I might not have very different things to say to augment the critical reviews of this book which already exist, but I am not going to preface my review with any version of "I love [a:Philip Pullman|3618|Philip Pullman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1614625372p2/3618.jpg] but...". Looking at this book isolatedly, it is by far the most disappointing book I have read this year.

Comparisons with 'His Dark Materials' will be rife, but let us take a moment to step back and focus on just this book. The events of [b:La Belle Sauvage|34128219|La Belle Sauvage (The Book of Dust, #1)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1498930382l/34128219.SX50.jpg|14190696] are several years in the past, and the events of 'His Dark Materials' have taken place in the interim. In [b:The Secret Commonwealth|19034943|The Secret Commonwealth (The Book of Dust #2)|Philip Pullman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563043403l/19034943.SY75.jpg|27058954] we are introduced to 'young adult' Lyra Belacqua/ Silvertongue, now in college. Lyra has been singularly lucky all these years - various entities have stepped in and helped her in her journey, and if not for some of them, we would not be reading this book about her. However, actions, no matter how far back in the past they were undertaken, will have consequences, and the book begins with Lyra beginning to comprehend just how cocooned and ensconced in her world she has been so far. Her relationship with Jordan College, which has seemed like a fixture all these years, is suddenly compromised. She learns of 'Oakley Street' and the events of La Belle Sauvage, and it is as if the rug has been pulled out from under her. She must build anew her relationships with people who have known her all her life.

One such relationship is with her daemon, Pantalaimon. He and Lyra are at odds from the start of the book - 'odds' is perhaps a tad soft; they hate each other. While Pullman does well in exploring new facets of the relationship between humans and their daemons, the bickering between Lyra and Pantalaimon is disembodied, lacking conviction, and bordering on the abstract - what is the nature of truth? Can it be attained through a rational approach, or can only an imaginative (and therefore irrational?) approach help ascertain it? Lyra and Pan are torn asunder by this fundamental question, which is where Pullman overdoes the severity of their separation. I could have understood Pan being simply disgruntled, but the events of The Secret Commonwealth are borne out of this mutual hatred for the other's school of thought (which I thought was very forced), and Lyra and Pan's journeys to reconcile with each other.

With a weak foundation such as this, the story progresses through a quagmire of ennui, introducing half-baked characters and dangling plot-lines. There is no way to say this without sounding like a millennial, but Pullman tries to come across as 'woke', and fails brilliantly. A hastily introduced rape scene does not contribute to the story in any way, nor does the author utilise this opportunity to address an all-pervasive rape culture (please read other people's reviews dealing with the rape episode - I could not agree more with each one of them). I found the haphazardly introduced characters who do not effectively contribute to the book very off-putting (loved Alison, though). The book is strewn with missed opportunities. An insipid ending (which could have been a cliffhanger if dealt with differently) left me questioning why I had plodded through almost 700 pages of this book.

I agree with Miles' conclusion in his review, where he states that this book definitely imperils Pullman's reputation as an author.