Cover of The Secret Commonwealth

The Secret Commonwealth

  • 2019 first published
  • 656 pages
  • ★ 4.0 (6 ratings)
  • 13 editions

Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth (2019) is an epic fantasy and adventure fiction novel. Readers will find themes of Lyra Belacqua, college students, Secrecy and murder.

Open Library readers give it an average of 4.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, and 32 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 13 editions. It appeared on the New York Times Young Adult Hardcover bestseller list in 2019.

It runs to roughly 656 pages — 12–13 hours of reading at an average pace.

About The Secret Commonwealth

**LYRA SILVERTONGUE** thought her adventuring days were long over. Now a twenty-year-old undergraduate at St. Sophia's College, she could almost begin to doubt that she'd once traveled to the world of the dead were it not for the painful separation from her daemon, Pantalaimon. But intrigue is swirling around Lyra once more. Pantalaimon witnesses a brutal murder, and the dying man entrusts them with secrets that carry shocking echoes of their past. They learn of a city haunted by daemons, and of a desert rose said to reveal the nature of Dust. Even these small scraps of knowledge are dangerous. Lyra is being watched and followed--and inexorably drawn back into a battle she thought she'd left behind. On the run, she seeks refuge with the gyptians, and finds a surprising new ally in Malcolm Polstead. But hers aren't the kind of troubles you can hide from. And the journey in front of her is one Lyra must navigate alone if she is to emerge whole. This description comes from the publisher. *The Secret Commonwealth* is the second volume of The Book of Dust; this is the sequel series to the His Dark Materials series, the first of which is *The Golden Compass* or *Northern Lights*.
Description from Open Library

Awards & lists

  • ✦Locus Awards 2020 — Best Young Adult Book (nominee)
  • 📰New York Times bestseller list — Young Adult Hardcover, 2019

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Subjects

  • Children's fiction
  • Young adult fiction, action & adventure, survival stories
  • Young adult fiction, fantasy, epic
  • Belacqua, lyra
  • Lyra Belacqua
  • College students
  • Secrecy
  • Familiars, Spirits
  • Fantasy
  • Murder
  • Voyages and travels
  • Young adult fiction
  • Thriller / Suspense
  • Crime & Mystery
  • Modern and contemporary Fiction, Post 1945
  • Adventure stories, Children's / Teenage

Quick answers

Who wrote The Secret Commonwealth?

The Secret Commonwealth was written by Philip Pullman and first published in 2019.

What genre is The Secret Commonwealth?

It is usually shelved as Epic Fantasy and Adventure.

How long is The Secret Commonwealth?

The median edition has 656 pages, about 12–13 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to The Secret Commonwealth?

Readers who like it often enjoy The Girl Who Drank the Moon, A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons.

More by Philip Pullman

All books →

Books like The Secret Commonwealth