Tings are collapsing in the concluding book of The Book of Dust, the next of the author's magisterial trilogies set in a universe that seems, in this volume especially, as a energized and skewed version of our own. Establishments are failing, or reorganizing themselves along unfamiliar and troubling lines. An hidden force "is destroying the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "wealth is decaying, and no one knows why". Authority is shifting from governments, and accumulating in the halls of religious leaders, the treasuries of conglomerates, the control of crowds. "Something is at work, silently, gradually", says businessman a merchant figure, keeping a observant eye on the trade routes from his place in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were secure and durable are deteriorating and collapsing."
Core Enigma and Lyra's Journey
Just what that element might be, and methods to fight it, is the question that animates The Rose Field, which continues where The Secret Commonwealth ended. This is, reportedly, Pullman's concluding venture into the intricately constructed, infinitely beguiling realm he first introduced 30 years ago, with the release of Northern Lights. It's a world whose geography aligns with that of the real world, but whose past diverges and shifts with ours; where the humans appear and reason and behave like us, but are paired by daemons, souls in animal form; where the skies are teeming with witches and legendary creatures, but underneath, buses are caught and tea is drunk, and older professors carry Harrods shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first introduced to as a young girl in the original trilogy, and then revisited as a toddler in the first volume, the prequel with which the author began the series, is now a adult: still recognisably the sharp and persistent protagonist of the previous installments, but more mature, melancholic, more cautious, more doubtful. This restraint is heightened by her division from her soul companion, Pantalaimon – but it was also, ironically, the cause which made him desert her in the first place.
Merging Narratives
His choice to go off in search of that childlike part of her which she appears to have shed (an quality which he represents as her "creativity"), and her mission to reunite with him, were the catalysts of its predecessor, which chronicled the protagonist undertake a adventurous trek across Europe and into the mountain region, encountering with marvel and danger on the way. But from the beginning, deeper currents were in motion, and malevolent elements at work. The Magisterium – the church's ruling body, and the author's masterfully eerie embodiment of rigid, procedural malice – is under fresh command, and flexing its muscles. Lyra's uncle – Lyra's family member, who blames her for his sister's death – has positioned himself into the office of leader of the authority's High Council, and is intent on using his newfound power to extend the institution's control. Malcolm Polstead, who carried young the heroine to safety along a overflowing river as an 11-year-old in the prequel, is now an university scholar with a secondary role in intelligence work: he is dispatched to the city to find out more about his plans. And underlying all of this is the puzzle surrounding the uncommon and valuable botanical extract which seems in some way to be the cause of a societal and financial disturbance emanating out from that area. The oil is regarded by some as a commercial good, by different parties as a research-based or esoteric phenomenon, and by yet others – the fanatical "men from the mountains" – as a wellspring of malevolence; an insult that must be eradicated. The question of its origins, its significance, and if it should be destroyed or preserved is coming rapidly to the fore.
As in the first series, Lyra's actions, and her fate, are revealed to be inextricably connected with the future of the world
In The Secret Commonwealth, these plots ran largely in side by side. In The Rose Field, they come together. As in the first trilogy, the protagonist's actions and her path are unveiled to be deeply entwined with the future of the realm. Her private quest to reconnect with her daemon and regain her vision becomes the primary struggle in a wider battle with an authoritarian regime which, as these systems always have, is seeking to suppress independence of reason, creativity and expression: all the inner, resistant ways in which people can be independent.
Cosmic Openings and Ideological Conflicts
The story begins with the unveiling of a set of strange cracks in the structure of the planet's atmosphere: portals that look to open into different dimensions. An example of a window appears to be the origin of the highly contested mystical extract. The Magisterium, with Delamare at its head, classifies these windows as a threat to the religion's orthodoxy and endeavors to destroy them. As our protagonist begins to turn away from strict logic and return to feeling, nevertheless, her certainty that these locations must be defended – that what they stand for and their value is mysteriously essential – strengthens. "Dust, or the extract, or the imagination, or the Rose Field, or no matter what we name it," she says, "we require it." The setting for a poetic conflict between naivety and experience is set.
Narrative Pacing and Character Development
At a substantial length, The Rose Field|this volume|the
