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Tings are unraveling in the last installment of The Book of Dust, the second of Philip Pullman's magisterial trilogies set in a realm that manifests, now more than ever, as a energized and slanted version of our own. Institutions are weakening, or restructuring themselves along unfamiliar and troubling lines. An unseen force "is destroying the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "currency is failing, and no one knows why". Control is draining from governments, and pooling in the chambers of religious leaders, the treasuries of business empires, the hands of mobs. "Some force is at work, very quietly, imperceptibly", says merchant Mustafa Bey, keeping a observant eye on the trade routes from his place in an Aleppo cafe. "Things we thought were secure and solid are faltering and collapsing."

Core Enigma and Her Quest

Just what that force might be, and methods to fight it, is the mystery that animates The Rose Field, which picks up where the previous book ended. This is, reportedly, the author's final venture into the intricately constructed, infinitely beguiling realm he first unveiled 30 years ago, with the launch of the first trilogy. It's a world whose terrain corresponds to that of this world, but whose history tacks and jibes with ours; where the humans appear and think and act like us, but are paired by daemons, essences in creature form; where the air are populated with enchantresses and mythical beasts, but underneath, transports are taken and drinks is drunk, and older academics carry Harrods shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first met as a young girl in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then saw again as a toddler in the first volume, the origin story with which Pullman began the series, is now a adult: still distinctly the prickly and determined main character of the previous installments, but older, sadder, more careful, more doubtful. This circumscription is intensified by her split from her soul companion, Pantalaimon – but it was also, unexpectedly, the catalyst which caused him to abandon her in the first place.

Converging Storylines

Pan's decision to leave in pursuit of that youthful part of the heroine which she appears to have shed (an quality which he represents as her "imagination"), and her journey to reconnect with him, were the catalysts of its predecessor, which saw the protagonist undertake a picaresque voyage across Europe and into the mountain region, encountering with marvel and risk on the way. But from the outset, profound shifts were in play, and malevolent elements at work. The Magisterium – the church's governing authority, and Pullman's brilliantly sinister embodiment of rigid, procedural wickedness – is under recent guidance, and flexing its muscles. Lyra's uncle – Lyra's relative, who blames her for his family member's death – has manoeuvred himself into the role of president of the authority's ruling assembly, and is set on using his newfound influence to expand the institution's rule. Malcolm Polstead, who rescued infant the heroine to safety along a flooded Thames as an child in the first book, is now an academic with a secondary role in espionage: he is assigned to the city to find out more about the antagonist's aims. And behind all of this is the mystery surrounding the scarce and valuable essential oil which seems somehow to be the source of a societal and financial crisis emanating out from Central Asia. The substance is regarded by various factions as a marketable good, by different parties as a empirical or mystical phenomenon, and by yet others – the extremist "highland figures" – as a wellspring of darkness; an insult that must be eradicated. The question of its origins, its meaning, and if it should be removed or protected is becoming urgent.

Similar to the original trilogy, Lyra's actions, and her destiny, are revealed to be inseparably linked with the future of the universe

In The Secret Commonwealth, these plots ran broadly in tandem. In the conclusion, they come together. Like the original series, the protagonist's movements and her path are shown to be deeply woven with the fate of the universe. Her personal quest to reunite with her daemon and recover her imagination becomes the key struggle in a larger war with an oppressive regime which, as these systems typically do, is attempting to stifle autonomy of thinking, innovation and expression: all the inner, rebellious ways in which humans can be free.

Dimensional Rifts and Philosophical Struggles

The novel begins with the discovery of a series of unusual fissures in the makeup of the Earth's atmosphere: gateways that appear to give on to different dimensions. An example of a opening appears to be the origin of the fiercely disputed botanical substance. The Magisterium, with Delamare at its helm, designates these windows as a challenge to the religion's doctrine and aims to eliminate them. As Lyra begins to turn away from inflexible logic and return to intuition, nevertheless, her conviction that these locations must be preserved – that their meaning and what they offer is mysteriously crucial – strengthens. "Cosmic particles, or the substance, or the creativity, or the field of roses, or whatever we label it," she says, "it is necessary." The setting for a Blakean struggle between naivety and maturity is established.

Plot Rhythm and Personal Evolution

At a substantial length, The Rose Field|this volume|the