lonmThe Rose Field – An Excellent Finale
Phillip Pullman last month published the last big novel in the His Dark Materials-Book of Dust series.
I have been following this since I first read Northern Lights as a kid, and to say I have been eagerly awaiting it is an understatement.
The collected works have lodged themselves in my mind as an incredibly valuable story and source of morals and philosophy, so it would be difficult for this final outing to live up to some unreasonable hype, so as much as I could manage I went into it with no expectation.
Though I don’t really like pinning down favourites, his being one of the first “big” book series that I read as a child and given how well I was able to get into protagonist Lyra’s head, and the fact I’ve reread the series more times that I can count, I can confidently call this a favourite series, and this last book doesn’t let me down.
Spoilers, obviously.
I often find it difficult to think about books beyond just the plot that is going on, in terms of the wider themes and ideas, and after studying to death some annoying works in high school English classes, my ability to enjoy that activity was a bit stunted. Pullmans writing style, especially in this book, invites me to do just that, and not in a pretentious manner that ruins the immersion, but one that actually deepens it.
There are a few times throughout many times it is clear it is the author directly addressing the reader as much as they are telling a story. Especially when Pullman discusses Lyra and other’s storytelling.
Throughout the prior Secret Commonwealth and this Rose Field, the whole journey to the east is riddled in puzzles and mystery and keeping track of all the players, what they are thinking, the lessons to learn, feels meaningful.
The book also continues its thriller spycraft storyline, resurrecting some useful tools from prior stories like the Lodestones, giving a tantilising glimpse into the workings of Oakley street, and hints of political chess games in all the various countries affected, without getting too bogged down in detail.
A lot of the issues of power, political and religious, are even stronger now, and compounded by new economic fights that didn’t play a big role in the first trilogy.
This reflects how the world is changing right now, over the course of my life I’ve seen how in britain the role of the church has become vastly diminished and the big forces now are more wealth.
The naming of the Rose Field, giving a feminine sounding name to what in-universe used to be a masculine dominated scientific theory, is a very nice touch.
The build up to the ending of this story, following a desire for wealth in various forms, alchemy, barter, gold, the silk trade routes, infrastructure, conglomerates, right up to mass redevelopment and destruction of life is very much a story for our time, as the criticisms of religion were in the original books.
And much like in the original, while the book doesn’t try to provide an answer for the impossible, it does give some good advice.
A huge takeaway from the end of the Amber Spyglass is if you want heaven, you build it in the here and now, don’t rely on a future you may or may not get.
At the end of the Rose Field, if you want wealth and prosperity,don’t chase money, chase creativity and community.
It does sound a bit trite, but given everything going on with rich people ruining the planet and even the skies above us just to rentalise human imagination, it’s definitely a message worth remembering.
The image Pullman presents of money as a universal solvent is disgustingly beautiful – it renders everything down into vaccuous profitable chunks until it tears even wealth itself apart.
Lyra and Pan have gone through a lot throughout the series and it is unsurprising that she struggles with mental health issues.
The dæmon imagery in this story that are genuinely distressing at times – The death of the author, and the dæmon that survives him; the people that ignore their own dæmons to death while still carrying them around; and Lyra and Pan’s constant struggle to try to find themselves and yet always being just out of reach.
Framing Lyra’s journey around a search for the imagination is an incredibly relatable challenge to face, and it ties in nicely with the message about capital too.
I still really struggle with imagination, motivation, communication, and I loved seeing all of these challenges overcome in some way or another throughout the story, though I have to also admit to hoping this book somehow contained a nice simple answer for all this. But of course it cannot. Practice, and taking advantage of spurts of imagination have helped me though.
This last story does not tie up loose ends and there are quite a few storylines left open:
Lyra effectively has a Knife now, not all of the windows have been fully closed, and at least one of them points to Will’s world.
The alethiometer is broken, but repairable, and Lyra has enough imagination and contacts to be able to continue interacting with Dust.
The various romances and love stories lie unresolved, but with promise of success underpinning them.
However, I do feel it has given me a sense of resolution to the wider story, which sounds contradictory.
It leaves me wanting more, while reassuring me that even in the worst situations, everything can still work out.
This is definitely a recommended read from me, and one I am sure to revisit a lot.
Lyra’s journey has been a powerful story for me, I must continue to look through it for inspiration.
https://lonm.vivaldi.net/2025/12/07/the-rose-field-an-excellent-finale/
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