Review by Booklist Review
After a brutal sexual assault at the hands of a train car full of soldiers in The Secret Commonwealth (2019), Lyra presses eastward along the Silk Roads in pursuit of her daemon, Pantalaimon, who himself has ventured off in pursuit of Lyra's seemingly lost imagination--a metaphysical idea that serves as the conceptual center of this deeply speculative trilogy. Meanwhile, an infatuated Malcolm is in pursuit of Lyra, too, and as the trio of pursuers converge around a mysterious red building in the Karamakan desert, they're caught up in an international (and beyond) conflict that comes to an explosive head around them. Pullman continues to expand on the rich "experimental theology" of his popular multiverse, potently wielding the powers of fantasy to explore intangible pathways through the soul--and yet the heart of this story, delivered through Lyra and her closest compatriots, is heavily diluted by a revolving door of scheming clerics, scholars, spies, bureaucrats, and other pieces of a vast and often tedious puzzle-plot. Yet another reason to reserve this title for adult patrons nostalgic for Lyra's ongoing adventures and curious for answers to the question of Dust.High-Demand Backstory: The continuation of Pullman's beloved His Dark Materials series has drawn scores of loyal fans, and anticipation for the latest volume is sure to be high, even with its hefty page count.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Beginning where the previous installment left off, this meandering conclusion to Pullman's the Book of Dust trilogy follows now-20-year-old Lyra Silvertongue, her daemon Pantalaimon, and academic secret agent Malcolm Polstead on separate but parallel journeys. Their destination--an enigmatic red building in the Karamakan desert--purportedly houses a portal to another world, and the first to reach it could decide what to do with the power it represents. Along their individual quests, Lyra, Pan, and Malcolm each forge their own alliances with gryphons, witches, and scientists. Meanwhile, the Magisterium, consolidated under Lyra's vengeful uncle Marcel Delamare, prepares to invade Karamakan. Throughout episodic, at times thinly built, chapters, assured prose considers the interplay between logic and imagination as well as community and exploitation, injecting further ideological complexity into the familiar world first introduced in The Golden Compass. Providing a less polished resolution to Lyra's story than the His Dark Materials series, this leg of the character's journey into adulthood immerses Lyra in deeper internal growth, subtler evils, and murkier outcomes. Ages 14--up. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Quests and agendas set out inThe Secret Commonwealth (2019) sail to a climactic convergence in this trilogy closer. Seamlessly segueing into the third volume, Pullman continues to juggle so many themes and characters that keeping track of them slows the pacing to a grand, deliberate sweep. Still, wedging in references to previous events in The Book of Dust series, he spurs Lyra, her scattered circle of allies, and the sinister President of the Magisterium's High Council, Marcel Delamare, on toward the remote desert that is the source of the mysteriously powerful rose oil while inscrutable forces are forcing the entire world to become a dimmer, grimmer sort of place. Meanwhile, in a nearly self-contained subplot, the author once again shows his uncommon gift for inventing memorable nonhuman species by flying in a race of magnificent gryphons to engage in philosophical discussions about the inner and outer kingdoms and join a group of northern witches to battle a powerful enemy. This plotline and the climax add some dramatic moments to a tale that seems long and doesn't satisfactorily resolve all its threads. But along with supplying generous amounts of space for further ruminations about the nature of reality and the role of imagination, the story reunites fans with favorite characters and their daemons for one last go-round. Vast, if not fast, and richly endowed with big ideas and larger-than-life characters.(Fantasy. 13-adult) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
