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| Cover art by Chris Wormell |
The second book in 'The Book Of Dust' trilogy, and the fifth book (or seventh if you include the short stories 'Once Upon A Time In The North' and 'Lyra's Oxford') in Philip Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' series.
Where 'La Belle Sauvage' saw Lyra as a baby,' The Secret Commonwealth' jumps forward a few years, and Lyra is now a twenty year old under graduate. But the events of 'The Amber Spyglass' and the intervening years afterwards have taken their toll on both Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon and their relationship is becoming strained. But when Pantalaimon witnesses a murder, and leaves Lyra in the middle of the night, it's up to Lyra to find her missing daemon and to find the city haunted by daemons in a desert far away, as well as stay out of danger from the powerful forces pursuing them.
It was great to return to Pullman's alternative universe again, and to see how things have changed so many years later. The tone of the book is very different to any of the previous books, and feels like the series has grown up along with Lyra, and has become much more adult as a result; especially with some of the language used, violence, themes, and in particularly a horrifically brutal scene involving Lyra and some soldiers on a train towards the end (trigger warnings in advance). Even though there were elements of the fantastical and magical, with hints of folklore, there was a much more real world feel to the story, and at times, read like a classic spy thriller, which kept me hooked to find out what was going to happen next.
This isn't so much the bullish younger Lyra of 'His Dark Materials', although there is still some element of that still in her. She's an intelligent young woman still trying to find her place in an angry and sometimes polarised world. But when her comfort zone is abruptly turned upside down, she is forced to venture out on a challenging road trip where she also treads the path of self discovery. As a result, this is the most three dimensional characterization of Lyra so far. By the end, she's become a fully fleshed out person, with all the very human flaws and insecurities, as well as the strong personality and inner strength that we know and loved her for. You can't help but love her as she keeps pushing forward on her journey.
Some of themes of political intrigue, populism, radicalism and religious fanaticism, refugee crises and prejudice that the book treads upon really put the book in our current times, and really drew me into the story all the more, as events going on within the pages seemed to mirror events happening out in the real world at times. Sometimes, uncomfortably so. There were a few carefully crafted callbacks from the previous books as well, including the shorts - so fans of the series, keep a look out, which all added to a more complex and relatable world with a richness in depth as we join Lyra, Pan, Malcolm, Olivier and the rest on their journey.
I listened to the audiobook edition, narrated by Michael Sheen, who also narrated 'La Belle Sauvage'. Wow! What a performance! Michael captured each of the characters really well, breathing life into them so vividly, and his narration style was superb as well, ramping up the tension when it was needed and being calmer and quieter when that was warranted for as well. It brought a whole new dimension to Pullman's storytelling, a great combination!
'His Dark Materials' is one of my favourite series and both entries in 'The Book Of Dust' series push the full story and lore further, with 'The Secret Commonwealth' heading down the more mature and adult route, so if you're expecting more of what you read in HDM you might be a bit disappointed. That said though, it does very much feel like a middle book of a trilogy, much like 'The Subtle Knife' did in the original HDM trilogy, but with the pieces falling into place and building up for the finish, I can't to find out how this story and trilogy concludes. Recommended!
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