Rating: 
Summary: Stunning conclusion to a wonderful epic
Review: There are few books that do not allow me to stop reading them. This was one of them. I stayed up until 3:30 a.m. (with work the next day, even!) to finish it in an instance of marathon reading that I have never attempted before.It was worth it. I loved the Golden Compass, I liked the Subtle Knife, but I am head over heels for the Amber Spyglass. Characters coalesce into real people, with motivation and reasons for being. For example, in the Subtle Knife, Will seemed to be a character who was very hard to understand or sympathize with (even if you, like I, liked him). In the Amber Spyglass, however, he is determined to find his mother again, which is so heartbreakingly childlike that it paints a much better picture of Will than was ever seen in the Subtle Knife. As for Lyra, she goes from being a hard-shelled, unreachable preadolescent to an adult with a hidden, quiet purpose (not to say she loses her fiery spirit in the process!) Look also for Mary Malone (a wonderful woman), Iorek Byrnison, Serafina Pekkala, and many other beloved characters. And there is a myriad of other characters introduced as well. The relationship between two newly introduced angels is very bittersweet and sorrowful. (Not, as one reviewer said, "icky." Grow up.) Some of our favorite deceased characters make new appearances, which is always fun. The book's approach to God and the afterlife is a new, refreshing one. To tell the truth, we don't need another author preaching the promise of the afterlife and God's love for us all. The situation presented in the Amber Spyglass is intriguing in its originality and force. It poses us with questions to answer that most books cannot. (Is God really the Creator? What is the "Kingdom" of Heaven? What happens to us after we die?) One thing, though -- the ending to this book, while filled with hope and promise, is unspeakably sad. I was left with a sense of sorrow that gnawed at me long after I put the book down and finally turned off my bedside lamp. This is not a happy book, but it is not a despairing one. It is a book about sacrifice, trust, love, and, most of all, hope. It is one of the most incredible pieces of literature I have read in a long, long time.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Wonderful Book In The World
Review: I loved this book- after finishing it last night- after a straight three days of non stop reading, I put down the book and cried for an hour. It has managed to shove away all the books I have obsessed over and praised for the past couple of years, and make itself number one. Its exceptionally written, but even better then the writing is the story. I don't think the series went down hill at all. Personally I think this book may have even been better then the Golden Compass. I haven't felt as drawn and enraptured by a book as I did with this one for a very long time. I know this is foolish, but I just think this book is the best book in the entire world. I sound like some little 12 year old ( no offense to the little twelve year olds reading this) or some slightly insane person, but I'm not. Just . . . buy this book. And read it. And love it. Its fabulous. Don't you wish you could be IN this book? I do
Rating: 
Summary: pretty good
Review: I absolutley loved this book until I got to the end. That pissed me off! You should read the book to find out why though.
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the others until the last 5 chapters
Review: Do not read this book until you have read the first 2. I have a feeling it would make no sense at all. Readers of the first 2 books may have noticed that it seems like he was in the middle of writing a book and then he decided that it was getting long and he could make it into 3 books. Well I think he has trouble harnessing is creativity which really makes the books come alive, however when the time had come to end the book he didn't know what to do, because of this he only deserves a 4.8 but since there is no such thing I rounded it to 5. Despite the bad ending it is the only ending we have so read it and enjoy it.I strongly recommend the entire trilogy to anybody. This as all the old beloved characters and the hated villains along with some new people you will grow to love and hate. Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel become even more 3 dimensional, as if they needed it. If you are a reader of the 1st to books you must read this book (but the series is so good I think you already knew this.) The plot is started right where it left off and you immediately find out what happened to Lyra. All in all the series is fantastic even if it is a bit heretical. I recommend this book to anyone. It deserves to be the next Harry Potter, and it will have even more blood curdling controversy than that series. This page turning thriller is not for the weak hearted, or for those who believe that even a story against God is a sin.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect Story
Review: So far, the reviews I have read slamming this book comes from their discomfort at: A) the afterlife, and just about every part that differs from their belief B) Implied homosexuality between two angels (you could *easily* take this as a deep friendship or brotherhood) which was labeled as "icky," though there was never anything in the story other than "I love him" and "he inspires me to be my best," etc. C) The ending with Will and Lyra, which I'm not going to describe, since some readers might actually want to find out for themselves. D) Characterizations, which I thought were steady throughout the entire book. Myself? I thought this was an amazing book. It was a perfect end for the trilogy, and a very welcome children's fantasy book after the overrated Harry Potter mess.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: I believe this book was just as good as the others in the "His Dark Materials" books, although I was angered when Phillip Pullman sort of trashed any religion that believes in one god, or heaven and hell. I also was disappointed at the end of the book, for all of the books had led up to the ending and it left me feeling unfulfilled, because I had such high expectations. But over all, it was a great book that I really couldn't put down!
Rating:
Summary: Who would have expected so much from a "Young adult" series?
Review: I picked up the "Golden Compass" on a whim - It had just been reviewed favorably on NPR and I walked into my local Book store to find it in Hardcover and in the clearance rack! Kismet! Needless to say, it was difficult to wait the past 2 years for the follow up to the Subtle Knife. Yes, I read the Harry Potter's and yes, they were amusing to me, but these books are the real deal my friends. As a child who grew up on Narnia and the Tolkin Books, this all felt like very familiar territory for me. The writing was complex and with enough use of language and metaphor that I was amused and provoked. I love good wordsmiths, and I feel that Pullman is one. Yes, the beginning was a bit slow. Yes, If I hadn't been so eager to jump into the book, I would have re-read the first two, so as to get my bearings. However, it did not take long to re-orient myself to the story and get absorbed by the story. This is Not Harry Potter. While I enjoyed those books, These are more fully written and fully realized stories. People Die, sometimes evil wins, and everyone does not walk away happy at the end. That is what good writing should be - even if the story was a bit thin in some places, I forgive the author for an excellent trilogy, with a very engaging ending. I would be most happy to see Pullman re-visit some of his characters - especially Mary Malone, and Iorek. There are more stories to be mined in these pages. Curl up and read these over this long winter. They are worth the time spent.
Rating:
Summary: Great storytelling, but . . .
Review: The four stars I give this book result from splitting the difference between the five stars I give it for storytelling and the three for philosophy. Yes, the writing is beautiful, the characters engaging, the ending a classic tear-jerker. But I have a pretty basic problem with Pullman's blaming God for the things that human beings have done in his name. As it happens, I share a lot of Pullman's world-view; secular-humanist, deist, and very skeptical of any type of religious fundamentalism. As some other reviewers have rightly noted, however, Pullman is so busy attacking the Christian religion, and Catholicism in particular, that he never seems to notice there are other religions around. Sikhs and Hindus have been blowing eachother up, assassinating eachother's leaders and vandalizing eachother's holy places for years, without invoking the Book of Revelation to justify it. For that matter, many secular philosophies, notably including both Communism and laissez-faire capitalism, have been used by their true believers to justify suppression of knowledge, persecution of unbelievers, and brutal exploitation of the weak. That said, however, I strongly recommend this book to everyone, whether you are likely to agree with Pullman's theology and philosophy or not. Unlike some of Pullman's critics, I do not believe that exposure to deliberately iconoclastic ideas will lead you down the primrose path to Hell; if God gave you consciousness and free will, he also gave you the critical judgment to examine a variety of ideas without fear and decide whether or not to agree with them. Fundamentalist parents will undoubtedly forbid their children to read this book (thereby, of course, giving it the glamorous allure of the forbidden), but I don't think the "Dark Materials" trilogy will undermine the religious training of any reasonably intelligent teenager. Reading a book that challenges them to think as well as to be entertained, however, and to consider the big issues it raises, will do them a great deal of good.
Rating:
Summary: pullman had better manage to write another one!
Review: This would definitely be the best,most involving book I have ever read. I loved Will and Lyra,although I disliked Will in the Subtle Knife,and I thought the character development was great. Mrs Coulter,Lyra's mother,kept me guessing throughout the entire book. I wasn't sure if she actually loved her daughter,or was just affecting that to accomplish her own ends. And I was always hoping that Will and Lyra would fall in love,and I was so happy at the end when they did!But then when I found out the ending,I cried for the longest time. That is undoubtedly the saddest,most heartbreaking conclusion Philip Pullman could have thought of. But pardoning the ending,I would have given this book 10 stars if I could have! I made a mistake in devouring The Amber Spyglass in 1 day. If you are an avid,speedy reader,I would suggest limiting yourself to 75 pages per day.I will read this book over and over again for the rest of my life,and I so hope Philip Pullman changes his mind and writes another one,where Will and Lyra can be together!Keep a box of tissues by you towards the end.
Rating:
Summary: A very moving and exiting peice
Review: This was worth the wait! Phillip Pullman did a wonderful job with adding new characters, and expounding on the old ones. There was a very good mix of adventure, tragedy, mystery and exitment. However, if there is one problem with this book, it is that some of the characters are mentioned and then forgotton for many chapters. Other than that, I highly recomend this book!
|
