The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)

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Summary: Harry Potter it's not. . .
Review: I intentionally avoided reading too many reviews or articles on the "His Dark Materials" series because I really wanted to go into it fresh. I had vague notions that it was a "children's'" story and that religion was in some way involved. In retrospect, both of those notions were correct, but not nearly in the way that I expected. The series was nothing like I had anticipated, but was so good that I stopped thinking about these differences in perception before I had finished reading the first chapter of the first book.

It is a child's story in that most of the main characters are children. And while I feel that mature children can enjoy it, it sure isn't "Harry Potter". (Disclaimer: I have read and loved all four "Harry Potter" books and will read the next three as soon as they are published.) And, it is about religion, but it sure isn't the New Testament. In that sense, it also requires a mature reader to appreciate these books, as organized religion is not given a particularly happy face.

There are other surprises. Early on, the reader knows that the ubiquitous fight between ultimate good and ultimate evil is coming and it's going to be another big one, of Biblical proportions. But the final denouement is so subtle, you have to go back and reread a few pages to be sure you didn't miss it. Several other major plot crises are settled with this same air of subtlety. I regard this phenomenon as one of the series' major strengths and feel that Philip Pullman is a literary genius to have pulled it off so consistently.

I wish I knew more of the history of the world's religions; I know I missed dozens of allusions that may have enhanced my understanding of some of the finer points of the story. But even at that, there is much to enjoy in these books. The characters of Lyra and Will were expertly drawn. I'll try not to give away too much about the ending, but it had me, a grown, rather obese adult man, as misty-eyed as I've been in a while. (And it was a relatively happy ending!) Other characters, such as Mrs. Coulter and Iorek Byrnison, the armored bear, were also vivid, complex, and interesting. As in the works of George R. R. Martin, the good guys are not always totally good and the bad guys not always totally bad. As in real life, shades of gray abound. And the worlds Mr. Pullman created for this story are often fantastic, but not so much that they get in the way of the story. Along these lines, the different races he invents, such as the Gyptians, the armored bears, and the mulefa are well developed enough that their traits both make sense and add to the story.

I won't give away any more of the story so other readers can be as surprised as I was with these books. I will say that this is the best fantasy series I have read so far this year and will let you find the rest out for yourselves.

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Summary: Enough loose ends to knit a sweater out of.
Review: The powerful imagery and great visual scenes in this book is undoubtedly what makes it so popular. But like all of Pullman's books, it suffers from egregious logical lapses and loose ends. For example, one character flees his own world because he's wanted by the police for murder: when he goes back to his world, there's no further mention of him being wanted for murder. It's never clear exactly what the two main characters did to save the world, nor why it worked. I have a list of about thirty inconsistencies off the top of my head, but listing them here might spoil the book for those who want to read it.

There are some great scenes. I do think, however, that Pullman needs to work on cohesion if he wants his books to survive for more than a few years.

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Summary: A wonderful book
Review: I am nearly sixty years old, and I have never bothered to write a revue before. I have been reading all my life, and amongst the hundreds and hundreds of books I have read, not one has touched me so deeply. Mr Pullmans characters are enough to make your soul ache with their love, fear, and the shear intensity of their purpose.
This is a work of absolute genius. It has so many levels that one can only wonder at the imagination of the author.

...In common with many others, I must admit I cried a little at the end of this book, but not for long. These two young people, who had come together, had their adventures together, loved and lost together. Are an example to young and old alike. They mirror in many ways the trials, happiness and grief that we all at sometime have to share, and to make the right choice can be the hardest of all.

This is a wonderful, wonderful book, and if such a thing were possible, it should not only have won the best book of the year award, but should continue to do so for at least the next ten years.

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Summary: I can't forget about this book
Review: I finished this book in on day. If you read this book you will never forget it. Will and Lyra fall in love and must leave each other. The last book of His Dark Materials Trilogy is so sad it mad me cry and I am a tough tom-boy. I think everyboby should read this book. Once I finished this book I could not belive how Philip Pullman ended this sad story.

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Summary: Twisted and Unpleasant
Review: I am a great reader of fantasy books and had heard so much about this series... it was a huge disappointment and I hope parents will read the series before they let their kids read it. (Yes, I am a parent, but NO I do not believe in censorship - just common sense.) Then the parents can decide if it is appropriate. I thought it was garbled, depressing, with a poor story line and plot. Then the end... well that is another story in itself! This author was trying to teach his readers his own belief on death, -and that the judeo-christian belief in the afterlife is one big conspiracy and lie and that the truth is the merging of all things into one at the end of ones life. That is fine, but parents should be forewarned.
On a literary scale, however, the book is part of the worst of the fantasy genre - one of those books that does not have a clear story line or plot, and just seems to jump all over the place. Again, that is fine if you like those kinds of books. I prefer well written sagas like Lord of the Rings, Amber Chronicles, Harry Potter, etc... Those are nice and tight with clear story lines. The only good thing I can say is that the author does create characters with whom you can empathize. Anyway, good luck. I am sure many people disagree with me on this. But I would highly recommend that adults read these before turning kids loose with them, especially anyone under the age of 13.

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Summary: Deeper Than The Surface
Review: Like the last two books of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy, The Amber Spyglass is yet another breath-taking novel. Not only was I not able to set the book down, I found myself living the book out in my mind as if I was one of the characters. The one thing that still amazes me is how The Amber's Spyglass is able to combine reality with fantasy, love with hate, and truth with lies.

The storyline started way back in the first book, The Golden Compass, 0with Lyra running away from her mother and father in order to find her piece of the world. Not knowing the dangers that would lie ahead of her if she did. And in the second book, The Subtle Knife, she meets a young man by the name of Will which she will slowly come to realize is the only place where she would ever be able to find peace. With all this said, in the third and last book, Lyra learns her final lesson: there is more to everything that just the outer appearance. Coming from a world in which she is able to see and talk to her inner self or else known to us as soul, she is slow to learn that what she sees isn't necessarily what others might see. But through the many different experiences with Will and the different worlds, she begins to understand the importance of trying seeing the world through someone else's and perception. At one point of the book Lyra even leaves a part of her behind to help her see another world.

Some might disagree with me in saying that this book was rushed and not as good as the two proceeding it, but there is no way anyone could ever convince me that, because how can I say that this is a great "trilogy" without a good concluding third novel? I believe it takes more than just skill to combine so many elements all into three books. It takes the understanding of human nature, the natural world, and everything around us to be able to grasp the reader's into the fantasy world so unknown to the human brain. Others might say that The Amber Spyglass is very much like The Chronicles of Narnia, but unless one has actually read the book, this is simply an understatement. To me the book doesn't merely base it's plot on the theology of the bible but rather the truths of life. Phillip Pullman to me portrays Lyra as someone about our own age, caught in a dilemma not knowing if we should take the first steps out into adulthood or stay behind in our childhood. We end up trying to do both at the same time, going out trying to find that "balance" or "piece of our own world" on our own but not wanting to take on the responsibilities that comes with it. To me, even till this day I find myself in the same situation as Lyra, but like her, I've also learned that through all this, only love and friendship can help us lessen and ease the pain.

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Summary: The very best book out there!
Review: This has to be the best book in the world! I'm 12 years old now and I loved this seris so much I just didn't want it to end. This is absolutely the best book I have ever read. Phillip Pullman still stands as my favorite author. People get everthing from this book and seris. A great plot, Awsome characters ( Will is my fav.), and the best detail I have seen in a book in all my 12 years living.The book is pumped full of excitement. I fell in love with this book just as Will and Lyra fell in love. You will be so sad at the end for A. Will and Lyra, And B. Because the seris just ended. And if Phillip Pullman happens to read my review, I hope he makes an epiloge of sorts. That would be the best thing ever.

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Summary: Stunning Conclusion
Review: While I enjoyed the first two parts of this trilogy, The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, they in no way prepared me for the excellence of this concluding volume. Golden Compass is a sturdy and whimsical YA novel, occasionally tedious to an adult. Suble Knife is better; more imaginative, frightening, and tough-minded.

The Amber Spyglass, while clearly the work of the same author, represents a huge leap in ambition. Suddenly the odd tale of Lyra and Will is swallowing and transforming great chunks of western theology while racing from one resonant cliffhanger to the next.

The book's seriousness of intent is beautifully matched by its playful invention, so it never seems heavy handed, and by the time the myriad armies are clashing for a spectacular war in heaven, Pullman's tale has taken its rightful place in the pantheon of fantasy classics. It's final chapters, wise and heartbreaking, are perfect.

Pullman's trilogy has been compared to both Harry Potter and the Narnia books, but it seems to me the better comparison is to Clive Barker's Imajica, another wildly imaginative and intricate reworking of the Bible.

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Summary: Lots of merits, lots of flaws
Review: I can see why there is such a wide span of opinions about this book. It has many things going for it, but there are also many serious problems with it, and everyone has a different idea about how much worth these things have.

Let's start with the good stuff. The wonderful imagination Pullman showed in the first book dimmed a little in the second, but most of it seems to be back now. Lord Asriel, one of the more interesting characters from Book 1, returns, along with several others. We get interesting new worlds and some new ideas. The plot moves at a good clip. In short, there is plenty of enjoyable stuff.

Now for the problems. Pullman seems to have difficulty tying up all his plot threads, which sometimes leads to characters doing nonsensical things. Also, he attempts very ambitious things that he can't always pull off. Depicting celestial beings in a satisfactory way is very, very difficult, and I'm sorry to say that it doesn't really happen here. The scene depicting the defeat of the Metatron, in particular, is disappointing. And the conclusion...well, suspension of disbelief is a little tough. Pullman should have drawn out the books so his characters aged more.

If you liked the first two books, you might as well read this one. I didn't find it entirely satisfying, but I was glad to have the conclusion. Judging from this page, many people weren't let down at all--maybe you will be one of them.

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Summary: Will the real "Amber Spyglass" please stand up?
Review: "The Amber Spyglass" is a bad book.

It's not just because it's a mediocre and entirely unsatisfying conclusion to a hither fore excellent fantasy series. It's not because it's "anti-Christian" or any such rubbish as that. It's just a bad book.

Where Pullman had earlier peopled his novels with complex and realistic characters, these same characters devolve into robotic stereotypes. Mrs. Coulter, for example, turns into a mommy. But Pullman's worst character assassination brings down Lyra Silvertongue, the formerly spunky, independent, and assertive little girl who enchanted us in "The Golden Compass." In "The Amber Spyglass," she becomes an analytical worrywart, and gets dragged around by the hand from scene to scene by Will Parry, like some B-movie Hollywood actress.

Pullman continues to introduce new characters and creatures in the third book, none of whom are interesting or compelling. There are the Lilliputian spies, proud and haughty just like their Swiftian counterparts, but not at all humorous. And the "mulefa," who vie with Lucas' "ewoks" for the most insipidly sweet and cute fictional species in contemporary fantasy.

And as if to make up for the lack of craft, Pullman strings us along with a continual barrage of cheap cliff-hangers, as if he didn't trust us to keep reading without prodding. And I definitely mean cheap. It was obvious that 'Paradise Lost' wasn't the only body of fiction that influenced Pullman; he also stole gimmicks from schlock-masters such as King, Grisham, and Roy Rogers.

The book's ending, which I will not reveal, was overtly manipulated into place. Pullman spent a good deal of the third book inventing random rules for his universe to keep the ending intact. Rules, I might add, which seemed unnecessary and illogical. (Spend too much time in another universe and you get sick? Make too many cuts with the subtle knife and specters jump out?)

Bottom line: this book stinks. Especially in comparison to "The Golden Compass," which may be one of the best fantasy novels of all time. But I had to ask myself as I finished "The Amber Spyglass": is this REALLY what Pullman strove to accomplish from the very beginning? I prefer to think otherwise, I prefer to think that Pullman had to rush this last book because of popular acclaim for the beginning of the series, and that, if given time, he really could have written a masterpiece. That way, I can always hope he'll someday publish the "real" "Amber Spyglass."