Rating: 
Summary: Major Disappointment
Review: It seems like there is no middle ground. People either loved or hated this book. I am in the latter camp. If only Mr. Pullman had stopped at Book II.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful attack on religion
Review: The Amber Spyglass, and the whole trilogy, is a clear attack on organized religion, especially Christianity, and a fantastic book. "Well, he didn't really mean that religion was bad, just that the Catholic Church was sort of corrupt, really," was the response of many. "The book degenerated into preachy, nonsensical mumbo-jumbo." The Amber Spyglass should not be read by anyone with a closed mind, or else much of the story may not seem understandable. The plot is certainly understandable, even if parts seem vague or sloppily thought out. Only Pullman could write a book so good that even with disappointing and sloppy parts, it still deserves five stars. I agree with Pullman's beliefs completely, but many people understandable do not. If you don't wish to have your faith and your God reduced to dust (pun intended), this is not the trilogy for you. Yea Satan! : )
Rating:
Summary: A disturbing book.
Review: It's a disturbing series of books, very well written but more is the pity. In Macbeth, the witches chant, "Fair is foul". Bill Pullman writes toward the same dark purpose.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful endidng to a wonderful series!
Review: This was probably the best book in the series (in my opinion). Although to understand and enjoy this book you HAVE to read the first two!! Will and Lyra finally put their heads together and solve some of their problems...and fall in love. This series is a must read for anyone who likes fantasy. BUT this is not as easy of reading to understand as Harry Potter. Much more advanced... it does take a brain!
Rating:
Summary: I keep on reviewing this book...
Review: Since this is such a good book every time I re-read it I have to review it again. This is the best book in the world. Every time I pick it up I read a different part and I've also got part of the Final Scene memorized. Philip Pullman is a beautiful writer.I can't think of anything else to say except READ THIS BOOK as much as you can; you won't find many others like it I'll tell you that! One more thing: I now find it very hard to believe daemons don't exist. They must, in a way, and it makes sense that in some worlds people can see them. But that's how obsessed I am! Oh well...
Rating:
Summary: A Book that Makes You Think--- Hard
Review: After reading "The Golden Compass" and "The Subtle Knife," I was left dangling from a cliff wondering how Pullman could possibly manage to pull the pieces of the plot together into a coherent ending. After waiting for nearly two years, reading "The Amber Spyglass" was especially rewarding. Richly written, Pullman's novel gracefully weaves the strands of plot together into an exciting, thought-provoking masterpiece. His ideas regarding religion and the deceptiveness of the Church were particularly intriguing to me; the thought of God as a Great Deceiver thrills me, because no writer I have ever read has ever written such an idea in such a popular franchise before. I also loved his idea of the Fallen Angels being on the side of right and goodness rather than being demonic underlings. The concept of Dust, or Dark Matter, being the basis of all spiritual existence is thrilling, and his ideas regarding the psyche of the maternal mind are interesting. However, the most dramatic portion of the novel would have to be the dramatic closing chapters. They are so well-written, and the characters have been so highly developed and embraced by my heart, that the tragic end actually drove me to tears during the entire final five chapters. I truly hope, as do many, that Pullman will relent and add a fourth installment to this groundbreaking series; the open ending is just too much to handle, and leaves me hungering for more. A truly well-written novel not only entertains you, but challenges your pre-formed conceptions and beliefs. Pullman's novel accomplishes this in spades, and deserves to be studied intensely.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but could have been so much better
Review: What a shame that this book didn't live up to the potential it had to offer, given the scene that had been set by the prequels (Northern Lights/Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife). I confess particular fondness of the subject material in these books as I myself was a student in Turl Street, Oxford, reading physics - aka experimental theology - and now an ex-christian. I read the three books one after the other and I agree with several other reviewers that the first two books were superb in their development of characters and personalities, the discussion of ideas, the clever storylines and the tempo of the narratives. You can imagine how keen I was to start the Amber Spyglass when a few dozen pages in, I suddenly discovered I was losing interest in the whole enterprise. Whereas I couldn't put down the other books, this one started to bore me almost immediately. I felt that the logical consistency of the first two books was being unravelled in this one, there are sudden changes in ideas and personalities and the whole story becomes piecemeal. There are some characters which are almost bogus (Father Gomez) and he could even have got away without using the world of the mulefa. There is more than one occasion where there is confusion in the plot, with the abilities of various spectres, daemons, ghosts and angels and so on. I feel that several times Pullman uses sleight of hand, explaining some inconsistency away with an almost flippant one-line explanation. Throughout I got the feeling that he was 'losing the plot', perhaps that he was trying to finish the book off too quickly and to hell with the consistency. Having said all this, there are moments of brilliance in this book and the interaction between Will and Lyra is handled very well, indeed it's been a long time since I have read such a heart-wrenching end to a book. Other reviewers have mentioned the swipes he takes at Christianity and I must say that I don't agree with them. In fact Pullman attacks the narrow-minded unkindness found in a *religious* mentality. Young people reading this book will probably be positively affected by that view whereas they can make up their own mind at some stage about the theological 'heresies' of God not being creator etc. It is a work of fiction after all. Brilliant though the Dark Materials trilogy is, it needs to remain that - a trilogy. The story has been finished off beautifully and any attempt to further the project would be detrimental to the whole work. Finally, I'd like to say that if this last book had been of the same quality as the first two we would have on our hands a true classic of English literature, a work to rival or exceed Lord of the Rings. All the same though, a wonderful read and one I will treasure for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: The Amber Spyglass, ...
Review: The Amber Spyglass is the third and final book in Philip Pullman’s awesome trilogy, His Dark Materials. The book is slightly boring in one or two places, but the rest of the book makes up for it. The story is about Lyra and Will, two heroes from different worlds working together to save all the worlds. Will they make it in time? Read the book, or better yet the entire trilogy, to find out. The end of the book is sad, and just a little depressing, but very few books are as good as The Amber Spyglass!
Rating:
Summary: ~
Review: This book is one of my favourites! I am an incredibly fast reader (I read the 4th Harry Potter book in one-and-a-half days), and this book actually took me time to read. It is quite challenging, and your opinion changes several times throughout the course of the story, with a supprising ending.
Rating: 
Summary: A Must Read!!
Review: The anticipation I felt leading up to the release of "The Amber Spyglass" was huge. I had read the first two books of the series, but the third book seemed to take forever to come out. And when it finally did, my friend took forever to finish it. But when I finally got my hands on it, I couldn't put it down. The twists and turns the book takes will keep you guessing up until the very end. And some parts of the book will bring you to tears- when they travel through the land of the dead and the ending. As I finished the book, I wished it wouldn't end, especially the way it did. The book didn't end the way the other two did, with complete uncertianty, but with a decision, that you will always remember. The fragile relationship between Lyra and Will is taken to a new level, and done so at the right time and place. You will even find yourself rooting for the bad guys at the end, because, ultimately, they do the right thing. If you liked Pullman's first two books, this one won't dissapoint.
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