As a great appreciator of Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’, I was intrigued to see how our central character of the series, Lyra Silvertongue, was faring at the age of 20. The rather large second volume of 'The Book of Dust' trilogy would hopefully satisfy the fans of the books who wanted to dive into what happened to beloved characters when the previous series ended.
I noticed that the book started off in a similar fashion to its predecessor in ‘The Book of Dust’ trilogy. The central character watches an underhand event unfold, seemingly the only witness, and becomes entangled in a journey to uncover the truth of what they have discovered.
In the previous volume, 'La Belle Sauvage', the central character was Malcolm Polstead, an eleven-year old boy who lives and works at his parents' riverside inn. Lyra is just a baby in this volume, and it's a prequel which shines a light on a previously unknown character in the series.
In this volume, however, we are focusing back on Lyra's adventures now she is a young woman aged 20. My interest and devotion to this character are one of the things that really kept the 700-plus pages turning. Even if the plot was reaching a bit of a plateau, I wanted to know how Lyra was faring. This is one of the great aspects of Pullman's writing, as he is able to draw out complex and interesting characters with whom the reader feels a connection.
We also return back to the previous volume's characters who have direct links or continue their stories in this next novel. I like how Pullman didn't leave these characters behind in Lyra's past but chose to continue developing their characters in this instalment. As well as this, there are characters from the original series that make a return which makes for some happy nostalgia in seeing Lyra reunited with them.
And of course, it's not only Lyra we are thinking of but her daemon, Pantalaimon. For those who aren't aware, a daemon is essentially a person's soul in the physical form of an animal. The daemon is them, as much as they are their daemon. Children's daemons can change between different forms of creatures but once a child reaches puberty they become 'fixed' to a particular animal shape.
As you might expect, the bond between a person and their daemon is sacred, and usually they have deep devotion to one another. From the beginning of 'The Secret Commonwealth' we see this isn't the case for Lyra and Pantalaimon, who experience a rather turbulent relationship from the very start. They are learning to despise one another.
I personally think it was brave of Pullman to explore the daemon in the way he did for this volume. He explores this connection between humans and daemons in several ways throughout the novel, and in some cases it is quite shocking how he develops our perception of, and the characters' experiences with, daemons. To take how we always knew and loved a vital part of a series and twist it, to show different angles of daemons we never thought existed, could potentially make a reader question, 'why the hell did he do that?' and potentially risk tarnishing a most wonderful creation readers have cherished.
The antagonists of the novel seem a little bit conventionally villainous, all plotting away the downfall of the main character in a way that could seem a little cliched, and a number of coincidences which are almost too dramatically perfect, maybe detract a little from the novel's high points. Another controversial aspect was the inclusion of a rather macabre scene involving sexual assault which some argued didn't need to be included, and was just there for some 'shock factor'. In some ways I might agree, although I do remember how the His Dark Materials trilogy was all about culminating in Lyra's coming of age through trials and tribulations. Even though she is an adult here, Lyra is still on a journey and will face some difficulties, so I think it was fair for the author to include a darker scene in the novel. Also included is a rather odd love interest with a decent age gap which can be seen as rather unorthodox and a little creepy given the circumstances, but Pullman has decided to include this too.
Overall I believe this to be a (mostly) creative, nostalgic and darker return to a world we all know and enjoy. Characters and ideas are developed nicely, although bravely in some respects, and there are some really wonderful aspects of the book and some which maybe didn't need to be included, which didn't really add to the novel. I look forward to the final instalment of this series.
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