Tings are falling apart in the final volume of The Dust Trilogy, the second of the author's grand trilogies set in a realm that seems, here more than ever, as a energized and tilted version of our own. Institutions are crumbling, or reorganizing themselves along unfamiliar and troubling lines. An invisible force "is wrecking the air and the seasons"; simultaneously, "currency is failing, and no one knows why". Power is draining from authorities, and gathering in the offices of religious leaders, the coffers of corporations, the hands of mobs. "Something is at work, silently, very subtly", says merchant a trader character, keeping a watchful eye on the trade routes from his place in an city cafe. "Things we thought were stable and solid are deteriorating and failing."
The Central Mystery and Lyra's Journey
Exactly what that something might be, and methods to fight it, is the mystery that propels this final volume, which continues where The Secret Commonwealth ended. This is, according to many, Pullman's final excursion into the carefully crafted, endlessly enchanting universe he first introduced three decades past, with the release of Northern Lights. It's a realm whose geography maps on to that of our world, but whose past diverges and shifts with ours; where the people appear and think and behave like us, but are accompanied by animal souls, beings in creature form; where the skies are teeming with enchantresses and legendary creatures, but beneath those skies, buses are ridden and beverages is consumed, and mature scholars carry fancy shopping bags. Lyra, whom we first met as a young girl in the original trilogy, and then saw again as a infant in the first volume, the origin story with which the author began the series, is now a young woman: still recognisably the spiky and tenacious protagonist of the earlier books, but more mature, sadder, more careful, more doubtful. This limitation is intensified by her separation from her animal guide, Pantalaimon – but it was also, ironically, the cause which caused him to abandon her in the first place.
Interwoven Plots
Pan's decision to leave in quest of that childlike part of the heroine which she may have forgotten (an quality which he epitomises as her "vision"), and her journey to reunite with him, were the incitements of its predecessor, which followed Lyra undertake a adventurous voyage across the continent and into the Caucasus, facing with amazement and peril on the way. But from the beginning, profound shifts were in play, and sinister powers at work. The Magisterium – the religious ruling body, and Pullman's deliciously chilling embodiment of strict, administrative wickedness – is under recent guidance, and showing its strength. Lyra's uncle – our protagonist's uncle, who holds responsible her for his sibling's death – has positioned himself into the office of head of the authority's ruling assembly, and is set on using his recently acquired authority to extend the institution's rule. Another protagonist, who carried baby Lyra to refuge along a swollen river as an 11-year-old in the prequel, is now an academic with a sideline in intelligence work: he is assigned to Geneva to learn more about Delamare's intentions. And underlying all of this is the enigma surrounding the scarce and valuable rose oil which appears mysteriously to be the cause of a social and financial upheaval emanating out from the region. The oil is viewed by certain groups as a tradeable product, by alternate groups as a research-based or esoteric phenomenon, and by yet others – the fanatical "highland figures" – as a origin of darkness; an affront that must be destroyed. The dilemma of its origins, its significance, and if it should be removed or preserved is becoming urgent.
As in His Dark Materials, the heroine's decisions, and her future, are revealed to be inextricably entwined with the destiny of the universe
In its predecessor, these narratives ran mostly in tandem. In this final book, they merge. Similar to His Dark Materials, her choices and her destiny are shown to be deeply entwined with the future of the world. Her private quest to reconnect with her companion and rediscover her imagination becomes the primary battleground in a larger war with an controlling system which, as such authorities typically do, is attempting to quell autonomy of thought, originality and culture: all the personal, defiant ways in which individuals can be independent.
Atmospheric Fissures and Ideological Conflicts
The story begins with the finding of a set of unusual openings in the structure of the planet's air: gateways that look to give on to other worlds. One such portal seems to be the source of the fiercely disputed botanical substance. The Magisterium, with the antagonist at its helm, classifies these windows as a threat to the institution's doctrine and sets out to eliminate them. As the heroine begins to shift from strict logic and back to intuition, however, her conviction that these locations must be protected – that their significance and what they offer is somehow vital – increases. "Cosmic particles, or rose oil, or the creativity, or the botanical realm, or no matter what we label it," she says, "we require it." The stage for a philosophical tussle between purity and experience is established.
Story Tempo and Character Development
At 640 pages, The Rose Field|this volume|the
