2,012 days or 6 years and 20 days that’s how long I waited to read this book!
Last November, not long after I finished reading The Rose Field by Philip Pullman, I wrote a blog post for my new (under-construction) book blog. I never published this post because I am not finished building my new website yet. (I became too busy preparing myself for my new job as an community college adjunct teaching children’s literature). I hope to share my new website with you all this winter.
Yet, I wanted to share this post before this fresh, new book got cold. At 672 pages, it is the longest book that I read last year and maybe my favorite. It is certainly the most long awaited!
The Rose Field, 3rd and final installment in the Book of Dust series by Philip Pullman
Theme: creativity, survival
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Fiction, Magical Realism, Science Fiction
A Brief Synopsis: Lyra Silvertongue, formerly known as Lyra Belacqua, is now a young woman. In the previous title in the series, The Secret Commonwealth, she is left by her daemon Pantalaimon (Pan) who has gone off in search of her imagination, which he feels like she has lost. We spend much of The Secret Commonwealth following her and Pan across much of the European continent.
We also follow Durham College history scholar Malcolm Polstead (the main character of La Belle Sauvage) on his separate adventures spying for the Oakley Street agency and attempting to follow Lyra across Europe in The Secret Commonwealth. By the time we meet them again in The Rose Field, they are both battered and bruised. Malcolm has just been shot in the hip and Lyra is still healing from an assault and a hurt hand. They are about halfway to the mysterious Red Building, their mysterious destination. At the same time, they are being hunted by President of the High Council of the Magisterium Marcel Delamare and surveilled by alethiometer reader Olivier Bonneville, who has his own reasons.
The Rose Field introduces us to some new characters such as desert guide and new friend to Lyra, Adbel Ionides. New light is shown on mysterious beasts as well as old friends like Alice Lonsdale. How will Philip Pullman wrap up this final visit with an iconic heroine?
Will Lyra be reunited with Pantalaimon? Will Malcolm find Lyra? Will Marcel Delamare catch them both? Will Malcolm tell Lyra how he feels? Will we learn what is inside the mysterious Red Building? And how does Dust play into all of this?
Take this final journey into Lyra’s world, the world of dust.
What I Would Have Changed About the Book: Not every character’s storyline gets tied up. I also get slightly confused sometimes about what Dust or what any of the Fields (Rusakov, Rose) mentioned in the book are. I have more of a general idea as to what they refer to and less of a technical understanding of what they actually are and if hard pressed to describe them, I would describe them the same way.
Also, if I wrote this book, I might have ended it differently, that is to say I don’t think that Philip Pullman stuck the landing (Mr. Katie’s words). However, I can also accept the ending as I am grateful that Philip Pullman was able to finish this book at all, as he recovering from long-Covid while finishing this series.
One thing that might have made The Rose Field even better would be to include a map of the places that Lyra and Malcolm traveled to in The Rose Field. The Secret Commonwealth had a map under the cover but this one lacks a map and sometimes I got confused by the geography of places in their world, which seems close to our world but their world contains a lot of places like The Blue Hotel that get fuzzy in my brain.
What I Loved About the Book: I half-listened to the audiobook and half-read the book on my eReader. I loved actor Michael Sheen’s audiobook performance for all of the titles in “The Book of Dust” trilogy The Rose Field included. He brings such emotion and life to his characters, it will give you chills.
I also like the direction of the story in The Rose Field and authenticity that I saw within the conclusion to this 672-page book. The cover art is very striking and I love that it was chosen to represent the book.
I enjoyed all the world building that has happened through all the years about Lyra, more than 10 books over 30 years, and how this story is a culmination of all of those details. There’s sort of a shared vocabulary and history for us readers of Pullman’s books and it was great to see it come to fruition. I am glad that Philip Pullman was able to recover enough from his health challenges to finish this series.
I also loved that there are so many details and plotlines to discuss about this book. Six or seven years ago, I convinced my husband to read Pullman’s books about Lyra and since then we have spent many an entertaining hour discussing them and appreciating Michael Sheen. I can’t thank them both enough for what they have given us.
Where Can You Find The Rose Field: Hopefully at your local library or on the Libby app or local bookstore. It is available for $14.99 on Kindle version and $17.99 on Amazon in hardcover.
Published October 23rd, 2025. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Audiobook: 22 hours and 35 minutes. Listening Library
*If you wish to skip reading the first series called His Dark Materials and move right on to The Book of Dust, Lyra’s adventures in the His Dark Materials books are available to watch on the small screen. The 2007 movie The Golden Compass captures Lyra’s adventures in the first book of the series. It stars Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Couter and Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel.
Not to be outdone, BBC One and HBO provided three seasons of a His Dark Materials TV series, which chronicled Lyra’s adventures over the entire book series. It stars Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy.
Watching this show would probably prepare you to pick up the series in the 2nd “Book of Dust” title, The Secret Commonwealth. You could also start with the first book of the Book of Dust series; it is called La Belle Sauvage and was published in 2017 and it functions more like a prequel to the The Secret Commonwealth and The Rose Field.
Also, in case you are wondering, I don’t plan on scrapping this blog once I get my book blog up and running. I just wanted to have a new blog to share posts about books and libraries.
Reading is its own adventure after all, but I thought that maybe I could have one blog for body adventures and one blog for adventures of the mind.
Happy reading!
I finished Part I of Le Belle Sauvage, and I’m waiting a few days before I read Part II. Pullman’s books are exciting and tense! They really make you see today’s world. I agree with you about Michael Sheen’s reading. He did a great job.
I am glad that you liked it! His books are very tense and exciting 🙂