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Things are unraveling in the concluding book of Pullman's latest trilogy, the second of Philip Pullman's grand trilogies set in a world that seems, now more than ever, as a intense and tilted version of our own. Establishments are weakening, or reassembling themselves along novel and disturbing lines. An invisible force "is ruining the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "currency is failing, and no one knows why". Power is draining from governments, and gathering in the halls of theocrats, the vaults of corporations, the control of rioters. "Some force is at work, silently, imperceptibly", says merchant Mustafa Bey, keeping a vigilant eye on the trade routes from his post in an Aleppo cafe. "Aspects we thought were firm and durable are faltering and collapsing."

Key Puzzle and Her Quest

Exactly what that element might be, and how to counteract it, is the inquiry that animates The Rose Field, which continues where its predecessor left off. This is, reportedly, Pullman's concluding foray into the carefully crafted, endlessly enchanting world he first unveiled 30 years ago, with the release of Northern Lights. It's a realm whose terrain corresponds to that of this world, but whose past diverges and shifts with ours; where the people appear and reason and behave like us, but are paired by external spirits, essences in animal form; where the skies are filled with enchantresses and mythical beasts, but beneath those skies, buses are ridden and drinks is sipped, and middle-aged academics carry fancy shopping bags. Our heroine, whom we first introduced to as a 12-year-old in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then met once more as a toddler in La Belle Sauvage, the prequel with which Pullman began the series, is now a mature individual: still distinctly the spiky and determined main character of the earlier books, but aged, sadder, more careful, less certain. This circumscription is heightened by her separation from her daemon, her daemon – but it was also, unexpectedly, the cause which made him desert her in the first place.

Interwoven Plots

The daemon's resolve to depart in quest of that innocent part of the heroine which she appears to have shed (an quality which he symbolizes as her "creativity"), and her quest to reconnect with him, were the incitements of the prior book, which saw the protagonist undertake a adventurous journey across Europe and into the mountain region, encountering with wonder and risk on the way. But from the start, deeper currents were in motion, and sinister powers at work. The Magisterium – the church's controlling power, and Pullman's deliciously chilling representation of austere, bureaucratic evil – is under new leadership, and flexing its muscles. Lyra's uncle – the heroine's relative, who faults her for his sibling's death – has positioned himself into the office of president of the Magisterium's ruling assembly, and is determined on using his recently acquired power to extend the institution's dominium. A key character, who rescued young the heroine to security along a swollen Thames as an child in La Belle Sauvage, is now an university scholar with a sideline in intelligence work: he is sent to a key location to discover more about Delamare's intentions. And behind all of this is the mystery surrounding the uncommon and precious botanical extract which seems in some way to be the origin of a societal and economic crisis rippling out from Central Asia. The oil is seen by various factions as a marketable good, by alternate groups as a scientific or mystical miracle, and by further factions – the fanatical "men from the mountains" – as a origin of darkness; an insult that must be obliterated. The dilemma of its origins, its significance, and whether it should be removed or protected is becoming urgent.

Like the original trilogy, our protagonist's deeds, and her destiny, are shown to be inextricably entwined with the fate of the universe

In the previous volume, these narratives ran mostly in parallel. In The Rose Field, they merge. Similar to the first trilogy, her movements and her destiny are unveiled to be inseparably linked with the destiny of the universe. Her private journey to rejoin with her daemon and rediscover her vision becomes the primary struggle in a wider battle with an authoritarian government which, as such regimes often attempt, is striving to stifle autonomy of thought, creativity and culture: all the personal, defiant ways in which humans can be independent.

Dimensional Rifts and Moral Battles

The story starts with the finding of a collection of unusual openings in the fabric of the world's air: portals that seem to open into different dimensions. A particular opening seems to be the source of the much debated rose oil. The authority, with its leader at its leadership, classifies these portals as a problem to the institution's doctrine and aims to destroy them. As the heroine begins to shift from strict rationalism and revert to instinct, nevertheless, her belief that these locations must be defended – that what they stand for and what they offer is mysteriously vital – grows. "The substance, or the substance, or the vision, or the field of roses, or no matter what we label it," she says, "it is necessary." The setting for a Blakean tussle between purity and experience is prepared.

Narrative Pacing and Protagonist Growth

At 640 pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the