Things are unraveling in the last installment of The Dust Trilogy, the second of Philip Pullman's magisterial trilogies set in a universe that appears, now more than ever, as a charged and skewed version of our own. Institutions are failing, or reorganizing themselves along new and disturbing lines. An hidden force "is wrecking the air and the seasons"; at the same time, "wealth is decaying, and no one knows why". Authority is flowing away from states, and pooling in the chambers of theocrats, the treasuries of corporations, the grasp of rioters. "Some force is at work, very quietly, imperceptibly", says trader a trader character, keeping a vigilant eye on the ancient paths from his post in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were firm and solid are weakening and failing."
Key Puzzle and Her Quest
Exactly what that force might be, and methods to fight it, is the mystery that propels this final volume, which resumes where its predecessor ended. This is, reportedly, Pullman's final excursion into the elaborately built, deeply captivating realm he first revealed three decades past, with the publication of Northern Lights. It's a domain whose terrain corresponds to that of this world, but whose past veers and changes with ours; where the people look and think and act like us, but are paired by external spirits, beings in creature form; where the skies are filled with witches and gryphons, but beneath those skies, vehicles are taken and drinks is sipped, and middle-aged academics carry Harrods shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first introduced to as a 12-year-old in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then revisited as a toddler in La Belle Sauvage, the origin story with which the author began the series, is now a young woman: still recognisably the spiky and tenacious protagonist of the prior volumes, but aged, more sorrowful, more cautious, less sure. This limitation is heightened by her split from her daemon, Pantalaimon – but it was also, paradoxically, the catalyst which led him to leave her in the first place.
Converging Storylines
Pan's decision to depart in pursuit of that youthful part of the heroine which she appears to have shed (an trait which he represents as her "vision"), and her mission to reconnect with him, were the incitements of The Secret Commonwealth, which followed the protagonist undertake a picaresque trek across the continent and into the Caucasus, facing with wonder and danger on the way. But from the beginning, profound shifts were in motion, and sinister powers at work. The Magisterium – the faith's governing authority, and Pullman's masterfully eerie representation of strict, bureaucratic malice – is under new leadership, and asserting its power. Marcel Delamare – our protagonist's uncle, who faults her for his family member's death – has positioned himself into the position of president of the authority's High Council, and is set on using his newfound authority to broaden the church's dominium. Another protagonist, who saved young Lyra to refuge along a flooded river as an child in the prequel, is now an university scholar with a additional duty in intelligence work: he is sent to the city to learn more about the antagonist's intentions. And behind all of this is the puzzle surrounding the rare and costly rose oil which seems somehow to be the cause of a societal and economic upheaval spreading out from Central Asia. The oil is seen by some as a commercial good, by others as a scientific or spiritual wonder, and by yet others – the zealous "mountain dwellers" – as a wellspring of malevolence; an affront that must be destroyed. The dilemma of its source, its significance, and whether it should be removed or protected is becoming urgent.
Similar to the original trilogy, the heroine's actions, and her destiny, are shown to be inseparably linked with the future of the universe
In its predecessor, these narratives ran largely in tandem. In the conclusion, they merge. Like the original series, her movements and her path are unveiled to be deeply linked with the destiny of the realm. Her personal journey to reconnect with her daemon and rediscover her creativity becomes the central struggle in a larger battle with an oppressive regime which, as such regimes typically do, is striving to stifle autonomy of thinking, creativity and expression: all the personal, rebellious ways in which humans can be independent.
Cosmic Openings and Ideological Conflicts
The story begins with the finding of a set of unusual cracks in the fabric of the Earth's atmosphere: gateways that seem to lead to different dimensions. One such opening appears to be the origin of the much debated rose oil. The church, with Delamare at its leadership, labels these portals as a threat to the institution's beliefs and endeavors to eradicate them. As the heroine begins to shift from strict reason and back to feeling, however, her belief that these places must be protected – that their significance and their value is somehow essential – increases. "Cosmic particles, or the extract, or the vision, or the Rose Field, or no matter what we label it," she says, "it is necessary." The setting for a philosophical struggle between naivety and maturity is set.
Narrative Pacing and Personal Evolution
At 640 pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the
