Rating: 
Summary: The Amber Spyglass -- An Instant Classic!
Review: It's October. I'm waiting slowly, ever so slowly, for my Wheel of Time Book 9, and even slower, my Harry Potter Book 5.Suddenly, I remember a series I had enjoyed before. It was unfinished, the last book wasn't out. So, I found to my joy, that it had come out, finally, and shortly thereafter I had the book in my hands. Be forewarned, however! This book has something that Wheel of Time and Harry Potter still lack -- an Ending. And this ending is the kind I like. The loose ends are pretty tied up, yet you still have a burning desire to write bad fanfiction. So much is left open to the reader. I was personally crushed. "No! This isn't the way it was supposed to happen! Where is my Happily Ever After!?" You see, this book has a moral. A really good moral. I'll leave you to discover that. But I can identify with the ending. It's so sad though. Some complain about the slowness of the thing. I found it to be slow pased, but good in that way. There was no clear climax, I thought...But perhaps the entire mess with the bomb has something to do with it. In any case, I'm rambiling. Buy the book. Read it. Read it over again. Cry. Cry for the people of the world, cry for Will and Lyra. But most of all, find the moral, and hold to it. It's a wonderful way of life, to be true. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: amazing but heart-wrenching
Review: pullman's writing is so vivid, he makes you feel everything along with the characters. this is a beautiful finish to the trilogy and if you liked the first two, (who didn't) then you should definatly read this. however, it took me three years to get over the ending of the second book of the sally lockhart trilogy and i don't think i will ever get over the end of this book. pullman seems to have something against leaving the reader satisfied. although a completly happy ending would not seem apropriate i think there should have been a little less bitter and a little more sweet. read this book with a box of kleenex.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful, but still . . .
Review: Pullman's elegant and descriptive writing is as wonderful as ever. The epic battles involving the Authority, Metatron and the rebellion are inspired. The relationships that continue to develop between Lyra and Will are delicately balanced against the action and philosophy of the book(s). But the book was too long. The stories of Father Gomez, Mary and the Mulefa are throwaways and ultimately disappointing. Why are they there? What do they add to the mythology or the plot? Not much, especially in the case of Fr. Gomez, who is ostensibly hunting Lyra throughout the book but never becomes a menacing character that we actually worry about. Another round of edits would have made this book perfect. Even so, The Amber Spyglass wonderful as it is, and the series taken as a whole is destined to join the Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia as fantasy masterpieces.
Rating:
Summary: The wait has been worth it
Review: I read the Harry Potter books. I buy the books in this trilogy. There are two kinds of people reading this review - those who have the read the first two books, and those who haven't. The people who have read the first two books want to know: is it as good as its predecessors? And does Pullman manage to wrap up all the plotlines he introduced in the first two books? The answer to both questions is yes. Unlike the first two books, no new layers of complexity are adding to the already multi-dimensional plot. The story seems more straightforward as the Pullman steadily closes all the loopholes (almost literally). Even though the book features a long sequence of Lord Asriel's war with the Authority, the book's most powerful moments occur in quieter places - in the Land of the Dead, and in the peaceful world of the mulefa. The book is beatiful and sad, heartwrenching in many places, but ultimately tinged with a bittersweet optimism. There's a bit of sorrow in knowing the series had ended, and if Pullman has his way, there will be no more adventures with Will and Lyra. Now for those of you who have yet to discover this stunning series: What's taking you so long? Don't make the mistake of thinking of this series as children's books. This is not Harry Potter. These are adult books with adult themes, featuring central protagonists who are children. Not that children won't enjoy them - but there are many levels of meaning and nuance they might miss without an attentive parent to fill them in. The books don't shy away from the big issues: death, love, betrayal. In fact they confront them head on, in a way the Harry Potter books seem reluctant to. And a final reason to read these books (although there are many more): Pullman's writing. The richness and texture he brings to the many worlds he creates is difficult to overstate. These are some of the finest books written for any age group in any genre.
Rating:
Summary: this is way better than tolkien...
Review: i know everyone is already saying that, but i thought that the minute i started reading the golden compass. the characters are way more believable, and the plot is much more intriguing in my opinion. i know this is supposed to be a 'young adult' book, but i'm 22 and i enjoyed it more for that. i can remember being will and lyra's age, but i had almost forgotten the pain of losing a first love, but this book reminded me well. only once have i been so moved by the ending of a series as i was at the end of the amber spyglass. it was utterly heart-rending. that one time was at the end of the last book of the narnia series. yes i am a christian, but the message of pullman's series, while it was disturbing to me given my beliefs, doesn't make me love it any less. as i write this, it's now 12:27 am, wednesday. i finished the book at 3:30 am yesterday morning and i can still feel the emotion the ending inspired in me. i think it will be with me for a long time to come. this is less a review than it is a supplication. mr. pullman, if you are reading this... please never stop writing fantasy novels. this is MUCH better than the lord of the rings, and i would say i loved it almost as much as the narnia series, which was my favorite story of all time. please don't leave this genre. i have read your other books, but none of them inspired me to such strong emotion as these three have. and i never ever waited for any other sequel with such anticipation as i did for this book. fantasy is definitely your forté. please, please grace us with another work as good as this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Enchanted But Dismayed
Review: First of all, I must say that Phillip Pullman is an extremely talented author. I think he has an awesome imagination and his works belong beside the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Madeline L'Engle, and C.S. Lewis. Fantasy is my absolute favorite genre of literature and Pullman plays to my book-lust beautifully. But- and there's always that but- being the God-loving Christian that I am, I am a little more than disturbed about the whole Authority-destroying thing. I realize that without this element, the whole trilogy would be, well, let's just say different. The whole plot revolves around Lord Asriel's rebellion against Heaven and God. It scares me a little to think of the liberties Pullman takes in describing God as weak, manipulating, decietful, and as just another angel. He makes the reader want the rebellion to suceed and want God to be destroyed. I think Pullman is very wrong in his views of life and of a Supreme Being. I am not sure that I am glad I read this, and I'm not sure that I wish I hadn't. I am still absorbing the whole story, since I just finished the book a few minutes ago. I hope you, as the reader and as a human will learn the truth about God's love and His heavenly home for anyone who believes and accepts. God bless, and happy reading to you all.
Rating:
Summary: A MODERN MASTERPIECE
Review: Phillip Pullman has written a brilliant an beautiful epic with His Dark Materials. Oddly his books are labeled either Science Fiction or Young Adult. All three books; Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, and Amber Spyglass manage to transcend these genres. They are very thoughtful and poetic. It's tragic that they have been overshadowed by Harry Potter. Maybe someday they'll be given the recognition they deserve.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven, ultimately disappointing
Review: Like many other readers, I've waited impatiently for this book, and rejoiced when it was finally published. There's much to praise here--the writing is often very fine--but more than a few things to criticize too. The many narratives woven through the book necessitate a great deal of cutting back-and-forth, which Pullman manages much less well than Tolkien, a writer he's often compared to. The multiple storylines also mean that characters are flatter and less satisfying than in the earlier books; people, bears, children, angels, and other creatures walk on and off, on and off. The effect is like a fireworks grand finale: stirring at times, but mostly smoke, loud noises, and flashing lights. Some parts of the book are genuinely wonderful and moving, but it's not up to the level of the first two installments in the trilogy..... I'm also unhappy to see such a fine artist as Pullman stacking the deck in the book's "theology." Christianity is portrayed very crudely so it can be dismissed with ease, and what's proposed in its place is pretty, sentimental, and vacuous. This defect seriously undermines the entire book.
Rating:
Summary: Very good is about all i can put into words!
Review: Pullman is quite a writer... I'm astonished that I didn't hear about any of his previous works. Why is this book (and series)still classified as juvenile fiction? All I can say is, if you're a thinking adult, dont't be put off by the fact that this is classified as 'juvenile'. In now way does this series compare to other juvenile fantasy works (e.g. Harry Potter and Margaret L'Engle). This series is much more suitable for older people, and can probably only be experienced at full force by someone around 20. While younger children will love the thrilling emelemts of the plot, older people will be struck by the richness and beauty of the series. Both the Golden Compass were grand books that set up the series with immense scope. True, the sheer complexity of the plot couldn;t all be resolved in the Amber SPyglass. Yet the scope of the series is fully realized. People who have read the somewhat difficult (to say the least!) Paradise Lost by John Milton will immediately be struck by the references and the fresh viewpoint this book bings. This is a book about destiny, but it somehow manages to avoid the cliches associated with the theme. A riveting plotline hides the fact that this ook is thought-compelling, rich and, well, beautiful. Pullman does his best work at the end of the book. The world of the mulefa was vividly imagined, and the images evoked by Mary's story about the marzipan (you'll find out what it is) and later Willand Lyra's love amazed me. I still remember Pullman's words and shudder with delight: "everything about her was soft in that moment, and that was one of his favorite memories... her tense grace, made tender by the dimness..." Read this book, and it will most likely make you think. In this respect it is better than the previous two books.
Rating:
Summary: Ambition overwhelmed
Review: Pullman's final book of his "His Dark Materials" trilogy is jaw-droppingly ambitious, full of stunning images and dreamlike scenes that rival any scenes in popular literature. At the same time, Pullman lets slip his curtain of authorial invisibility and overplays his ideas. Near the end, a sudden outpouring of philosophy nearly undoes all the beauty he clearly worked so hard to create. In each book of the three Pullman has ratcheted up his scale, and this one opens vistas that are almost overwhelming in their scope: an endless army of angels, an infinity of linked universes, a winding line of refugee ghosts climbing toward daylight. At the same time, though, Pullman keeps his characters firmly in focus. All the people readers have met in previous books return -- even some who seemed lost for good. A panoply of newly introduced characters are fascinating and complex. His heroes are as plucky and likeable as one could want, his villains are many-faceted (Mrs. Coulter is spectacularly so). Even his walk-on characters have quirks that make them pop to life. Pullman's writing is clean and limpid, and sometimes reaches poetry, as in the opening paragraphs. As a craftsman and a visionary, Pullman has no equal in the genre. But in the end, his ambition gets the better of him, and he turns what he must have meant as his masterpiece into a soap box. While I agree with much of what he espouses, I felt a niggling sadness that he felt it necessary to make his point and start meddling in his characters' lives. I wish he had just let his characters be themselves.
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