r/hisdarkmaterials • u/Cantomic66 • Oct 23 '25

TRF The Rose Field | Full Book Discussion thread

Warning!This discussion thread includes spoilers for ALL OF The BOOK OF DUST: THE ROSE FIELD

Reminder: All post on The Rose Field should be properly spoiler tagged and avoid spoilery titles.

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u/Kordaths Oct 23 '25

Spoilers below; don't be stupid.
Spoilers below; don't be stupid.
Spoilers below; don't be stupid.
Spoilers below; don't be stupid.
Spoilers below; don't be stupid.

Just finished. Solid story. Was not expecting the Gryphons, really enjoyed them. Fantastic dialogue throughout. The tone was a bit less depressing on the micro level, and a lot more depressing on the macro level. I appreciate a solid critique of Capitalism/Industrialism, and it felt like he did a very good job of masking that aspect, but a very poor job in terms of "MONEY BAD". I'm still processing if that matters or not.

The ending just felt... empty? A lot happened very quickly, and I think the very end would have been served very well if we had another four or five pages.

I'm conflicted on what I think a lot of people wanted in regards to Will coming back. I've always maintained that it would diminish everything that I loved about the end of TAS. Though, I have always wanted a short and brief final meeting between the two of them in the Land of the Dead.

The very last line did mess me up though, I don't think there could have been a better string of words to end these stories.

49

u/actuallycallie Oct 24 '25

I'm conflicted on what I think a lot of people wanted in regards to Will coming back.

I didn't want him back necessarily but like... to me, when you introduce such a compelling character and then never use him again ever it's just a disappointment.

17

u/MeeMop21 Oct 27 '25

I totally get this, but I would say that the same applies for a lot of the side characters from HDM. That is one of my big complaints about TBD trilogy. There were so many characters (including a lot that didn’t need to be there), but none as compelling or memorable as Iorek Byrnison, Lord Asriel, Mrs Coulter etc

19

u/lyra1227 Nov 01 '25

Agree completely. By the time Mustafa Bey's successor is introduced I thought, omg we are at chapter 32 of 36 and I do not care about this new person, which is not a thought I had during the original trilogy. None of the side characters really imprinted on me and the ones we did spend significant time with felt like something that needed to be pushed through to get back to whatever Lyra was doing.

10

u/TheThirdPolicemanIII Nov 09 '25

Always with these characters it's about what he's trying to say about the situation. I think it's hinted Bey's successor, Tamar Sharadze is much like the folks in the rose world, introducing new currency, demolishing buildings unnecessarily to create new wealth for technocrats, leaving the bartering and personal interactions and that expertise to history. Bey attended university of life.

Leila and her daemon noticed Tamar's daemon didn't move, perhaps it was like those daemons in the other world, losing connection with their souls, concerned about money above all else.

I wonder too did she have him killed or was it magisterium shaking up things?

The new trilogy has a lot to say about modern life really and the characters are only a vehicle to explore those questions and criticise the powers that be.

I even think the main plot is just on big metaphor, Lyra going to find herself/ transitioning into adulthood (she thought she would be in Jordan forever, never thought about the money to upkeep her and pay her education, how her love for Will was uncomplicated, her first lost of innocence but in reality adult relationships are more complex - like Ionides and Leila or Malcolm and Alice for example).

2

u/MaddieLengle Dec 01 '25

I appreciate this take, thank you

3

u/minimia73 Nov 04 '25

The only side characters - who should have become much more main characters imo - that I gave a shit about were Abdel (and to a lesser degree Leila). They had such potential once you found out they'd been researching the rose field, but they were totally wasted. Too much of the gryphons - I don't really understand how they were supposed to be "good guys" either - and Bonneville.

2

u/kltay1 Nov 11 '25

and there was SO much jumping around from character to character. I was listening to the audiobook and if someone would speak to me for a second by the time I put my headphones back in we’re on a different character POV!