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The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)

List Price: $6.50
Your Price: $5.85
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Never will another series like this ever be written again!
Review: I first read the Golden Compass when it came out four years ago and was instantly hooked on the writting skill of Philip Pullman. I laughed and cried with the strong characters he had written in this wonderfull book. When the Amber Spyglass came out I bought it as soon as the book store opened. I loved the book. I never knew how an author could get such an emotional response out of a reader, for I was silently urging Will and Lyre on and wondering what would become of the unspoken love the had developed between them in that book. I wished with all my heart that this was a 7 book series rather than just a three, and wished that it would go on forever.

All things must end though, and in all of my life I have never read a fictional book to impact me in such a way that the Amber Spyglass did. I picked it up the very first day, and could not put it down until I finished it at 2 am, and I cried for at least an hour after that. The ending is a surprise, and while I will not spoil it for anyone, I can say that I never saw it coming. I hope that Pullman graces us with his writing by making one last book to show us what is characters have done in 20 years or so. There will never be another series like this written again. Pullman almost recieved the Newberry for his first book in the series, if he does not recieve it for this one I will be surprised. If you are thinking about this book please consider it a wonderfull story for all ages. Also recommended is the audio, dramatic storytelling of the books.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This book is better than the Golden Compass and the Subtle Knife because the writing is a step above. Pullman is a fantastic writer, and I think he ranks among the best storytellers in literature today -- regardless of genre. Some younger children might be a little put off by the relatively complicated and difficult style; I'm not sure why this trilogy is still classified as 'young adult.'

I didn't realize until I read this book that the His Dark Materials trilogy is essentially a sequel to Paradise Lost. Really fascinating stuff -- Milton was inspired to write Paradise Lost by an enigmatic passage of the bible... some early part of Genesis. Adam and Eve eat from the tree of knowledge and god says, "You know good and evil, now you are one of us." Milton thought "what does he mean by 'us?'" and wrote an epic poem about how angels had a fight with god before creation and god banished some of the angels from heaven. By 'us' he meant the angels he had banished. Starting to see the similarities? Now Lyra being Eve starts to make sense, huh?

Anyway, buy this book. It's well worth the money.

P.S. The passage around page 30 involving Metatron is really incredible writing... he manages to give a sense of urgency and immediateness without resorting to tired fantasy cliches.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best of the three!!!!!!!!
Review: THe Amber Spyglass was far better than my expectations. I first read the Sally Lockhart books over 2 years ago and then read THe golden Compass. THe Subtle Knife was much better than The Golden Compass. After reading the Amber Spyglass, I can truthfully say it is the best of the 3. It is well written and has a good, but sad, ending

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Pullman's Third His Dark Materials Volume: Stunning!
Review: Philip Pullman has created an everlasting, exciting, and superb closer for the HIS DARK MATERIALS TRILOGY. It is just as un-put-downable as THE GOLDEN COMPASS and THE SUBTLE KNIFE. The end is not one of those "and they lived happily ever after" endings, it is actually quite the opposite. But I won't say any more on that. His great characterization(Pullman's), abundant suspense, and great plots are extended to THE AMBER SPYGLASS. One thing that confused me though, was this: The book had very little to do with the amber spyglass. I wonder why it was named that? Other Books I Suggest: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS THE GIVER A WRINKLE IN TIME (I am only eleven, mind you, so you may not enjoy these).

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A disapointment
Review: Phillip Pullman got our hopes up with the magnificently written The Golden Compass. The Subtle Knife was almost as good. The Amber Spyglass was a disapointment. I waited two agonizing years, mired in suspense awaiting this book's arrival. Pullman's writing is just as good as his first two books, but his message is unclear and confusing. Pullman goes a little overboard with the good and evil/hero villan message. Pullman also shys away from the imaginitive writing that made his first two books so good. There are few new innovative characters and creatures and more repetitive religious quests and implications. Pullman's writing about the journey to the land of the dead is long and drawn out, almost boring. It is totally unlike Pullman's usually vibrant and creative style of writing. The dialouge in this book is also atypical of Pullman's conversational writing. The dialougue doesn't flow like it did in past Pullman stories. However there are some bright spots in this story. The chapters about the Meufala and their society are brillantly crafted and very interesting. The ever-twisting plot did keep me on the edge of my seat for a good part of the story. I think it will be interesting to hear what kind of reviews Pullman gets for this book. Buy this book and see what you think.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A truly amazing work of art¿
Review: Of the books in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy; the sighs of relief, and gasps of wonder and dismay in the Golden Compass; the cliffhanging apprehension, and the extreme suspense in Subtle Knife... and of the sheer brilliance, and intense power, of The Amber Spyglass, this one tops each of them. This extraordinary once-in-a-lifetime literary work of art is most likely the most magnificent and stunningly vivid of the entire trilogy. From the first page, to the last, Phillip Pullman grips your imagination and your entire being throughout the entire book, never misses a beat, and never lets go... The characters seem more tangible and real then you have ever seen them before, so you laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry, and gasp in unison. Every plot, sub-plot, and every fundamental cliffhanger is resolved in an uncannily skilled way. But this trilogy is not just a story for children... in fact; it's much deeper then what lies in the surface. And even if you see just what's on the surface it's still a great ride, but then you begin to wonder, and that takes you deeper, and deeper until you have a secure understanding on what's really being said in these books. Impressive, awe-inspiring, wondrous, and at many times the most heart-wrenching book I've ever experienced, none of there words can fully characterize, specify, or describe The Amber Spyglass in its purest, and most moving form. Phillip Pullman has created something more entertaining, engaging, fulfilling, and absorbing then anything like it to date... but come to think of it, there is nothing quite like it, and there never will be anything quite like it. These three books are literally one of a kind, and nothing will be quite the same in one's eyes once they have been experienced.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Whoa...li'l outta control here.
Review: Got hooked on the first 2 books...great books, original storeyline, great writing.

This one got bizarre.

So many loose ends, unanswered questions and religious comparisons. It just left me dazed and confused.

What happened to the cloud mountain...did we destroy it? Is it Heaven? Was that really the final battle? Did we win? Why was Dr. Malone playing a serpent, was marzipan like the Adam and Eve's apple? Is the world now Godless (authority-less?). Did the trip to deadland really have any significance? Why did anyone fear Angels...they couldn't, and didn't do squat. Dust was consciousness? Where'd that come from? Was that old babbling invalid God? Is the world now loving and kind since he's gone? What the hell was the battle all about, and what happened to the world(s) after? Did the dust stop leaving cuz we won the battle or because Lyra and Will fell in love? Cuz no windows were closed when it stopped, which was the reason they said it would stop leaving.

Convulated sub-plots, loose ends, unanswered questions, inconsistent cause and effect relationships. This book was simply silly and erratic.

"Sacriledge!!"

I know, I know...everyone loves this series. I liked it too. Loved the bears, the witches, the gypsies, the little people...and the characters were great. It's just this last book was all over the place. Inconsistent and confusing if your actually trying to follow a plot. The writing and character development were wonderful and absorbing...the story was original and had huge potential. It just never really resolved or adequately explained anything.

It was like the author took each issue in religion...Death, Heaven and Hell, God, Adam and Eve, and just built subplots around those ideas, instead of the books storeyline. "Ok, now I'm gonna deal with death and hell, so I'll send Lyra there to fix it." Or, now I'm gonna deal with the Biblical view of Adam and Eve, so I'll send lyra and will to someplace similar." "Now I'll deal with Angels...and make 'em wimpy"..."Now I'll deal with God, make him a babbling senile old man." And he just built a story around doing those things. Screwed up any coherence in the storyline, almost as if he didn't care what the story actually did...as long as he made those points about each specific religious issue.

Argh!

If your still trying to debunk and rail on other people's faiths (which, make no mistake...that is exactly what this book is about) after you've reached middle age, you got some serious issues with your own self. Anger? Or just plain meaness...I dunno. This book was written to piss off religious folk, and show "how enlightened" and self possesing the author is. "I am so secure in my atheism, I can write about God being an evil old senile invalid." He either has a huge Ego, or is just a nasty person...mebbe both.

I have been an atheist myself since 1970. I remember how smart I felt that I didn't beleive in those silly "myths and fairytales," religious folk did. I also remember I had to tell them at every chance. "Look, your a fool, can't you see it's all just a fantasy!"

I'm still an atheist, but I don't need to prove to religous folk how stupid they are, and how smart I am. If someone has faith, more power to 'em. If they wanna preach to me...that's ok too. They usually are doing it because they sincerely wanna help, or care about my "immortal soul" and stuff. An occassional zealot might be a little obnoxious, but, I can deal with it.

As an atheist, I was arguing with them not because I cared about them...I wanted to show how stupid and ignorant they were, and how enlightened I was. Arrogant and egotistical. That was me. And that is the author.

Get over it.

Anyway, I still enjoyed the series. The religious things didn't really bother me, except that it screwed up a good story...especially in this last book. Fun to read. Wonderful characters. I think people really fall in love with the people in the book...I did. Just don't get too curious about what's happening and why, and you'll have a grand time.

But, it will upset religious folk. Completely unecessary in my humble opinion.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: There be Yoghurt in them their pages.
Review: (...)That's better. Sorry about that. Just taking out the theological shovel the Reverend Pullman had jabbed into my mouth.

Let me begin by saying that I don't have an axe to grind. I do have a handle and lots of metal flakes at my feet, but no longer have any axe to speak of.

Like many of the reviewers here, I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books of the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. I now feel utterly cheated. I think someone must have stolen his golden compass because he appears to have totally blundered off the plot lines. What in Hades was the Mary and Mulefa section about? By the way did you know they had a diamond shape to their body structure? Did you know that? Did he tell you? Did he tell you enough times?

Oh how I was cheering on the lone assassin. By the time I got to the last 150 pages, and the subtlety had turned to a lecture, I just wanted those puerile characters dead with the underworld sealed-up. Oh they were the most beautiful ever; oh Mary had never seen such a sight of pure love; oh how I wanted to chunder into the book spine.

I think that - although I may be wrong here - there was an ever so slight undertone of anti-Christianity. As a replacement we have a vision of dust, other worlds, the wholeness of the universe and similar opinions dressed up with such clumsiness and inconsistency as to sound like the ravings of a yoghurt weaving hippie. Bah! Nonsense on stilts with skates on. Bah! Lazy lack-lustre underdeveloped philosophy.

As for those who are harking on about how this is an instant classic, please remember that 'classic' is defined as standing the test of time, such superlatives are as ludicrous and loose as a Pullman plot line.

Oh the venom.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: soppy and nonsensical
Review: I'm sorry to say that Pullman's main achievement in this last book is to create yet another soppy paean to adolescence. I was really disappointed in the weakness of the plot and characters. Through most of the book, Pullman is crudely trying to jerk the reader's emotions around... Oh, the sadness! Oh, the joy! Oh, the tragedy! It's all surprisingly amateur, simplistic, and it doesn't work. At least not for an adult reader. But I couldn't like this kind of sci-fi hackery even when I was an adolescent myself. Oh Asimov, Tolkien, where are thou???

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Astounding.
Review: I read "Northern Lights" as part of my course ot University, and was hooked, so i immediatly went out and bought the next two. This, in my opinion, is the best of the three books. The bittersweet ending, with the poignancy only a true love can leave behind, the expertise with which Pullman brings all the threads of narrative together, and makes the reader realise that non of his characters are either "good" or "bad" but are more true to life, and are a bit of both. The imagination, and the suspense is amazing.


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