Pullman's latest trilogy, the next of Philip Pullman's masterful trilogies set in a world that appears, now more than ever, as a energized and tilted version of our own. Organizations are failing, or reorganizing themselves along novel and disturbing lines. An unseen force "is wrecking the air and the seasons"; concurrently, "money's going bad, and no one knows why". Authority is flowing away from states, and accumulating in the chambers of religious leaders, the coffers of conglomerates, the control of crowds. "An element is at work, stealthily, imperceptibly", says trader Mustafa Bey, keeping a watchful eye on the trade routes from his post in an Aleppo cafe. "Aspects we thought were stable and durable are deteriorating and giving way."
Core Enigma and Her Quest
Just what that force might be, and methods to fight it, is the inquiry that propels the concluding book, which continues where the previous book ended. This is, according to many, Pullman's last venture into the intricately constructed, deeply captivating realm he first revealed in the distant past, with the launch of His Dark Materials. It's a domain whose landscape maps on to that of this world, but whose history tacks and jibes with ours; where the individuals look and think and behave like us, but are paired by daemons, essences in beast form; where the heavens are teeming with enchantresses and legendary creatures, but underneath, buses are ridden and beverages is sipped, and older professors carry Harrods shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first encountered as a 12-year-old in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then met once more as a infant in the first volume, the prequel with which Pullman began the series, is now a young woman: still distinctly the prickly and persistent heroine of the earlier books, but more mature, melancholic, more careful, less sure. This restraint is amplified by her division from her animal guide, Pan – but it was also, paradoxically, the cause which caused him to abandon her in the first place.
Interwoven Plots
Pan's decision to leave in quest of that childlike part of Lyra which she seems to have lost (an quality which he represents as her "imagination"), and her quest to reunite with him, were the catalysts of The Secret Commonwealth, which saw Lyra undertake a adventurous trek across the continent and into the Caucasus, facing with wonder and risk on the way. But from the beginning, underlying forces were in action, and sinister powers at work. The religious council – the church's ruling body, and Pullman's deliciously chilling incarnation of austere, procedural malice – is under fresh command, and showing its strength. Marcel Delamare – the heroine's family member, who faults her for his family member's death – has positioned himself into the position of president of the Magisterium's governing body, and is set on using his newfound authority to broaden the religion's control. Malcolm Polstead, who rescued young the heroine to security along a overflowing river as an child in the prequel, is now an Oxford don with a sideline in espionage: he is dispatched to a key location to find out more about his plans. And behind all of this is the puzzle surrounding the rare and precious rose oil which seems in some way to be the origin of a societal and economic disturbance spreading out from that area. The extract is seen by certain groups as a tradeable good, by others as a scientific or spiritual wonder, and by further factions – the extremist "highland figures" – as a source of malevolence; an insult that must be eradicated. The dilemma of its origins, its significance, and if it should be removed or preserved is becoming urgent.
As in His Dark Materials, our protagonist's deeds, and her fate, are shown to be inseparably entwined with the future of the world
In The Secret Commonwealth, these plots ran mostly in side by side. In the conclusion, they merge. As in His Dark Materials, Lyra's actions and her path are revealed to be inextricably linked with the fate of the world. Her personal quest to reunite with her companion and recover her vision becomes the primary battleground in a wider war with an controlling system which, as such authorities often attempt, is attempting to stifle independence of reason, creativity and expression: all the personal, defiant ways in which humans can be liberated.
Atmospheric Fissures and Philosophical Struggles
The book begins with the discovery of a series of strange cracks in the fabric of the planet's atmosphere: portals that look to lead to different dimensions. One such portal appears to be the point of the fiercely disputed mystical extract. The authority, with the antagonist at its helm, labels these openings as a threat to the religion's doctrine and aims to eradicate them. As our protagonist begins to shift from rigid reason and revert to feeling, yet, her certainty that these places must be preserved – that their significance and what they provide is in some way vital – increases. "Dust, or rose oil, or the creativity, or the botanical realm, or no matter what we call it," she says, "we need it." The scene for a poetic conflict between innocence and experience is established.
Narrative Pacing and Personal Evolution
At over six hundred pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the
