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The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust, #2)

Philip Pullman

Start date: April 1, 2021

Finish date: June 30, 2021

Discussion: Author of the month 2019-2021

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Author of the month 2019-2021

Taylor Jenkins Reid
By Grasshopper , Administrator · 4 posts · 13 views

last updated Nov 24, 2020 10:18AM

Leigh Bardugo
By Grasshopper , Administrator · 3 posts · 13 views

last updated Jan 14, 2020 02:40PM

What Members Thought

Jan 04, 2020 Dyrk Ashton rated it it was amazing

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Pullman's books. I love his stories, but am most enthralled with his prose and narrative styles. This was one of my top most anticipated books of 2019, and it did not disappoint. I was surprised to find out the story here jumps to when Lyra is young woman (in book 1 she's just an infant), but fell into it right quick. One of my favorite things about this series is the introduction of incredibly interesting characters for just short vignettes. The plot tends to me ...more

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Feb 04, 2020 K.J. Sweeney rated it really liked it

I've had this sitting in my to-read pile for quite some time. When I finished La Belle Sauvage I was left wanting the next book, but knowing that I could have to wait. I knew that was going to happen at the end of this one as well, I wasn't wrong.
I notice that quite a few of the reviews seem to be quite low. I think part of the reason for that is that Lyra is now grown up and she has changed. If we've loved a character, particularly one when we were young ourselves, we don't want them to change ...more

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Jan 28, 2025 Kevin Haar rated it liked it

The Book of Dust Volume Two, The Secret Commonwealth is a sequel to Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy and the follow up to the prequel, La Belle Sauvage. This book takes place several years after the events of The Amber Spyglass. Lyra is now 20ish and deep into her studies. I won't compare this book to the others in this universe, only to say that I love The Golden Compass and La Belle Sauvage. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass rank well below these two for me. Unfortunately, The Secret The Book of Dust Volume Two, The Secret Commonwealth is a sequel to Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy and the follow up to the prequel, La Belle Sauvage. This book takes place several years after the events of The Amber Spyglass. Lyra is now 20ish and deep into her studies. I won't compare this book to the others in this universe, only to say that I love The Golden Compass and La Belle Sauvage. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass rank well below these two for me. Unfortunately, The Secret Commonwealth ranks toward the bottom of his works for me. The novel begins as a dark academia tale where Lyra finds herself enthralled with certain philosophical writings while Pantalaimon feels repulsed by what he considers to be unempathetic and unimaginative ideas. This sparks a feud between the two that is heartwrenching and engrossing. Soon, the two discover a murder and end up with Oakley Street, a secret organization that understands the danger Lyra is about to encounter. All of this build-up works quite well. Within the first two hundred pages of this bloated novel, we learn that Lyra must make her way to the far East to a mysterious place called The Blue Hotel. However, the novel meanders with side quests and forgettable characters as they delay Lyra's quest. Many of the divergencies from the main plot felt superfluous, especially in an 800 page story. Seldom did they seem to serve a purpose apart from delaying Lyra and forcing her into dangerous situations. No encounter felt more unnecessary and frustrating than Lyra's encounter with soldiers late in the novel. The attempted rape was so unnecessary to the story and felt exploitative to the character that we have followed since her birth. Throughout the novel, Pullman consistently reminded the reader that Lyra is now an adult and not a child, but this violent sexual encounter was not a way he needed to remind readers.
Where the novel succeeds the most is when Pullman explores the emotional consequences of being separated from one's Daemon. We meet several characters and are asked to imagine various gruesome scenarios in which a human and their demon are separated. The anguish and longing Pullman crafts in these scenes are superb.
Overall, the story is interesting and ocassionally emotional, especially the beginning, but so little progress is actually made toward the stated goal that the book feels very much to be a placeholder for the final novel, yet to be released. ...more

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