Things are unraveling in the concluding book of Pullman's latest trilogy, the second of the author's masterful trilogies set in a universe that manifests, in this volume especially, as a energized and skewed version of our own. Establishments are crumbling, or restructuring themselves along novel and disquieting lines. An hidden force "is destroying the air and the seasons"; simultaneously, "currency is failing, and no one knows why". Control is flowing away from governments, and gathering in the offices of religious leaders, the coffers of business empires, the grasp of crowds. "An element is at work, very quietly, imperceptibly", says businessman Mustafa Bey, keeping a watchful eye on the trade routes from his seat in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were stable and durable are weakening and giving way."
Core Enigma and Lyra's Journey
Precisely what that force might be, and methods to fight it, is the mystery that animates The Rose Field, which continues where the previous book left off. This is, reportedly, the author's final foray into the carefully crafted, infinitely beguiling universe he first introduced 30 years ago, with the release of His Dark Materials. It's a realm whose landscape aligns with that of our world, but whose chronicles diverges and shifts with ours; where the humans look and think and behave like us, but are paired by animal souls, essences in animal form; where the heavens are populated with sorceresses and legendary creatures, but below, buses are taken and drinks is sipped, and mature professors carry fancy shopping bags. Lyra, whom we first encountered as a 12-year-old in the original trilogy, and then revisited as a toddler in the prequel, the introductory book with which Pullman began this trilogy, is now a mature individual: still distinctly the prickly and persistent protagonist of the earlier books, but aged, more sorrowful, more careful, more doubtful. This circumscription is amplified by her division from her soul companion, her daemon – but it was also, unexpectedly, the trigger which caused him to abandon her in the first place.
Converging Storylines
Pan's decision to go off in quest of that youthful part of the heroine which she seems to have lost (an aspect which he symbolizes as her "vision"), and her journey to reconnect with him, were the driving forces of the prior book, which chronicled the protagonist undertake a wandering voyage across the continent and into the Caucasus, encountering with marvel and peril on the way. But from the start, deeper currents were in play, and sinister powers at work. The church authority – the religious controlling power, and Pullman's brilliantly sinister incarnation of strict, procedural wickedness – is under fresh command, and showing its strength. Marcel Delamare – Lyra's uncle, who holds responsible her for his sister's death – has manoeuvred himself into the position of head of the church's High Council, and is set on using his fresh power to broaden the institution's control. A key character, who carried baby the heroine to safety along a overflowing Thames as an child in the prequel, is now an Oxford don with a additional duty in espionage: he is dispatched to a key location to learn more about Delamare's intentions. And behind all of this is the mystery surrounding the rare and valuable essential oil which seems mysteriously to be the source of a social and economic crisis emanating out from that area. The extract is regarded by some as a marketable good, by alternate groups as a scientific or esoteric phenomenon, and by further factions – the zealous "men from the mountains" – as a wellspring of evil; an affront that must be eradicated. The question of its origins, its significance, and whether it should be destroyed or safeguarded is becoming urgent.
As in the original trilogy, the heroine's decisions, and her future, are demonstrated to be deeply connected with the future of the world
In The Secret Commonwealth, these plots ran broadly in parallel. In this final book, they come together. Similar to the original series, her actions and her destiny are revealed to be deeply woven with the fate of the realm. Her personal journey to reconnect with her companion and regain her creativity becomes the primary conflict in a broader war with an oppressive system which, as such authorities often attempt, is attempting to quell autonomy of reason, originality and culture: all the inner, rebellious ways in which people can be free.
Cosmic Openings and Ideological Conflicts
The novel begins with the unveiling of a series of curious cracks in the structure of the planet's sky: gateways that seem to give on to other worlds. One such opening seems to be the point of the much debated mystical extract. The church, with its leader at its helm, designates these windows as a threat to the church's orthodoxy and aims to destroy them. As our protagonist begins to turn away from inflexible logic and revert to instinct, nevertheless, her belief that these places must be defended – that what they stand for and what they offer is somehow vital – strengthens. "Dust, or the extract, or the creativity, or the botanical realm, or whatever we name it," she says, "we need it." The scene for a poetic struggle between innocence and experience is set.
Story Tempo and Protagonist Growth
At 640 pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the
