The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)

Rating:
Summary: Best Book Ever!!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I read the first two in the trilogy and I was really excited when the third came out. The way that Phillip Pullman describes the worlds and the characters is really amazing. The plot is complex, but not confusing. This is my favorite book of all time!

Rating:
Summary: I know I know
Review: Yes, I know that you don't find out what happens to Lyra and Will. Yes, I know that people in this book plot to overthough an infallible God. And, yes, I know you want to know so much more than The Amber Spyglass tells you. But that's the point! We are just like Lyra and Will, never knowing what will happen, but left to hope and wonder at our own devices for the rest of our lives. It makes us, the readers, feel insignificant in the twisted scheme of fate and future. But, yes, that is what makes this book so amazing and special.

Rating:
Summary: Read it, but take your time
Review: I've read The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife but Phillip Pullman's third book, The Amber Spyglass, is something completely different. It was wonderful and horrible all at the same time and evoked in me emotions in a way I didn't know a book could. Because of Pullman's mystical and ensnaring style, you don't feel for the characters, but with them, through them. The end is especially amazing. However, it is not for everyone, for if you aren't able to see or feel all there is in this book, you'll be quite let down. I'd recommend taking the risk.

Rating:
Summary: Read it, but don't rush it
Review: I've read The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, but The Amber Spyglass is something completely different. It's horrible and wonderful all at the same time and evoked in me emotions beyond what I thought a book could do. Because of Pullman's wonderful style and the way he's sculpted this book to rise from the pages, you not only feel for the characters, but feel with them, through them. The end is especially great. However, I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, because if you aren't able to see and feel all that's there, you'll be quite let down. I would recommend taking the risk.

Rating:
Summary: A spectacular conclusion to the trilogy
Review: The Amber Spyglass is a spectacular finish to the trilogy. Best of all is the trip to the underworld -- which rivals Virgil's Aeneid in its power, beauty, and intensity, from the first decision that Lyra has to make until the very end. To complain as some have that Iorek, Lord Asriel, and Mrs. Coulter are somehow scanted in this book is to miss the extraordinary introductions of the angels and of the Gallivespians by way of compensation, but even more extraordinary the renunciations required of Will and Lyra by the fact of the universe. What is most admirable about Pullman as a writer and thinker is the way he can keep faith with the hopes and aspirations of youth -- "childhood is the Messiah that beckons us back to a lost Paradise" said Emerson in a Miltonic moment -- while recognizing the necessity of confronting truth. This is a fitting heir to the tradition of Milton, Blake, and Shelley. I would rank it (as an adult reader and thinking of adult readers as among its audience) as one of the three or four best works of literature of the last decade, up there with Pynchon's Mason and Dixon. It will thrill you; it will make you think; it may make you weep.

Rating:
Summary: Harry Potter fans would cower in lack of intellect...
Review: if they attempted to understand the depth of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. This series is sensational and inventive fantasy, which joyfully digresses from the monotone similarities in most fantasy novels. The imaginative journey to the Land of the Dead, Angels (good and bad), and an eerie siding of good and evil between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Republic of Heaven makes this a stunning and fast-moving conclusion to a stunning fantasy series.

Rating:
Summary: The Amber Spyglass
Review: If by some chance of fate, I knew beforehand I would be stranded on a desert island, i would be sure to bring along this stunning trilogy. Not only is it beautifly written, Philip pulman makes us search within our self to question our beliefs. I found myself inquiring whether there is or ever was a god. I found myself inquiring what my deamon would be. I found myself inquiring what i would have done if i were Lyra. I think everyone should read this book to inquire about themeselves.

Rating:
Summary: The Amber Spyglass: An Awesome Book With a Great Storyline
Review: The Amber Spyglass is an awesome book. It has a great story line which was definetely very well thought out. The fantasy worlds are realistically possible and have no major faults. I would definately love to live in one of them. It is also very detailed and every one of the 518 pages are intriguing and interesting. The author also makes it so that if you did not read the whole book you would not get all of the story. Out of all of the His Dark Materials Triad (The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife) I think this is the best because this is the one that actually almost ends and the one where things start coming together. This book also shows quite a few aspect of human nature. Unfortunately, the author is still a little on the side that says human beings are not that selfish. Still, that makes the story all the better. If you don't read this book you are really missing out on something.

Rating:
Summary: Close to perfect!
Review: Well, this book is almost perfect. I personally think that there should be another book, after all Pullman is still alive. Why didn't he continue? I mean, I'd love to know what happens to the daemons and about if they actually meet again and about this Republic of Heaven. I'd also like to know if Will and Lyra grow up and meet each other again, not knowing who is who and then reveal their past figuring out that this is Will and Lyra! I wonder if they will marry...This book was a little confusing, I hated the Mulefa part, too boring. The saddest part was when Lyra had to split up with her daemon, I almost cried my heart out. Note: I'm not the real Lyra!! I just love this series so much, I had to use the name Lyra Silvertongue! Oh, yeah, and I think the second book was a lot better. My main question is, "Why couldn't Pullman continue, like J.K. Rowling did?!?!"

Rating:
Summary: Amazing book
Review: I started the trilogy with misgivings: the friend who recommended it said that it was "better than narnia", something i was very reluctant to believe. The first two books, however wonderful and breathtaking and exciting they were, failed to live up to the 'greater-than-narnia' fame. After finishing the Amber Spyglass, however, i have become a convert. This book really IS better than narnia! I don't want to give away too much of the plot, so i'll just say that i wasn't able to put this book down for more than 10 minutes. I sat up long into the night trying to finish it and, at the same time, dreading the time when there will be no more book to read. That last page, for me, was something to long for and to dread at the same time. I've heard the Amber Spyglass descibed as 'too dark, lacking a happy ending.' While i am one of the countless who wishes for happy endings (i spent the last few chapters of the book bawling), the book was the better for it-the emotion was breathtaking.