Rating: 
Summary: Utterly fantastic
Review: A brilliant final chapter to a brilliant trilogy. The plot gets even more complex and the theological debate rages as Pullman keeps us turning pages to find out what exactly will come of this epic battle of good vs. evil, played out over multiple worlds and parallel realties - though it is never as clearly defined as that. The ambiguities are enormous and the reader will keep guessing to the very last page. What is Mrs. Coulter's true motivation? Is Lord Asriel really a fallen angel, as his name suggests? Will Lyra ever be reunited with her friend Roger? Does Will ever see his mother again ... is he reunited with his father? And again, what exactly is Dust and how does it fit into our heroes'lives? The questions don't relent ... and the answers, when all is revealed, may still leave the reader puzzled. But that is the brilliance of this work. Nothing is cut and dried. How many works of contemporary fiction linger with you long after you've put them down? One of the most exciting things about this trilogy is the way in which both Will and Lyra, in particular, grow and mature. Pullman's handling of their 'growing up' is delicate and finely rendered. Their final scenes together are wrenching ... as is the sequence in the Land of the Dead that serves as the novel's centerpiece. This is perhaps one of the most chilling passages I've encountered in recent fiction. I can't wait to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: The Amber Spyglass/His Dark Materials Trilogy
Review: This trilogy is a superb achievment by Philip Pullman, though The Amber Spyglass is, unfortunately, the weakest of the three. The dark menace of the first two is still there, in parts brilliantly so, and the narrative swings from this to straight battle action to a pastoral world of very strange creatures. Some minor plot-lines seem to fade away, others make little sense, and the "meanwhile back at the ranch" approach could at times get very annoying! Though given how complex the story has become I do wonder how else it could have been done - you very definitely need your brain in gear for this trilogy. But I have to concede for me this is all relative - I envy anyone who is about to start reading these books. After rationing myself to a chapter a day, more or less, I found last night some eighty or ninety pages to go, I just couldn't put the book down. The dawning realisation of how it's going to end is as much a hammer-blow to the reader as it is to Will and Lyra - it is the most haunting, intensely sad and beautifully written conclusion to a story I think I've ever read. I cannot deny that the ending is almost inevitable, in the context of the universes and what's happened, and indeed it's brutally realistic, whether we like it or not. But I also cannot help thinking that so much has been left hanging - re-read those final pages and the many subtle references to those things left unresolved. A not dissimilar ending concludes Stephen Lawhead's The Endless Knot, the third book of his Song of Albion trilogy. Again, intensely sad, and another story that lingers in your mind long after reading it. But despite this, the entire story is resolved and you are at least content that it's finished for good. Not so with The Amber Spyglass, which for me in terms of it's narrative is it's biggest flaw. Philip Pullman, hopefully not unwittingly, has allowed so much potential to continue the story. I don't believe a fourth book would 'ruin' the first trilogy, or demean it in any way - further, I actually believe a second trilogy could and would be far better than the first, given how the story has 'ended'. I greatly anticipate The Book of Dust, but I really hope that Philip Pullman is at least toying with the idea of continuing the story of Will and Lyra. So much for the wish list. As I said earlier, I can only say that I truly envy anyone about to or just starting to read the trilogy - it is superb, and will stay in my mind for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible!
Review: This is the third book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and it's probably the best book I've ever read. The writing style is terrific, and when I finished, I had to pull myself out of Lyra and Will's universe. I've read this book probably 20 times, and I love it every time. When I got it, I stayed up all night to read it. You have to read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: Yikes. Tears are coming to my eyes. I like Mrs. Coulter from the very begining. Just as she made Lyra love her, she did the same to me. I so despertly wanted her to be good! When I found out that she was, in fact, Lyra's mother, I was shocked. What could be better? The Amber Spyglass. Dealing with manners of Christianity: I am a Catholic. At first, in Northern Lights, when I found out about Asriel trying to kill off the Authority, I was about reading to hurl the book across the room. But I gave it a change, and realized that this was symbolizing what some people do in "the name of God"...witch burnings tops my list. I wish avidly that there could be some other way, but there isn't, and that's the way it it. As for Lyra and Will being too young to fall in love, that is bogus. They are just as capable as falling in love as a thirty year old is...because they are RIGHT for each other. If they had met at age 8, I could still probably believe this. I know a lot of 20+ year olds a lot more immature than these two. I do have to admit, Lyra changed. So did will, and Mrs. Coulter, and Lord Asriel, and Mary Malone...people CHANGE! Andy yes, I was a little confused with Mary tempting Lyra, but it that didn't ruin anything. These books are powerful. I feel guilty, like I deserted poor Harry...but then I realized that you can't compare apples and oranges. Somehow, these books are different. I loved that in HDM, you could identify with at least one of the characters. At first the view point shifts annoyed me, but then I realized that they were NECASSARY! I cannot bear to reread these books just yet. I want to know everything about the characters, though: It would make my day if Pullman started a series of biographies...first Lyra and Will, of course, and then Mary, the Gallivespians, and Mrs. Coulter, and Lord Asriel, and Lee Scoresby, and Iorek Byrnson, right down to every maid of Oxford. There is also something for everyone in these books! No matter what the age, there is always a part that makes you smile and say, "Yikes! I hope my parents never read this!" Or "Oh my! I'll never let my children read these..." And if you disagree with Pullman's books, all I can say is that they will change your life forever, like it or not,
Rating:
Summary: There Has Never Been a Better Novel Written
Review: The Amber Spyglass is a beautiful book that has amazing descriptions of characters, places, thoughts, objects, and especially emotions. I have NEVER read a book that seemed more complete. But if you are going to read it I will guerrentte that you will not understand any of it if you don't read the others in the series first. This book really makes you think. After I finished it, I just sort of sat around thinking about it. I really wish I could give this book more than five stars, because it deserves way more. The Amber Spyglass is better than the best. To this book, Harry Potter wasn't even close. (I thouroughly enjoyed Harry Potter don't think I hated it or anything.) Also, I have read a few reviews saying that this series was extremely sacrilegious. This is not true. Metatron was not the authority AND the authority himself was not God, but an IMPOSTOR. The true god was not questioned at all. Also I saw one that said something about somebody tossing her crucifix into the sea. That is true, somebody did do that and she did not believe in God. BUT Philip Pullman never even came close to suggesting that was true. If you enjoy reading great books, read this one, but the others in the His Dark Materials trilogy first. I can assure you, you'll love them.
Rating: 
Summary: A delightfully anti-christian message!
Review: I enjoyed the trilogy greatly, admiring Pullman's breathless style. He has an ability to write his way out of potentially nonsensical plot pitfalls that threaten to derail his narrative on occasion. But as a life-long atheist, the parts of the book that genuinely brought a smile to my face were the undisguised anti-christian 'rants' that appeared toward the end of the story. He even goes so far as to call christism "a powerful and persuasive mistake." I am sure Pullman knew the reaction he'd get from statements like that, and I admire him all the more for such bravery in the face of the supreme foolishness that has held the world in its sway for so long. If literature contained more honest and thoughtful voices like his, I feel the world would be an infinitely safer and saner place.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: Simply wow. I am 11 years old but far more mature than most others my age. This book was his best ever. I did enjoy the Sally Lockhart series but His Dark Materials were the best books I have ever read. I have read over 10,000 books and I simply cannot believe how incredibly amazing The Amber Spyglass was. I was weeping at the end, and I never read with true emotion. I only wish I was Lyra or one like her, I would love to see and touch my daemon. I only wish Pullman will write about their adventures when they meet again.
Rating:
Summary: The Best One In The Series!!!
Review: I think that The Amber Spyglass had to be one of the best books I've ever read. Lyra and Will belong right up there with Harry Potter and Ender Wiggin. If you didn't read the first two books in the trilogy, The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, you might be lost. Except for the first couple of paragraphs, it is a fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat, all-stops-out thriller! I highly recommend it, please read it!
Rating:
Summary: A Little Too Preachy At the End
Review: Philip Pullman is a true master of words. He commands them like flowing water and can tell a wonderfully beautiful story as he did with The Amber Spyglass. He resolves things quite nicely but he did it in way that seemed a bit manipulative to me. Philip Pullman has his views and I think he's just trying a little too hard to make me believe what he does. Otherwise, I commend Philip Pullman on a job well done on ending a rather difficult series. I just hope that in the future he puts art before anything else as he had told himself to do in interviews. That's all.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing end to a good trilogy
Review: I loved the Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, but was very disappointed in The Amber Spyglass. Those original characters with believable motivations suddenly turn into trite cliches. Then the book deteriorates into a transparent anti-christian polemic. The loose ends abound. This is particularly inappropriate for the young adult readership it is aimed at. The world is saved in part because the two young people discover love(sex). wow, what a revelation!! Lest you think I am a fanatic, I love Harry Potter and have highly recommended the first two books of this series to students. What a let down.
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