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Tings are unraveling in the final volume of Pullman's latest trilogy, the second of Philip Pullman's grand trilogies set in a realm that appears, in this volume especially, as a energized and tilted version of our own. Organizations are crumbling, or reassembling themselves along novel and disturbing lines. An hidden force "is destroying the air and the seasons"; concurrently, "wealth is decaying, and no one knows why". Authority is flowing away from authorities, and accumulating in the offices of theocrats, the coffers of corporations, the control of rioters. "Something is at work, silently, gradually", says businessman a trader character, keeping a observant eye on the ancient paths from his place in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were stable and solid are weakening and collapsing."

Core Enigma and Her Quest

Precisely what that something might be, and ways to oppose it, is the mystery that animates the concluding book, which continues where The Secret Commonwealth concluded. This is, reportedly, Pullman's concluding foray into the elaborately built, infinitely beguiling realm he first unveiled 30 years ago, with the launch of His Dark Materials. It's a realm whose geography maps on to that of our world, but whose past tacks and jibes with ours; where the people look and reason and behave like us, but are accompanied by animal souls, souls in creature form; where the heavens are populated with witches and legendary creatures, but below, transports are taken and beverages is consumed, and mature academics carry fancy 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 prequel, the introductory book with which the author began the series, is now a mature individual: still clearly the sharp and determined main character of the prior volumes, but older, sadder, more careful, less sure. This restraint is intensified by her division from her animal guide, Pantalaimon – but it was also, ironically, the catalyst which made him desert her in the first place.

Merging Narratives

Pan's decision to depart in pursuit of that childlike part of Lyra which she appears to have shed (an quality which he symbolizes as her "creativity"), and her mission to reunite with him, were the driving forces of The Secret Commonwealth, which chronicled Lyra undertake a adventurous journey across the continent and into the Caucasus, encountering with wonder and peril on the way. But from the outset, underlying forces were in action, and darker forces at work. The church authority – the faith's governing authority, and Pullman's masterfully eerie embodiment of austere, bureaucratic wickedness – is under recent guidance, and flexing its muscles. Lyra's uncle – our protagonist's uncle, who holds responsible her for his sister's death – has manoeuvred himself into the office of head of the authority's ruling assembly, and is determined on using his fresh power to extend the institution's rule. Another protagonist, who carried young Lyra to security along a flooded river as an young boy in La Belle Sauvage, is now an academic with a sideline in intelligence work: he is sent to the city to discover more about the antagonist's intentions. And behind all of this is the enigma surrounding the uncommon and precious rose oil which seems in some way to be the origin of a social and financial upheaval emanating out from Central Asia. The oil is regarded by various factions as a tradeable product, by alternate groups as a empirical or spiritual wonder, and by yet others – the fanatical "highland figures" – as a wellspring of evil; an insult that must be eradicated. The dilemma of where it comes from, what it stands for, and if it should be removed or safeguarded is coming rapidly to the fore.

Like the original trilogy, Lyra's deeds, and her future, are demonstrated to be inextricably linked with the destiny of the world

In its predecessor, these storylines ran mostly in parallel. In this final book, they merge. As in the first trilogy, Lyra's movements and her destiny are revealed to be deeply linked with the future of the universe. Her individual journey to reconnect with her companion and rediscover her creativity becomes the key conflict in a larger war with an oppressive system which, as these systems often attempt, is seeking to suppress independence of thinking, innovation and culture: all the personal, defiant ways in which individuals can be free.

Cosmic Openings and Ideological Conflicts

The story opens with the finding of a collection of unusual cracks in the structure of the world's atmosphere: gateways that look to lead to other worlds. One such opening manifests to be the source of the fiercely disputed rose oil. The Magisterium, with Delamare at its head, classifies these openings as a threat to the religion's orthodoxy and sets out to eradicate them. As our protagonist begins to move from inflexible rationalism and return to feeling, however, her belief that these places must be defended – that their significance and what they provide is in some way crucial – increases. "Dust, or the extract, or the vision, or the field of roses, or no matter what we label it," she says, "it is necessary." The setting for a philosophical conflict between purity and maturity is established.

Plot Rhythm and Character Development

At over six hundred pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the