Rating: 
Summary: Too Good For Words
Review: "The Amber Spyglass" is a stunning, amazing, astounding book. It is my all time favorite and I doubt that I will ever read one as satisfying as "The Amber Spyglass". I can barely find words to describe how awesome this book is. It captured me completely. I was living in the book. I laughed and cried with Lyra and Will. Phillip Pullman has a very special and unique gift. He weaves the story together in the most intriguing fashion to create a stunning, satisfying, ending. Reading this book is like riding a roller coaster, only more exciting. I finished this book in four days. I read it non-stop all day. I would get up at 6:00 to read until I had to go to school. I would get home and read until way past my bedtime. I could not concentrate on anything else but what was going on in my book. Once I finished, I regretted it, because it was over. I hope that Pullman writes another book for "His Dark Materials". I wish that the story could go on forever. I recommend this book for people who like intense, exciting and emotional stories. In fact, I recommend this book for anybody who likes to read. You fall in love with the characters, and live in the plot. There are many shocks, surprises, and disturbing moments. This book, in my opinion, is the best book ever written. The author's talent should be recognized and appreciated by all. The book is truely,"Too good for words"!
Rating:
Summary: simply amazing.
Review: I am 14 years old, and this book is simply one of the most amazing works of literature that I have ever read. And yes, the ending saddened me, but that did not make the book bad! It was incredibly sad though. I cried for a long time, at the fact that it was over, and at the fact of the injustice that will and lyra had to face. I mourned these characters, and I did not even do that for lord of the rings! The book felt so real, it was as if it could really have happened! its as if a person could really stumble into another world! I wish I could. Even a day after finishing the book, I still could not stop thinking about it. I loved this book, and if you like fantasy, read this book, but be prepared to cry.
Rating:
Summary: A passionate work
Review: This is a great book. To explain why will take a while, so stick with me. My degree is in mathematics so it took a long time for me to understand what my literature professors were trying to say. This book got me thinking, after many years, about what makes a book great. I think a great book needs lots of things. First, it needs a great story, otherwise it will never be read. Next it needs believable, interesting characters. It also has to use your cultural background in ways that speak to you. All of these things can be found in lots of books, but to be really great, a book has to show the author's passion. I'm a fan of Rowling's Harry Potter books, they are great stories with fun characters, but nobody is calling them "great books". Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings on the other hand, meets the above criteria. There is no doubt that His Dark Materials is in this class. One has to judge Pullman's work against Tolkien for a lot of reasons. The scope of both can only be described as cosmic and they are truly great stories. The range and quality of characters is comparable. It takes great skill to make an armored bear one of my favorite characters! Although I have not seen a bio of Pullman, I would guess that he, like Tolkien, was raised a Roman Catholic. The cultural background is pretty obvious. And their knowledge of the cultural images that can speak to us is vast. So that leaves the subject of passion. There is passion in this book. You can tell that Pullman put his heart and soul into it. You must, however, ask the question of great books "what is the passion all about". No one bothers to ask that of the Harry Potter books. They are just great fun and the people that are in a twit about the magic are in a twit about everything. These books are another matter. The passion touches the reader in profound ways. Tolkien's passion was for great heroes and normal, simple people that became great heroes by doing their duty the best they know how. His was a passion about sacrifice, about laying down your life for someone else, about hope against great odds, resurrection and the ultimate triumph of good. Pullman's passion is for unlikely heroes, loyalty and freedom. Above all, the passion is for freedom, freedom from the Authority, the church, parents and from moral quibbles. But, ultimately, freedom turns out to be a phantom. Lyra cannot escape the fact that her lies ultimately fail her. Will finds that he cannot escape the physical fact that his freedom to move between worlds will destroy them. And finally, the author finds that freedom from God brings only nothingness. Purgatory does not lead to Heaven, it only leads to oblivion. This is the ultimate sadness of this book, not the separation of Will and Lyra. There truly is no hope. Pullman must have had some terrible experiences with the church to be so bitter about it. It is too bad that he cannot see that his emaciated god is not the true reality: God is really there, really loves us, really cares enough to break into history, make the ultimate sacrifice to give His life for us so we can be truly free. Give me Tolkien's passion, anytime! Read this book. Read Tolkien. Compare them. The reason that Tolkien's passion resonates is that it is true. When Frodo leaves the Grey Havens, he is going to Someone not nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Having Seen Through a Glass Darkly...
Review: OK, I probably shouldn't be writing a review before I've even finished the book, but it's 2 months I've been reading it & it might take that much longer to finish it... I think it says something helpful to you that I'm even writing this. For me, this last of the trilogy is even more powerful than the others, which all built to this one like a crescendo, to a literary sforzando. (It's a rare novel, just as it's a rare piece of music other than classical, that uses dynamics effectively.) So I'm sipping this one like a rare, vintage wine; the last of its kind - it's really that good. However, the real reason I'm compelled to review so soon is that there's another feeling you must know about: that there's a very real sense of The Amber Spyglass being a vision into another living world. And along with that, there's a sense of sadness at leaving the characters "on their own" while I have to put the book down to continue on with my life. Yes, there's an incredible compulsion to finish the book in one excitable draught, so involving it is, but also what a sense of compassion & tenderness this reader at least feels towards the people (of all sorts) in it. They have become part of me. And although I hate to leave them lingering in the pages until I return, I know that they are living in the world of my imagination while I take my time to read it. I hope you understand this, & perhaps it will mean something to you. I don't remember being this moved in a long time (being a trilogy helps, for the depth) - perhaps only back when Tolkien's foursome dribbled out into print. But I think I like this one better, for the characters and for the way it guides us through some provocative, important ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Incomparable Perfection
Review: I just finished reading it, and my face and neck are all sticky with tears. Phillip Pullman has done the impossible, he has surpassed any comparioson. I have never in my life read such an amazingly brilliant book, things are expressed within that harmonize perfectly with everything I have ever thought or believed, and I feel myself wanting the Story so badly that it hurts me. It is a climaxion of everything I have been feeling, and the incredible truths held within are so inexpressibaly beautiful and rare that these books must be Perfection itself. As I strive to solidify what I am feeling I feel myself failing, nothing else on earth might ever come as close to realness as the ink on those pages. The insurpassible wonder is inexpressible and incomparable.
Rating: 
Summary: Trilogy Becomes a Train Wreck
Review: I really wanted to like "Amber Spyglass" - especially since I had so much time and emotion invested in the first two books. Sadly, the third book is a complete train wreck which dissolves in philosophical gobbledygook, glaring logical inconsistencies, continuity errors, and "cheats" as the author introduces new rules at the last minute to tie-up his loose ends. The overall feeling is that Pullman must have written the first two books without having a clear idea how he was going to wrap it all up, or what he really wanted to say. As a result, we have characters saying things like "When you said (something in Book Two), you really meant exactly the opposite, didn't you?", or doing something absolutely impossible and saying "I'll tell you how I did that someday, but the time isn't yet right." Oh, brother. That's not a character speaking - that's a desperate author speaking. It's telling that after reading all three books in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, I still don't know what that title means. Who is the "His" referring to? What are the "Dark Materials?" I could get into more specifics, but I don't want to include "spoilers" for anyone who's going to read this book; obviously some people have enjoyed it...if you're not a critical, thoughtful reader, maybe you'll be one of them. For anyone else - don't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: How can a book be soooooo cruel!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Review: A fantastic book by the author Phillip Pullman that takes you inside the minds and world of Lyra and Will, as they try and save the world from oblivion. The only downside of the book is the ending. It is extremely sad and cruel, and it also leaves loads of quiestions unanswered and loose ends not tied up. Apart from that, what a great book, here's hoping for a fourth!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book......Sloppy ending
Review: I found this book very entertaining until it came to the end, where it was finished quite sloppily. The writer had been building up the book quite a bit to the conclusion but, when it came, it was a huge anti-climax. To build everything up to the part where Will and Lyra fell in love, only to seperate them the next day was a cheap way of finishing the story. Apart from that, the story was not even finished in the first place. Still so much to write about, still so many loose ends needing tied up. I truly hope that Phillip Pullman can FINISH off the series properly with a FOURTH book, otherwise it will be a great dissapointment to me and all my friends who read the book.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best trilogy ever!
Review: The His Dark Materials series is the best book series I have ever read. The characters in this series are so deep and Philip Pullman seems to bring them to life right before your very eyes. When I read the series for the first time, I felt the characters happiness and pain. I also liked the idea of dæmons. It would be interesting to have a dæmon of your very own to follow you and talk to you during the day. I also liked the ending. It made me cry, yet it also made me try to enjoy everyday to the fullest and be kind to everyone around me. Though I respect the thoughts and opinions of other people, I don't understand why some people dislike this book. Some people believe that it is telling people to be against the Christian church and that there is no God. Well, in my opinion, this book is just fiction and it is not real. It was made up in Philip Pullman's imagination and written as a fictional book so the entire world can read it for entertainment. It isn't true and shouldn't be taken too seriously. But some people don't think that it is good for young adults because of its "anti-God" theme. Well, I think that it is just a book and I read it for entertainment not for turning against God. That's what novels are for. They open the gateways to our imagination! Well, I hope that my review persuaded you to read the series! You won't regret it!
Rating:
Summary: If I could give it more than 5 stars I would
Review: I love that Phillip Pullman had the bravery to address religion and theology with such an unusual perspective. His thoughts on religion have been more thought provoking than any others I have heard. I was so relieved that this book wasn't ended perfectly. The end was poignant, touching, and incredibly insightful. Too all of you with questions such as "how did the ghost fight the war when others couldn't stay together" I suggest you reread the book : it explains it. Maybe if you are wondering about something you should actually reread parts of the book before blaiming your incompetence on the author. As for why Lyra's parents changed: they were only human. People change...its called dynamic characters, for those of you who didn't pass 7th grade language. Also: for all of those who can't see past their own way of life and their own faiths...you are petty and ignorant. While I don't excpect anyone to change their views (that is NOT what I am asking) I think that you can learn and grow in mental integrity by at least listening and considering some unconventional ideas. In all, this book is incredibly thought provoking and simply divine.
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