The Amber Spyglass
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who wants to change the ending of this book
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Nov 20, 2012 11:27PM
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Me. I didn't like the ending at all. I'd like to make a few changes. I wouldn't kill Marisa or Lord Asriel, well at least I'd keep Asriel alive. I liked that guy (yes,even though he killed an innocent child) At least he could help the Lyra change the world for the better. I cant help but feel sorry for Lyra everytime i think about the ending. She loses everybody she loves, she cares about. She loses her parents, friends, Will. I don't know, Pullman probably meant it to be a hopeful ending, but it was definitely one of the most depressing and unsatisfactory endings I've ever read.
I thought the ending was a complete cop out. It was almost like Pullman ran out of inspiration which is a shame because I found the books enthralling.
I actually thought the ending fitted with the tone of the books perfectly. It's not an "and-they-rode-off-into-the-sunset-happily-ever-after" ending, but that's OK, because life doesn't always work out that way. There's sadness and there's hope. The world(s) goes back to the way it was, and if there's something missing, well, that's the way the world is now - imperfect. And I love the way Mary can still see her daemon; there is some magic in our world after all.
I would have changed the ending. i would have focussed my attetion on the battle on the end, make it tense, exciting and epic. I would make Metatraton and The Authority gigantic and powerful beings who went down fighting and took hundreds with them. Instead of Xaphaina telling the children about how the knife creates spectres, I would make the Authority tell them with his last breath, so that they would realise they could never be together. I would cut the rest of it to an epilogue just before they separate, when one of them says: "Oh, well, we still saved all the many worlds from opression, and I'm sad to leave you but I will never forget you. Bye!"And thats just the ending. If I could, I would almost completely change the entire book.
The English Student wrote: "I actually thought the ending fitted with the tone of the books perfectly. It's not an "and-they-rode-off-into-the-sunset-happily-ever-after" ending, but that's OK, because life doesn't always work..."Exactly!
I actually thought the ending was fine. It was bittersweet, yes, but that's just how life goes. Not everything can be peachy-keen and happily-ever-after at the end. Lyra and Will had to make a sacrifice for the good of all, and life and love are all about making sacrifices. Saving the world takes a lot out of you; you're always going to bear some scars.Think back to classics like The Lord of the Rings, or Watership Down, or heck, even Star Wars! All of those had bittersweet endings, and that's what helps to make them memorable because they feel more real than just "and they all lived happily ever after".
Though I AM pretty bummed about the fate of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter. Falling into an endless abyss, unable to escape, unable to die...can't be fun. But at least they have each other and their daemons, right? Right?!
Chris wrote: "I would have changed the ending. i would have focussed my attetion on the battle on the end, make it tense, exciting and epic. I would make Metatraton and The Authority gigantic and powerful beings..."I so prefer this ending, it's actually along the lines of what I was expecting to happen.
Danielle wrote: "Chris wrote: "I would have changed the ending. i would have focussed my attetion on the battle on the end, make it tense, exciting and epic. I would make Metatraton and The Authority gigantic and p..."I can see why the ending worked and why you prefer it, but personally I think it would have worked better if Pullman had actually been building up to it. As it was, I read the book expecting it to end with a battle, and I was disappointed when it didn't. I probably wouldn't have minded the ending so much if the book hadn't been building up to something completely different. There's nothing wrong with a tragic ending, I quite like them. But the ending of The Amber Spyglass didn't feel tragic to me, it felt forced and disconnected from the rest of the series.
Chris wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Chris wrote: "I would have changed the ending. i would have focussed my attetion on the battle on the end, make it tense, exciting and epic. I would make Metatraton and The Authori..."I meant I prefer your ending :)
You can read my review for the book if you like it's every close to your comment
the ending was him basically saying we can never see each other again until we die, there should get married and move on with their lives!
Th ending basically, sucked! It was really bad for a writer as famous as Pullman! It was really anti-climatic and un-climatic and confusing and ill-logical! many other parts of the story were like this also (Frail characters of Metatron & Authority, no battle involving Will and subtle knife, Asriel & Mrs. Coulter being confusing characters, etc etc...) I don't know why Pullman did this!
Chris wrote: "I would have changed the ending. i would have focussed my attetion on the battle on the end, make it tense, exciting and epic. I would make Metatraton and The Authority gigantic and powerful beings..."Can we buy the copyright and change the script of the book? ;) :)
I think that the ending of this book was actually pretty good. I mean, when I ended the book I actually had to just sit back, pause and think about everything that had happened. Although I do think it would be awesome if Pullman wrote a sequel to the last book.
There are two things I would have changed about this book:Firstly make the final fight between Asriel's rebellion and the forces of the authority much more epic; if you're going to do a rebellion against God then could it please actually FEEL like a rebellion against God? Pullman goes on and on about how inspired by Paradise Lost he was but did he just miss all the parts where Milton described the battles between Satan and heaven? Those bits were huge in scope and awesome in size! If Pullman could have tapped that stuff just a little bit it would have made the ending much more satisfying.
Secondly scrap the whole 'people from different universes can't live outside their own universes' thing. A lot of people have complained that Lyra and Will's romantic resolution felt unsatisfying and while I agree with that 100% this plot detail also betrays Pullman's core thesis that the nature of sentient life is to evolve and learn but above all move forward. Damning Asriel's republic to slow death because they're all from different universes kind of messes all that up. It really feels to me like Pullmam thought up this detail after the fact to separate Will and Lyra (especially since this contradicts the who,r journey to the underworld bit). So scrap it, if Lyra and Will have to suffer then why not strand them in some alien world far from home?
I too thought the ending, in fact, much of the last book, was very poor. But despite this, I loved the world he created; I wanted to jump in the book myself and help myself to some fancy puds in that deserted resort area they came across. One thing though; my daughter and I argue about this constantly: I don't think those cococonut shell type things could have really provided mobility / movement - if the feet were indeed inside them, they would have acted as a block, preventing revolution, if they were resting on the outside, there would have been too much friction / contact. Anyone else think this?
I thought the ending was well written. Yes, I wish it was different, but only because I cried so much and really really want Will and Lyra to stay together. I was glad Marissa died, but sad about Asriel. Oh, and Lee's death destroyed me.
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