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Tings are collapsing in the final volume of Pullman's latest trilogy, the next of Philip Pullman's magisterial trilogies set in a world that seems, in this volume especially, as a energized and tilted version of our own. Establishments are failing, or reorganizing themselves along new and disturbing lines. An unseen force "is wrecking the air and the seasons"; concurrently, "wealth is decaying, and no one knows why". Power is draining from authorities, and gathering in the halls of theocrats, the coffers of conglomerates, the control of rioters. "An element is at work, stealthily, gradually", says businessman Mustafa Bey, keeping a watchful eye on the ancient paths from his place in an city cafe. "Elements we thought were stable and durable are faltering and collapsing."

The Central Mystery and The Protagonist's Path

Exactly what that element might be, and methods to fight it, is the inquiry that animates this final volume, which resumes where its predecessor left off. This is, by all accounts, Pullman's final excursion into the carefully crafted, deeply captivating universe he first unveiled 30 years ago, with the publication of the first trilogy. It's a realm whose geography corresponds to that of the real world, but whose history tacks and jibes with ours; where the humans appear and reason and act like us, but are paired by external spirits, beings in animal form; where the air are teeming with witches and legendary creatures, but below, transports are caught and drinks is consumed, and mature scholars carry fancy shopping bags. The protagonist, whom we first encountered as a 12-year-old in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and then met once more as a toddler in the first volume, the origin story with which the author began this trilogy, is now a mature individual: still distinctly the prickly and tenacious protagonist of the prior volumes, but more mature, sadder, more cautious, less certain. This restraint is heightened by her division from her soul companion, Pantalaimon – but it was also, paradoxically, the cause which caused him to abandon her in the first place.

Converging Storylines

Pan's decision to depart in search of that youthful part of the heroine which she may have forgotten (an aspect which he symbolizes as her "creativity"), and her journey to rejoin with him, were the catalysts of The Secret Commonwealth, which saw the protagonist undertake a wandering voyage across the continent and into the mountain region, encountering with amazement and peril on the way. But from the beginning, deeper currents were in action, and malevolent elements at work. The Magisterium – the religious controlling power, and Pullman's brilliantly sinister embodiment of rigid, bureaucratic evil – is under new leadership, and flexing its muscles. Lyra's uncle – Lyra's relative, who faults her for his sister's death – has worked himself into the office of leader of the Magisterium's governing body, and is set on using his newfound power to broaden the religion's dominium. A key character, who carried young the heroine to safety along a swollen river as an 11-year-old in the first book, is now an Oxford don with a sideline in intelligence work: he is sent to Geneva to learn more about the antagonist's intentions. And beneath all of this is the puzzle surrounding the uncommon and precious essential oil which appears somehow to be the source of a social and economic crisis rippling out from the region. The oil is seen by certain groups as a marketable product, by alternate groups as a research-based or esoteric miracle, and by yet others – the fanatical "mountain dwellers" – as a source of malevolence; an affront that must be obliterated. The question of where it comes from, what it stands for, and whether it should be eliminated or protected is becoming urgent.

Like the first series, the heroine's deeds, and her fate, are demonstrated to be deeply entwined with the destiny of the universe

In The Secret Commonwealth, these plots ran largely in parallel. In this final book, they converge. Similar to the original series, her choices and her destiny are unveiled to be deeply linked with the future of the universe. Her private journey to reconnect with her soul and rediscover her vision becomes the primary struggle in a broader conflict with an oppressive regime which, as these systems often attempt, is attempting to suppress independence of thinking, creativity and expression: all the personal, rebellious ways in which humans can be liberated.

Dimensional Rifts and Moral Battles

The book starts with the unveiling of a series of unusual cracks in the makeup of the planet's sky: gateways that appear to lead to different dimensions. A particular window manifests to be the point of the highly contested rose oil. The church, with the antagonist at its helm, classifies these portals as a threat to the church's doctrine and endeavors to destroy them. As our protagonist begins to move from strict reason and revert to intuition, however, her conviction that these sites must be preserved – that what they stand for and what they provide is somehow vital – strengthens. "Cosmic particles, or the extract, or the creativity, or the field of roses, or whatever we label it," she says, "we need it." The scene for a philosophical struggle between purity and experience is established.

Narrative Pacing and Personal Evolution

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