Things are unraveling in the concluding book of The Book of Dust, the next of Philip Pullman's grand trilogies set in a universe that seems, now more than ever, as a intense and slanted version of our own. Organizations are failing, or reassembling themselves along novel and troubling lines. An invisible force "is wrecking the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "wealth is decaying, and no one knows why". Control is shifting from authorities, and accumulating in the chambers of theocrats, the vaults of corporations, the grasp of rioters. "An element is at work, stealthily, gradually", says businessman a trader character, keeping a observant eye on the Silk Roads from his post in an city cafe. "Aspects we thought were stable and strong are faltering and failing."
The Central Mystery and Her Quest
Precisely what that force might be, and ways to oppose it, is the inquiry that drives The Rose Field, which picks up where the previous book left off. This is, reportedly, the author's concluding venture into the intricately constructed, deeply captivating realm he first unveiled three decades past, with the publication of the first trilogy. It's a domain whose geography corresponds to that of the real world, but whose chronicles tacks and jibes with ours; where the individuals appear and think and act like us, but are accompanied by external spirits, essences in animal form; where the skies are teeming with sorceresses and mythical beasts, but below, vehicles are taken and tea is sipped, and middle-aged academics carry luxury shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first encountered as a child in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then revisited as a infant in the prequel, the introductory book with which the author began this trilogy, is now a mature individual: still recognisably the prickly and tenacious protagonist of the prior volumes, but older, more sorrowful, more cautious, less certain. This limitation is amplified by her division from her soul companion, Pan – but it was also, unexpectedly, the trigger which led him to leave her in the first place.
Merging Narratives
His choice to go off in pursuit of that innocent part of her which she seems to have lost (an trait which he symbolizes as her "creativity"), and her journey to reconnect with him, were the incitements of its predecessor, which followed the protagonist undertake a adventurous voyage across the continent and into the mountain region, encountering with marvel and danger on the way. But from the outset, profound shifts were in motion, and darker forces at work. The religious council – the religious governing authority, and the author's deliciously chilling representation of strict, procedural malice – is under new leadership, and showing its strength. Lyra's uncle – our protagonist's family member, who blames her for his family member's death – has positioned himself into the role of president of the authority's High Council, and is set on using his recently acquired influence to expand the religion's control. A key character, who carried baby Lyra to safety along a flooded Thames as an 11-year-old in La Belle Sauvage, is now an academic with a sideline in espionage: he is dispatched to the city to discover more about his plans. And behind all of this is the puzzle surrounding the scarce and precious essential oil which appears somehow to be the origin of a social and economic upheaval rippling out from Central Asia. The oil is seen by various factions as a commercial commodity, by alternate groups as a empirical or esoteric wonder, and by further factions – the fanatical "mountain dwellers" – as a wellspring of evil; an challenge that must be obliterated. The question of where it comes from, its meaning, and if it should be destroyed or safeguarded is becoming urgent.
Similar to His Dark Materials, Lyra's deeds, and her fate, are demonstrated to be inextricably linked with the future of the world
In its predecessor, these plots ran mostly in parallel. In The Rose Field, they converge. As in the first trilogy, Lyra's choices and her path are shown to be deeply entwined with the future of the world. Her private journey to reconnect with her soul and rediscover her vision becomes the primary battleground in a larger war with an controlling regime which, as such regimes typically do, is striving to suppress autonomy of reason, creativity and art: all the inner, rebellious ways in which humans can be liberated.
Atmospheric Fissures and Ideological Conflicts
The novel starts with the unveiling of a collection of unusual fissures in the fabric of the Earth's sky: gateways that seem to give on to other worlds. An example of a portal seems to be the origin of the highly contested rose oil. The church, with its leader at its head, classifies these portals as a challenge to the religion's beliefs and endeavors to destroy them. As the heroine begins to move from strict logic and back to instinct, however, her belief that these places must be defended – that what they stand for and what they provide is somehow crucial – increases. "The substance, or rose oil, or the creativity, or the botanical realm, or whatever we label it," she says, "it is necessary." The stage for a poetic conflict between naivety and knowledge is prepared.
Plot Rhythm and Personal Evolution
At 640 pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the
