The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)

by Philip Pullman

book data

21,691 ratings, 3.96 average rating, 1,849 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		38%
4		31%
3		19%
2		6%
1		3%

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published

September 9th 2003 (first published 2000) by Laurel Leaf

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 480 pages

characters

Lyra Silvertongue, Will Parry, Mary Malone

literary awards

2001 Booker Prize Longlist; Whitbread Book of the Year 2001

isbn

0440238153 (isbn13: 9780440238157)

description

From the very start of its very first scene, The Amber Spyglass will set hearts fluttering and minds racing. All we'll say here is that we immediate...more

[close] From the very start of its very first scene, The Amber Spyglass will set hearts fluttering and minds racing. All we'll say here is that we immediately discover who captured Lyra at the end of The Subtle Knife, though we've yet to discern whether this individual's intent is good, evil, or somewhere in between. We also learn that Will still possesses the blade that allows him to cut between worlds, and has been joined by two winged companions who are determined to escort him to Lord Asriel's mountain redoubt. The boy, however, has only one goal in mind--to rescue his friend and return to her the alethiometer, an instrument that has revealed so much to her and to readers of The Golden Compass and its follow-up. Within a short time, too, we get to experience the "tingle of the starlight" on Serafina Pekkala's skin as she seeks out a famished Iorek Byrnison and enlists him in Lord Asriel's crusade:

A complex web of thoughts was weaving itself in the bear king's mind, with more strands in it than hunger and satisfaction. There was the memory of the little girl Lyra, whom he had named Silvertongue, and whom he had last seen crossing the fragile snow bridge across a crevasse in his own island of Svalbard. Then there was the agitation among the witches, the rumors of pacts and alliances and war; and then there was the surpassingly strange fact of this new world itself, and the witch's insistence that there were many more such worlds, and that the fate of them all hung somehow on the fate of the child.

Meanwhile, two factions of the Church are vying to reach Lyra first. One is even prepared to give a priest "preemptive absolution" should he succeed in committing mortal sin. For these tyrants, killing this girl is no less than "a sacred task."

In the final installment of his trilogy, Philip Pullman has set himself the highest hurdles. He must match its predecessors in terms of sheer action and originality and resolve the enigmas he already created. The good news is that there is no critical bad news--not that The Amber Spyglass doesn't contain standoffs and close calls galore. (Who would have it otherwise?) But Pullman brings his audacious revision of Paradise Lost to a conclusion that is both serene and devastating. In prose that is transparent yet lyrical and 3-D, the author weaves in and out of his principals' thoughts. He also offers up several additional worlds. In one, Dr. Mary Malone is welcomed into an apparently simple society. The environment of the mulefa (again, we'll reveal nothing more) makes them rich in consciousness while their lives possess a slow and stately rhythm. These strange creatures can, however, be very fast on their feet (or on other things entirely) when necessary. Alas, they are on the verge of dying as Dust streams out of their idyllic landscape. Will the Oxford dark-matter researcher see her way to saving them, or does this require our young heroes? And while Mary is puzzling out a cure, Will and Lyra undertake a pilgrimage to a realm devoid of all light and hope, after having been forced into the cruelest of sacrifices--or betrayals.

Throughout his galvanizing epic, Pullman sustains scenes of fierce beauty and tenderness. He also allows us a moment or two of comic respite. At one point, for instance, Lyra's mother bullies a series of ecclesiastical underlings: "The man bowed helplessly and led her away. The guard behind her blew out his cheeks with relief." Needless to say, Mrs. Coulter is as intoxicating and fluid as ever. And can it be that we will come to admire her as she plays out her desperate endgame? In this respect, as in many others, The Amber Spyglass is truly a book of revelations, moving from darkness visible to radiant truth. --Kerry Fried

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01/19/08

Paul rated it:

Read in December, 2007

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Okay....first...make no mistake, this review contains spoilers.

Now, having read the first book (5 stars) and the second book (3 stars) I had some hope for this book. But, this book was an excruciating head-hammering look at an author making all the wrong moves.

1: Lyra's sublimation to Will becomes utterly complete. Hell, women are supposed to bend to men, aren't they? Lyra quit taking a step without fearing it would cause Will to raise his ...more

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12/21/07

Jim rated it:

Read in January, 2008

Oooooof.

Too much. Way too much.

Pullman's series concludes like it started. Good but nothing great. And tiring. Very. The Amber Spyglass weighs as much as the other two books put together....and then some. Pullman pulls in still MORE main characters and still MORE beings and still MORE complications and still MORE unlikely, unbelievable turns-of-event. It just got to be too much. Between the witches and the angels and the cliff-ghasts, the shadows, the specters, the ...more Oooooof.

Too much. Way too much.

Pullman's series concludes like it started. Good but nothing great. And tiring. Very. The Amber Spyglass weighs as much as the other two books put together....and then some. Pullman pulls in still MORE main characters and still MORE beings and still MORE complications and still MORE unlikely, unbelievable turns-of-event. It just got to be too much. Between the witches and the angels and the cliff-ghasts, the shadows, the specters, the ghosts, the Gallivespians, the armored bears....you come away feeling tha the author is trying to beat you over the head.

And yet, you cant stop turning the pages. It is well-written, suspensful and you just cant help wanting to know what happens next. Thus the extra star.

The vast assortment of characters and beings would be fine if it hadnt detracted from the well-crafted main characters of the first book. Mrs. Coulter becomes less of a player and less interesting by the page. The same with Asriel and...characters that should have been better fleshed out and worthy of the weight they carried in this war (The President, Father Gomez, Metatron...)were left virtually unknown.

Most maddening was Lyra. She began the series as an admirable, sympathetic, tough little woman-to-be; a wonderful, powerful heroine driven to do what was right. By the end of the series her subservience to the boy Will is complete. The woman must bow before the man. This book is much too full of "Oh Will! What will we do Will?" followed by her sobbing and Will saving the day. I found that very chauvenistic and quite a turn off.

Still, the ideas of the book are interesting - but not earth shattering. What initially drew me to this series was that the Christians are busy crying about how this series and the movie based on the books are going to corrupt our children and kill God and wreck havoc on our peaceable society. Laughable to say the least.

Understanding that this book was geared towards young teens, I still couldnt help but think that any teen who had not had these doubts or questions or wonderment about God should be tossed out in the snow. Many of the "anti-God" things in this book were things my friends and were arguing about over cases of Miller Genuine Draft in Stephanie Montez's basement. There's nothing new here.

So I dont understand the fuss. In fact, there is only one atheist character in the book, Mary Malone and she felt and empetiness and a loss without her connection to God. I found her rejection of the Church odd. She ate marzipan and kissed an Italian. Whoa! I ate roasted chesnuts and kissed a Colombian once but it didnt make me an atheist. Cant we believe in God and enjoy the world at the same time? Pullman seems not to think so. Therefore there is something ironic about the near heavenly place Dr. Malone finds herself stranded (in fact, the mulefas, thier trees and wheels and her relationship with them was the most interesting part of the book).

In any case, Pullman doesnt say that there is no God. In fact, he allows that there may be a creator, a greater force but the war isnt against God. The war is against the supposed Kingdom of Heaven, a brutal dictatorship run by an angel who wields power through the Church. What is atheistic about that? Nothing. What drives the Christians nuts is that the books but the very valid question in the reader's mind...who does The Church 'work' for? If you arent or havent asked yourself that question you too should be chucked out in the snow. Here, the Church clearly works for a corrupt and evil angel and considering little things like the Crusades and the Inquistion...not to mention the insane theocratic drive of our current President and candidate Huckabee...Pullman may have hit it on the head. God may indeed exist (for me It does)but 'His' spokesmen on earth, indeed his most ardent supporters, clearly do not work for US or for HIM.(less)

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01/26/08

Chris rated it:

bookshelves: fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

In The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman commits two serious authorial sins: he gets preachy and he loses control of his story. The result is book that, while excellent in places, is somewhat less enjoyable than the first two volumes of His Dark Materials.

In The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife the narrative focused on Lyra and Will, the two main characters. In this book the action jumps between their story and three or four others, which are at times peripheral and uninteresting. ...more In The Amber Spyglass Philip Pullman commits two serious authorial sins: he gets preachy and he loses control of his story. The result is book that, while excellent in places, is somewhat less enjoyable than the first two volumes of His Dark Materials.

In The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife the narrative focused on Lyra and Will, the two main characters. In this book the action jumps between their story and three or four others, which are at times peripheral and uninteresting. The most egregious case is the storyline that follows Father Gomez, the priest sent to kill Lyra. This story goes nowhere: he never encounters Lyra and is eliminated by a character we thought had left the book several hundred pages previously. His story serves no purpose other than to inject some cheap tension and offer a platform for another dig at the Magisterium/Church through the doctrine of preemptive absolution (a cool idea, it must be said). This seems to be the motivation for many of the digressions. It's almost as if Pullman had a list of neat ideas, realized this was his last chance to get them in the series, and resolved to insert them at any cost.

There is also a great deal of convenience in the narrative. The alethiometers have become both deus and machina: everyone has one and can suddenly read them almost perfectly. This becomes a crutch for Pullman to move the story along without much motivation. Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, at best morally ambiguous in the previous books, have become good for unclear reasons.

For all these narrative problems on the fringes, the central story involving Lyra and Will is strong. The more serious problem is the preachiness. Narratively the problem is that it's very heavy handed, but I don't want to focus on that. Nor do I object to the content of Pullman's message. My problem is that Pullman seems to be mistaken about what he is preaching.

Pullman has claimed in interviews that he wanted to be the anti-C. S. Lewis and that unlike Milton, who was of the Devil's party and didn't know it, he is of the Devil's party and knows it. These claims certainly helped raise the profile of the books and the film (about which less said, the better), but they are overstated. I believe, on the contrary, that Pullman is of God's party and doesn't know it. Pullman's cosmology is very similar to Christianity's, and his trilogy very similar to more overtly Christian fantasies like The Chronicles of Narnia.

This may seem to be a perverse claim to make. Pullman, after all, has a chacter whom we are supposed to believe say Christianity "is a very powerful and convincing mistake." But it is at least a plausable reading. In the first place, Pullman's world is not atheist. It is pantheist: the universe is god. This god communicates through the alethiometer and other truth-telling devices, which not only tell the factual truth, but also give moral advice. The alethiometer frequently tells Lyra that things are right and wrong, not just true or false.

Second, the relationship between god and the demonic element (The Authority) is exactly the same as it is in Christian accounts of Satan. In both cases a creature falsely claims to be the creator in order to gratify his own pride and exert his own power. This rebellion is the origin of evil in both stories. In both cases things can be set right by recognizing and rejecting the false claims of the demonic authority, a miraculous and unexpected intervention by the true god, and learning to love one another. Admittedly Christians are not pantheists, but most do not believe God is a lion either. Pullman has changed the form, but the content is remarkably similar.

Finally, both Pullman and Lewis show their characters learning moral lessons that the reader is also supposed to imbibe. In both cases the characters learn to be brave, honest, and loyal; to sacrifice their own immediate desires to the needs of others; and to pursue truth and knowledge, including to question authority. Pullman is not exactly tearing up the foundations of Christian morality here.

Rather than seeing Pullman as an atheist or anti-Christian author, it is more accurate to see his as part of a long tradition of English anti-clerical (and perhaps anti-papist, although that's a different review) writers. Many Christians have understood the visible Church to be corrupt and the clergy to be ambitious for power, without ceasing to be Christian. Some might even argue this is an essential truth of Christianity.(less)

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09/25/07

Jonathan rated it:

bookshelves: religion

Read in October, 2007

I also liked the third book a bit less than the others. The whole thing seemed rushed, as if he threw together every disparate idea he could think of at the last minute and didn't really plan ahead. I wanted this to be a great series, but it didn't really reach its potential.

I really liked the descriptions of angels at the beginning of the second book, as these strangely alien creatures with wisdom far beyond our own and their attention fixed on other-worldly things. But as the story...more

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02/21/08

JoLee rated it:

bookshelves: childrens--young-adult

First of all, I would not recommend these books to kids. I don't think that most kids would be able to navigate the intricacies of Pullman's ideas and separate the story from the rhetoric. I see this as a major problem since they are written for and marketed to children.

That being said, there are a lot things about the books that I found really interesting. For example, the people of this world have a creature that is part of them, their daemon. The daemons are a physical manifestati...more First of all, I would not recommend these books to kids. I don't think that most kids would be able to navigate the intricacies of Pullman's ideas and separate the story from the rhetoric. I see this as a major problem since they are written for and marketed to children.

That being said, there are a lot things about the books that I found really interesting. For example, the people of this world have a creature that is part of them, their daemon. The daemons are a physical manifestation of the person's soul, which is an incredibly interesting idea. The children have daemons that can change forms symbolizing how their personalities are not fixed or decided. When a child matures his daemon takes on a form that best portrays that person's character and personality. In a way the daemons act as a conscious; they also reveals character traits that a person might want to keep hidden.

Pullman's books definitely have an anti-organized religion slant. But the issues that Pullman tackles in the first couple books are things that I don't believe in anyway - like original sin and the church wielding political power. Here's what Pullman himself said about that, "When religion acquires that power, it goes bad very rapidly. That's the criticism I think the story of His Dark Materials is making, because in Lyra's world, power is wielded by religious authority, and that's why it's gone wrong." One of the major conflicts in the story is a Galileo-esque tale of a man who makes a scientific discovery that goes against the doctrine of the Magestrium (the church and the seat of political power.) And since he is like Galileo, you can imagine how well the Magestrium takes that discovery.

One thing that really bothered me about the first couple books actually has nothing to do with Pullman but just the general state of the world right now. That is the fact that it always seems like the church goers in books have to be crazy - either crazy controlling or crazy religious or just plain crazy. I'm shaking my head now in frustration.

Where things got dicey for me with Pullman's books was in the last book of the trilogy. Now instead of fighting against the corrupt church, Lyra's father wages a war against heaven and God is portrayed as an old man, which I found pretty offensive. However, that being said, I never got the impression that Lyra's dad was a "good guy" or that he was doing the right thing by trying to overthrow God.

As far as the physically inappropriate behavior is concerned, I never really could decide what happened in that scene. It's clear that the kids love each other (they actually aren't that young, 14 and 15, I think) but that is all that is clear. Involved in this situation, is a character who is told that she is "to play the serpent," as in the Garden of Eden. And, I suppose, that if you believed that Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden because of some sexual sin (which I know people do), you might read this section of the book in that way. But I'm not sure if that is what Pullman was going for.

Ok. So final run down. Is all the criticism hype? No. But most of it is too heavy handed. Am I sorry I read the books? No. And I would even consider reading them again. I would like to get my mind around some of Pullman's critiques and see if I feel as uncomfortable with some of the stuff as I did the first time (it's been 4 years probably). I walked into these books blindly. I didn't have any idea what I was getting myself into when I started reading them, and so I think I was doubly shocked by some of the themes of the books. But what a fruitful conversation Pullman has started. I would love to talk to someone who has carefully and thoughtfully read the books. I saw the movie but Nate didn't, and I really wished that he had so that we could talk about it and try to separate Pullman's ideas from those of his characters.(less)

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09/18/07

Corie rated it:

bookshelves: brain-candy, fantasy-science_fiction, true-love, young-adult

Read in September, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone over 12

If you haven’t read the ENTIRE three books, please don’t read any further. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you because the ending is so endearing and…..lasting, that I would HATE to take it away from you.

I absolutely fell in love with Lyra. Didn’t you? She was the sister I wish I would have had growing up. She was myself as I played with all of my brothers in the mudfields, she was the daughter I’m sure every woman would yearn to have. In my opinion, Philip Pullman was b...more If you haven’t read the ENTIRE three books, please don’t read any further. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you because the ending is so endearing and…..lasting, that I would HATE to take it away from you.

I absolutely fell in love with Lyra. Didn’t you? She was the sister I wish I would have had growing up. She was myself as I played with all of my brothers in the mudfields, she was the daughter I’m sure every woman would yearn to have. In my opinion, Philip Pullman was brilliant in his creation of this little girl. Her flaws were her strength just as much as her strengths were her salvation. And when you take her inquisitive innocence and throw in Will’s brave maturity…..together, the two of them are almost too much to bear. I was heady with adoration for the two of them combined. I’m sure some would say they were too perfect together, too sappy, too trite. But my cynicism runs deep and my heart was still touched. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl or because my heart still remembers the depth of that first love. The absoluteness of it. My heart remembers “Going to China”, (haa haa) and it longs to visit again.

Will was the boy every girl wants to fall in love with. Loyal, strong, clever, honest, sweet and faithful. I hated him for agreeing to close every single window except one, but loved him for his dedication to do what’s “right”. I wanted to shake him and tell him that when he gets older he will realize that one more window wouldn’t have mattered – that what he was at Lyra’s side was worth one silly little window in the fabric of the worlds. But of course, he wouldn’t listen to me, because he is young and doesn’t know how rare True Love is. So I sighed (and cried) and watched them (felt them!) split forever. And I agonized over whether they would ever figure out how to Astral Project into eachother's lives. And if the one would wait for the other when they died, so that they could walk out the window they created hand in hand. I could literally picture them sitting there on that bench for an hour each year, aching for eachother once again. Sigh....

I liked how Mrs. Coulter was deep enough to be both intrinsically evil and love Lyra with a blindly, maternal love in the end. I liked how the Master at Jordon and John Faa were father figures in their own ways. I liked little Roger’s complete faith and how Iorek’s devotion was tempered with a knowledge that was higher than either of the children’s.

I did find Mary Malone unbearably boring and found myself wishing away any chapter having to deal with her and her mulefa. Get back to the real story of Lyra and Will! I could have done without her entire story line.

And of course there was Pantalaimon. How much do we all wish we had a dæmon that we could see, touch, talk to, rely on? How much fun would it be to have a morphing little partner in everything we do? Ahhh, was a fun concept to explore and probably the very secret to HDM’s success. Pullman’s descriptions of the different dæmon’s throughout each book were descriptive, imaginative and comical.

All in all, an excellent book. I wish I would have read it slower so that I could have enjoyed Lyra and Will's company a little longer.

(less)

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09/13/07

Pige rated it:

recommends it for: no one

I actually finished this book a couple weeks ago. But life outside of goodreads, my general frustrations with the book, and the sense that reading it and thinking about it was contributing to an extended bought of grumpiness kept me from putting any thought or effort towards commenting on it here.
I suppose I should get it over with now. I have to say that reading this book was at times overwhelmingly painful and my main motivation for actually finishing it was to be able to know for my...more

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01/17/08

Joe rated it:

Read in March, 2002

This book was twisted. The plot was very contrived and the characters have lost the remaining appeal that they had in the first 2 books. The "redemption" of Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel is utterly unconvincing. Pullman makes an open mockery of God, whom he depicts as a weak, timid, helpless old being manipulated by a twisted, tryanicial angel. No, Lyra and Wil don't kill God in the end, but Pullman does. The story culminates in the predictable recreation of Adam and Eve's experien...more This book was twisted. The plot was very contrived and the characters have lost the remaining appeal that they had in the first 2 books. The "redemption" of Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel is utterly unconvincing. Pullman makes an open mockery of God, whom he depicts as a weak, timid, helpless old being manipulated by a twisted, tryanicial angel. No, Lyra and Wil don't kill God in the end, but Pullman does. The story culminates in the predictable recreation of Adam and Eve's experience in the garden, with the conclusion that Satan had it right all along.
The problem with Pullman's "Republic of Heaven" ideal is that he puts too much faith in humanity. History has proven time and again that men are incapable of building and sustaining a truly benevolent society. We need God in order to build heaven. (The true God, not a warped idea of Him as seen in many religions today). The only thing worse than religious oppression is Godless oppression.
Pullman is also right that men have corrupted the truth, and this is manifest in many false teachings in religions today, but he is wrong in concluding that this is God's fault, or that the very idea of God is false, and that God himself is a corrupt invention of man. There is a God, He is good, and there is a true way of worshipping him that affirms humanity.
Pullman is also right that human passions have wrongfully been suppressed by many religions. But he is wrong in suggesting that there should be no higher authority to set bounds on human passions. Our passions are God-given, and God desires that we enjoy them. He teaches us, not to deny ourselves of these passions, but to deny ourselves of selfish and harmful (to ourselves or to others) expressions of these passions. There is an appropriate bounds. True religion strikes the right balance between the full expression of human passion and approprate self restraint.
Finally, Pullman is also right about one thing in the Garden of Eden: it was a good thing, ultimately, that Adam and Eve partook of that fruit. It is in fact what God intended to happen. There was nothing inherently evil in the fruit itself. The sin was in doing so at Satan's urging. (less)

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02/19/08

Susie rated it:

Read in April, 2008

Considering all the recent controversy surrounding Pullman's Dark Materials, I was careful to avoid reading any articles or reviews that would taint my opportunity to judge this book on face value. I found it to be an incredible story. Pullman drew from history, religion and science to form his own unique creation. I can't say that it was remarkably uplifting, or inspiring, or even that it made me question my view of life and how my religion plays into that. In fact, it probably only solidif...more

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07/11/07

Sammy rated it:

bookshelves: the-good

Read in July, 2007

Okay, before I say what I need to say let me just say that I really loved this series, it was inventive and original, I've never really read anything like it. The only disappointment was that it seemed anti-climactic. I was expecting a little more to the ending, going out with a bang, not the relatively quiet exit that it actually had. It didn't kill the novel for me, but it did disappoint me a bit. I'm wondering if Pullman chickened out with a big ending he originally intended or someone st...more Okay, before I say what I need to say let me just say that I really loved this series, it was inventive and original, I've never really read anything like it. The only disappointment was that it seemed anti-climactic. I was expecting a little more to the ending, going out with a bang, not the relatively quiet exit that it actually had. It didn't kill the novel for me, but it did disappoint me a bit. I'm wondering if Pullman chickened out with a big ending he originally intended or someone stepped in and made him change it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter because the book does deal with some pretty controversial issues. Either way everything was tied up very nicely and all my questions were answered. But he also ended it in a way that sort of left it so you can also make your own decisions on what happened or what else will happen, I liked that a lot because I felt that it meant Pullman had a lot of trust in his readers.

Once again Pullman's writing did not disappoint, he explained things without spelling them out but also so even those not well versed in religion, science or fantasy could understand what he was talking about. His vivid descriptions still survived well into the last page of this last book. And even though there was a lot of jumping around from character to character it was done smoothly so the reader wasn't annoyed or left feeling jarred out of place. All of his characters grew and became even more demensional, though it did make Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter a little more confusing... were they good or were they bad? I kind of enjoyed that delicate line they balanced on.

I think one of the most wonderful parts in the story was Will and Lyra's relationship. It had to be treated so carefully because while they were still kids on the cusp of becoming adults, they had just been through so much that shaped them and had them grow. The relationship just didn't happen, there were hints scattered throughout so when they finally did get together you weren't seeing it as unbelievable, you were seeing it as something you knew was coming. It also wasn't too adult, it was perfect for them. Children that weren't quite children due to what they had just been through, but not quite adults due to their age. It was heartbreaking when they wouldn't be able to be together anymore because you knew it just wasn't a young first love, it was a true and deep love they more than likely won't find again. It was because their love was so raw and undying that they were able to change the Dust and help the worlds. It was honest, true love, the love that Mary explained to them, the "forbidden fruit" if you will.

Overall I loved this series, every character was a joy unless they were specifically supposed to be cruel and unliked, and even then they weren't annoying and I wasn't finding myself wanting to skip past the pages they were in. The fact that Pullman was able to address so many issues (especially the ones about religion) without getting preachy or dry was another thing I think made the novels truly enjoyable. As a Christian I didn't feel the need to get defensive about how he represented God and religion altogether because he presented it in a fashion that while you believed it to be true in the world of the novels, you knew it wasn't an outright attack on the beliefs of many.

In the end this was a fantastic series that was very much a worthwhile and enjoyable read. I don't think it's a series that's aimed towards a specific group of people because it encompasses so much. There is bound to be something within the novel you find and bond to that keeps you reading. And, personally, as much as they say it's a children's book, I think it's totally an adult read as well. Maybe even moreso than a kid's read, you think?(less)

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04/20/07

Shannon rated it:

bookshelves: favorites, own, scifi-fantasy

Read in June, 2004

recommends it for: everyone

Heartbreaking, cynical, beautiful, potentially life-changing.

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04/26/08

Jamie rated it:

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: those with an open mind, lovers of great storytelling

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I was surprised in looking over the reviews for the final book of the trilogy--so much disappointment, anger, bitterness! While I don't believe the book is flawless, I felt a lot of reviewers took out their frustrations on Pullman's politics or his decision to twist the happy ending rather than on the storytelling itself. I thought, whatever problems you have with the book, the storytelling, magic, and emotional power of the book were absolutely riveting. I rarely rush through books so quickl...more I was surprised in looking over the reviews for the final book of the trilogy--so much disappointment, anger, bitterness! While I don't believe the book is flawless, I felt a lot of reviewers took out their frustrations on Pullman's politics or his decision to twist the happy ending rather than on the storytelling itself. I thought, whatever problems you have with the book, the storytelling, magic, and emotional power of the book were absolutely riveting. I rarely rush through books so quickly, but I would find myself staying up to read "just one more" chapter and move through three or four because I just couldn't put it down. Because I don't really know where to start, I'll just address some of the main problems other people have mentioned.

1) The "there are too many main characters/worlds/ideas" thing. I respectfully disagree; I felt that he expanded on characters we had known previously (particularly Mary Malone, who I really came to love), while simultaneously introducing new, fully-fleshed out characters. I didn't need an entire book devoted to Balthamos or Baruch to understand them, or more exposition on Atal's life before Mary's visit to the mulefa's world. I loved watching the development of Tialys and the Lady Salmakia. Ultimately, I felt he wove these new lives in without ever losing the sense of Lyra and Will--who I think were even more smartly written and complex here than in either of the other two books. I think Pullman was surprisingly deft at weaving everything together while keeping a strong primary focus on Lyra and Will's coming-of-age (and "Fall").

2) Several people think his character choices were mere plot devices or cop-outs. For instance, Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, and their redemption through their love for Lyra and for one another. While I loved Mrs. Coulter as a deliciously cruel villainess, I think his decisions with her character in this were both surprising and wonderfully done. Mrs. Coulter explains it herself--she had saved Lyra twice before in the other books; that she did so again here really wasn't out-of-the-blue in this book, as so many people have said. Her love for Lyra may have seemed out-of-character to some, but for me, it made perfect sense. The thing I loved about Mrs. Coulter most was that I never really knew what she would do next. You come to assume she's going to make ridiculously cruel moves, but even then, what were her motives? Whose side was she on? Would she switch? Her changes and redemption in this, for me, just proved that Mrs. Coulter was the most superbly unpredictable character of the trilogy. I'll concede that Asriel was a bit more surprising to me in a less skillful way, but we did see a bit of a preface to the final scene between him, Coulter, and Metatron (Asriel/Marisa's union) at the end of the first book, when he offered his hand to her to work together. So I felt it still made sense and was really touching, at least for me. Someone mentioned the harpies--I found the whole bit in the Land of the Dead to be incredibly moving and invigorated. That the harpies came around resonated with me--yes, it does seem a bit silly that no one would have thought to tell the harpies stories beforehand, but I think themes of truth and storytelling (and stories as a way towards redemption or creative expression) were finally fulfilled here, after much leading up to them through Lyra.

3) The religious aspect. While I certainly agree with one review that called Pullman out on his inherently pantheistic world, I don't think that should necessarily be considered a flaw, simply because he identifies himself and the trilogy as anti-theistic. There is, of course, some Higher Power in Pullman's world(s)--but that power isn't God, it isn't his high angels, and it isn't the church. That in itself is a bold move for a "children's" author (or most any author) to make. While Dust certainly has some kind of mystical subtext to it, I think his decision to place religion in the hands of the natural universe is beautifully written and thought-out. Sure, they kill God (which has been called blasphemy by some reviewers--why read/review it, if you're going to give it an unwarranted one star on the sole basis of your divergence from his (and the book's) politics?)--but I think Pullman makes quite clear that the greater meaning of the war against God, etc. is that it is rather against the Kingdom of Heaven, which is corrupt and tyrannical, losing the meaning of the supposed "goodness" of religion altogether. I'm an atheist, but just as his rejection of orthodox religion didn't bother me, neither did his inability to fully narrate an atheist storyline/world/whathaveyou. So to bash the book on the basis of disagreeing with the underlying value system seems to me an injustice; it's not a theological polemical or academic essay--it's a book, and a terrific one, in my mind.

Of course, as I said, it's not perfect. The end was a bit disappointing, but for me, again, it made sense. I think I would prefer the realization that adults have to face hardships--like separation, lost-love, recognition of the self in the context of many others--than to have everything tied up in a pretty, romantic package. That Will and Lyra must be separated seems to me the most adult moment of the trilogy; as they move from childish selfishness into the hard realities of adult responsibility and decision-making, they make the hardest decision of their lives, and effectively seal the deal of their Fall from childhood to adulthood. So while it may not be the saccharinely satisfying union of the two in eternal love, it leaves the reader with a sense of loss and nostalgia, which everyone must face as they enter the real world. I would have preferred more of Serrafina Pekkala and Iorek (among a few other favorite characters), and I felt that the Fall itself wasn't as epic as it was built up to be, but I felt really satisfied with the book and the trilogy on the whole. I think it's more disheartening to see so many reviews bashing it for reasons I don't really understand, and many that seem, quite frankly, inessential to the book/trilogy itself. I still highly recommend it to anyone with an open mind and a love of great storytelling.

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12/04/07

Lori Anderson rated it:

Read in December, 2007

I am so glad I'm done reading this series. It's languished on my bookshelf for ages before I finally decided to read it.

I'm sorry I did.

First, I hated how the first book was written -- so many references to things that weren't explained -- I felt like maybe I'd missed a book or something, but no, this was the FIRST one. I hated the main character, Lyra. It just wasn't grabbing me. I slogged on.

The second book got better with the introduction of Will. ...more

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11/08/07

Erinina Marie rated it:

Read in October, 2007

Okay, so I'm being especially harsh on these books, because I think I'm trying to figure something out about my own young adult novel. My criticisms are harsh I think because the books are actually so powerful and wonderful and tell a story with three of my strongest beliefs contained within them. But, I can't shake my annoyance at 1) the condemnation of the church (surprising coming from me, I know) 2) the central significance of sex and now 3) the trite and naive purity with which 'native' ...more

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02/12/08

Antonio rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommends it for: christians

A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, this instalment is by far the most complex and fast-paced out of the three. The many threads that make the parable intriguing and twined together very well, though sometimes it goes beyond well into either redundancy or beating, if not a dead horse, then at least one in agony.

No trilogy could really hope to be perfect, and as such this one loses steam at the end, but it still did not disappoint. Should I ever have the misfortune of reproducing,...more

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06/09/09

Porter rated it:

Read in June, 2009

When I was in high school, the local video arcade passed out fliers that that evening, after a $2 admission, you could play all the video games for free. I and several of my friends went and enjoyed ourselves.

And then suddenly they closed the doors, turned off all the games, and a preacher got up and proceeded to try to "save" us.

True, we had already gotten our money's worth, and we we could have gotten up and left (even though all of us wanted to but none of u...more

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09/07/08

Penny-anna rated it:

(review of isbn 043999358X)

bookshelves: fantasy

My God, this book is confusing. I have read it several times, and I couldn't explain the plot to anyone. I just don't get it. There's too much going on.

The relationship between Will and Lyra, I think, becomes less interesting as they become closer, so, obviously, by the time they're professing their love for each other, I just don't care any more. I don't care that they're split up forever - by the end of the book, Lyra has lost everything that made her interesting.
And, well.....more

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08/26/08

Jlawrence rated it:

Definitely my favorite of the trilogy. The story was gripping throughout, Pullman's imagination was working at its highest pitch, and he balanced characterization with a complicated plot very well (which is where I felt The Subtle Knife faltered). The world Mary enters and its creatures alone would have made a fine short story or novella, the trip to the underworld/afterlife was vivid and truly unnerving, Mrs. Coulter's character arc was fascinating, there were dramatic moments that literally ...more Definitely my favorite of the trilogy. The story was gripping throughout, Pullman's imagination was working at its highest pitch, and he balanced characterization with a complicated plot very well (which is where I felt The Subtle Knife faltered). The world Mary enters and its creatures alone would have made a fine short story or novella, the trip to the underworld/afterlife was vivid and truly unnerving, Mrs. Coulter's character arc was fascinating, there were dramatic moments that literally made me gasp out loud -

So why not five stars? To discuss that, I must discuss some

**** SPOILERS ****

- The Biblical/Paradise Lost parallels were clearly set up so that Mary was to be the snake/tempter and catalyst for Lyra (Eve's) fall -- but this was never followed up on. Lyra and Will's fall from innocence comes through their falling in love, which Mary had nothing to do with and seemed inevitable wherever they ended up (ie it did not require them meeting Mary). Unless I missed something?

- Further, the 'once they fell in love the Dust started flowing the opposite way in the Mulfela's world...just because' was really lame. Sure, it fits in with Pullman's whole semi-Gnostic 'the Fall was a good thing', but plot-wise it seemed like a hasty and lazy way to wrap up the dilemna of the Mulfela's world.

- Asriel's sacrifice of Roger is never addressed. Lyra atones for her part (which she is really blameless for, since she didn't know her father's intentions) by going to the underworld and freeing Roger's ghost of course, but the ethical dimension of Asriel's act of purposely murdering an innocent is brushed under the carpet - Lyra herself never directly approaches the thought ("oh yeah, how do I feel about the fact my father killed Roger?") and neither do any other characters, nor does Pullman, because by this point Asriel, even if a jerk, has to serve as semi-protagonist vs. the Authority.

- Which brings us to the biggest problem -- the anti-religion stance was very heavy-handed. Pullman is apparently a critic of the Christian sermonizing in C.S. Lewis's fiction, and indeed the obvious preaching in Lewis's Perelandra ruined what was otherwise brilliantly-imagined sf/fantasy world. Unfortunately, Pullman does the same thing here, from the opposite philosophical viewpoint - Lewis simplistically villianized characters with a secular view, Pullman simplistically villianizes his Christian characters (only those who have lost their faith, like Mary, escape this treatment), and both allow various protagonists to give speeches that're obvious expressions of the author's views. In both Lewis's and Pullmans' cases, I'm fine with an author wanting to explore an extreme viewpoint in their fiction, but simplistic, unsubtle preaching is, well, preaching, not exploration (this is also why I dislike Ayn Rand, crafter of fiction-as-obvious-ideology-vehicle).

However, it's a testament to the strong main characters, rich settings, and Pullman's imagination and pacing that despite those significant flaws this was still an amazing and gripping read.(less)

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06/17/08

Rebecca rated it:

bookshelves: fluff, horrible, kids-lit, oh-so-british, philosophy-and-religion, sci-fi-fantasy

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: children

This book was an experiment, and while there were moments that were clever and compelling and emotionally resonant, as a whole, the experiment failed. That experiment was to take a piece of complex, religious poetry intended for adults (Paradise Lost), turn it on its head, and make it into an anti-religion/coming-of-age allegory for children. Even though Pullman ultimately failed to create a believable, subtle, or controlled narrative universe, even The Amber Spyglass did have its good moments...more

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03/15/08

Michael rated it:

(review of isbn 0375823352)

bookshelves: bullshit, childrens-lit, sf-fantasy-horror

Read in June, 2005

Took me more than one try to get through this fat, tedious climax to His Dark Materials, and god was I relieved when I finally turned the last page.

Yes, it won the Whitbread (now Costa), and yes, everyone fell all over themselves praising it, but it is a weak, weak book in comparison to the other two, mostly becuase it isn't any fun at all.

There is terror and Big Ideas and heavy stuff in the previous two books, but that is always married to the sort of thrilling adventure th...more

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