The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth (Book of Dust, Volume 2)

This book is wonderfully written and yes, The Book of Dust trilogy IS different from His Dark Materials but its a *good* different (in the same way that vanilla cake and chocolate cake are still both cake but they are obviously different flavors but IMHO they are both still good and I would gladly eat either or, frankly, both).This book has darker, more mature themes. Lyra isn't fully an adult even though she is 20; mentally, she is understands being an adult and all the implications but there still vestiges of innocence in her; Pullman succeeds in keeping our Lyra true to herself, but matures her voice. The book was involved because Pullman writes it in a way that we are the watching her learn and process the events happening to and around her as she is pushed outside of her comfort zone; for a lot of this book, she truly is alone in ways that she wasn't in His Dark Materials. (Side note: that liminal phase of being an adult but not really an Adult is something that university/college students experience - it happened to me! -, where you are in a bubble of academia and then all of a sudden, that bubble is popped and you are thrust into the World of Adulthood with jobs and responsibilities and your perspective naturally shifts - Lyra is not fully there yet but she is starting on that path).I loved that this book wasn't as far reaching as HDM; by that, I mean that we are solidly in Lyra's world, not in Will's (though from interviews with Pullman, maybe we will see Will in the last book?), not in the world of the Mulefa, not in any other universe - just solidly in Lyra's. It gave Pullman an excuse to flesh out and let us explore the whole of Lyra's world, not just Brytain, but other countries and continents beyond that. To see them all through the eyes of the many new characters in this book has been a real treat; I love it when authors do world-building and I love that this is what Pullman focused on in this installment.I also love that this book is not as focused on religion/dogma/the Great Question of Purpose/Divinity as we saw in HDM. This book does involve the concepts of fate/destiny, but the incorporation of the strange (but amazing) bizarreness of La Belle Sauvage combined with tales of fairies, sprites, golems, alchemy in practice, magic/magick, really gives The Secret Commonwealth its own unique character.The real and only downside is the ending - I will agree with other reviewers that I saw "99%" in my Kindle and was baffled/annoyed beyond belief that the book ends where it does. It felt like there were a few chapters missing from this book and that someone just forgot to put them in - that's how abrupt it is.Definitely read this second book of the new trilogy - I can only hope that Pullman is secretly already done with Book 3 and is just putting finishing touches on it and will release it soon!

This book was/is good! I made the mistake of starting on the second book because it had Lyra in it more. But it sets up the story better when you read the first one first. So I stopped mid-book and started on book one. Oh, and be sure to read all of His Dark Materials first!

'The Secret Commonwealth' is the second installment in Pullman's latest trilogy 'The Book of Dust.' The action is cleverly set about twenty years after the events of the first book in the trilogy, 'La Belle Sauvage,' and nine years after the end of 'His Dark Materials." Readers not familiar with this foregoing material will most likely be lost, as 'Secret Commonwealth' is heavily referential to the earlier stories. It is essential to understand the events of 'The Amber Spyglass,' when Lyra and her daemon Pan were separated so that Lyra could journey into the Land of the Dead in order to rescue her friend, Roger: This traumatic severing has powerful, near-tragic consequences, which begin to play out in 'The Secret Commonwealth.' As the new story unfolds, we see that Pan and Lyra can separate from each other at will, but this ability comes at a high emotional cost, and the two are bitterly estranged. When Pan witnesses a murder, it is all he can do to recruit Lyra's help in solving the mystery of the crime, but the journeys each of them will take in search of the answer to that mystery may also be the solution to the riddle of their own painful incompleteness. Meanwhile, sinister forces in pious guise are determined to capture Lyra for revenge, knowledge, power, or other far more earthly ends. Yet Lyra is not without allies, including Malcolm Polestead (from 'Belle Sauvage' now an Oxford professor in his early thirties), and the wise, powerful leader of the Gyptians (first introduced in 'The Golden Compass'). 'Secret Commonwealth' plays out as a sprawling espionage epic, a race against time, a story of survival, and a classic 'journey-adventure' saga. If the ending of this middle installment has the feel of something not quite complete, the whole of the book has effectively set the stage for a stunning climax. Pullman spends much of this book getting his pieces arranged on the board, and, no doubt, when they are put into play in the third and final installment of the trilogy, all will be at last revealed and resolved in this author's own dazzling and unique style. I, for one, can hardly wait!'The Secret Commonwealth' is recommended!

Pour mon fils qui est un fan de Philipp PullmanIl a déjà hâte de lire la suite.

Once again! I'm overwhelmed by this book! Philip Pullman is just amazing as always, and the universe he had created and continues to build on id just outstanding!! Just loved it😍 I'm a huge fan of His Dark Materials ✨ and The Book of Dust's Trilogy and eagerly waiting for the 3rd volume to release, can't wait to put hands on it! Lyra was, is and will always remain my favourite character, and been once again in this world feels like reading HDM again. I would recommend everyone to just go get it. Imma get The Volume 3 of this Trilogy as soon as its out!!😍😍🤩❤️❤️🙌🙌👏👏👍

OMG LOVED THIS BOOK!! ARRIVED IN TIME AND THE STORY IS SO OOOMGGGG!! CAN’T WAIT FOR THE THIRD BOOK!

We follow both Lyra and Pantalaimon on their quest throughout an interesting Europe... But nw we have to wait for the third book to find out how it all ends....Will this be like Patrick Rothfuss and the never-coming third book of his also marvelllus sereis?By the way I am 66 years old. I first reasd the Dark material series about 18 yeas ago, read them to my then 80muear old mother, who alo love them an they were reccommended to me by a brilinat 1 year odl niece.

Writing and style are simply amazing. It is definitely a darker trilogy, which isn't probably why I prefer the first trilogy it is a little more light and innocent; though dark as well. However this all makes sense as a natural sort of progression I feel; as one gets older life becomes more serious, and as Lyra's was already so serious for someone as young as she, what else could we really expect? Also, I have to say that there are a few reviews that say Lyra is unrecognizable, but I think that's the point, she's meant to be, it's the whole reason that Pan does what he does (trying not to spoil anything there). It's all part of the interest he creates, the wonder in where it's all going? The hope and sadness we feel for the character creates deeper investment. I find it entrancing as always; but then I didn't expect the character to remain the same as the other books, she's is older after all, and you can tell she changed from the end of the dark materials. I just threw myself in and let Phillip take me for an adventure. All in all, I can't wait to see what happens next, the third can't come soon enough.