Rating: 
Summary: One of the masterpieces of the age!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Before I start this review, let me state this: I am a HUGE fan of Philip Pullman!!! He is an astounding author whose works should not be ignored. If you liked this book, read his others.Now then, Pullman has yet again pulled of an amazing book. The first two books of His Dark Materials were wonderful, bringing us into the worlds of Lyra and Will. However, this one takes the cake!! Masterful descriptions, complex and enjoyable characters and a thoroughly captivating plot sucked me right into the book itself. Here are those reasons and more of why this is such a great book.
1) Essentially, this book is written for adolescents and teenagers. However, unlike most authors of books of this nature, Pullman has not watered down anything for the reader. He keeps the book running with its intense plot and complex characters and doesn't stop to condescend or baby the audience. Instead, he assumes that they have knowledge and are wise enough to get what he's talking about.
2) The characters are varied and amazing in their variety. They range from humans, armored bears, antelope like creatures with wheels (mulefa), pixie-ish creatures with poisoned hooks on their feet (Gallivespians), and angels to the dead. They all are given emotions and thoughts that the reader can relate and argue with. My personal favorites are the armored bears (a lot like our polar bears) and the mulefa (Pullman has truly come up with an amazing species that travels with seed pods attached to their hooked feet and communicate with their trunks). Even the humans, the ones that would seem the most boring, are very three-dimensional. 3) The places that Lyra and Will travel to are very life-like. One feels that they are standing next to them as the birds sing, and the snow falls. "In a valley shaded with rhododendrons, close to the snow line, where a stream milky with meltwater splashed and where doves and linnets flew among the immense pines, lay a cave, half-hidden by the crag above and the stiff heavy leaves that clustered below." If that isn't impressive, I don't know what is! 4) Those who are very religious (or more specifically of the Christian faith) will more than likely be offended by this book. Many would (and have) say that Pullman is sacrilegious and a blasphemer. However, that is one of the reasons the plot is so great. Pullman isn't afraid bringing outside elements into this book and so makes the plot that much more stimulating. The plot is very dark and has a way of grabbing you behind the neck with surprising events. So if dark and sinister plots or "disrespectful" writing about the Church offends you, you probably shouldn't read this book. For those up for it, though, you are in for a wild ride. I could go on and on about how great this book is and how much it has affected and influenced me, but that would take more than one review to do. So, if you are at all intrigued by this book, by all means GET IT!!!!!!! Thank you, and good night!!!
Rating:
Summary: A fantasy book that's more than just fantasy
Review: I wasn't going to write a review about this book until I read some negative reviews that sadly misrepresent the book, and well, I just want to get the record straight. Just to get it out of the way now, I know it's shocking that he in the second books our protaginist are on a mission against an evil God. I was surprised just as much as anyone else. I remember when I read the passage where Lord Asriel's servant tells how Asriel wants to kill God, and thinking: "this guy is totally evil", and was surprised to see how we are supposed to support him. Like many of the people who were so insulted by the book I've been raised christian, and my view of God has always been as a loving creator, not some power-hungry evil angel who wants to keep us from enlightenment. After reading this book I still feel the same way. A fantasy novel isn't going to get me to change this opinion. After all, this is a work of fiction people. I seriously doubt that Pullman really sees the world in this way (and even if he does so what), he is just writing a fantasy novel, it's not the real world. Which leads me to the reason why I loved this book. Pullman does more than give us a traditional Good vs. Evil story. By shaking up our views of religion, death, god, angels, and heaven, he leads us to the final message of the story. Just as the true nature of Dust, and the description of the church are gradually infused into the two last books, so is Pullman's call to his reader to enjoy every moment of his life, to cherish the time we have with our loved ones, and endulge in the sensations of this world. And, just for the record I thought the ending was brilliant, the whole time I was waiting for Lyra, and Will to get together, but in the back of my mind I knew, they could never realize their love. Anyways the story can't have a completely happy ending, and like Eve, Lyra can't stay in Paradise with Will: she's eaten the apple from the tree of knowlege, and so has to be thrust into the real world, Right? And also I just loved the characters, actually there is just too much good stuff, I really can't talk about it all. I know the religious views are harsh, and I do hesitate when reccomending this book to my friends because I don't know how they will feel about the religious content, but if you can manage to get past that and accept that it is only fiction (I mean you were okay with flying witches, talking armored bears, and shape-changing daemons), and follow his ultimate message, you can't really disagree with that, can you? Overall make a choice for yourself, read the book because it is really good, and decide for yourself if the picture of God as an aging angel that never really created man, and the church as a evil angency trying to surpress the people is too much for you, but don't let the people who couldn't get past that aspect of the book scare you off, because like I said before, It is a really good book, I just can't say it enough.
Rating: 
Summary: A bad book, even, an evil book
Review: The "Amber Spy Glass" is a bad book; it is even, an evil book. This is a strong judgment; let me try to justify it. A good story has a life of its own; the author is a sculptor who frees the story from the stone. When the author imposes his own ideology on a book, the result is bad writing. At times, C.S. Lewis skated perilously close to this edge; Pullman has fallen off completely. The "Amber Spy Glass" is an evil book. If you doubt that look at the picture of the world Mr. Pullman presents. God is a monster; His Church an instrument of repression. Man's best hope is anihilation, for the after life is torment. As other readers have noted, Mr. Pullman's agenda only gradually becomes clear in the series. To use his story telling gifts to lure children into the series in order to propagandize them in the last book is deceitful. I consider myself a fairly sensitive reader, and I really enjoyed the first book in the series a lot; I felt let down and used by the third book. If there are any teachers reading this review, please think carefully before using any of the books in this series in your classroom. Most parents who believe in a God of Love, who hope for heaven will not want their children reading the third book in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Caps the greatest work of children's literature. Ever.
Review: That this book (and the series as a whole) could be getting less than 5 stars is absolutely RIDICULOUS, especially when the Harry Potter series is doing just that. Comparing Harry Potter to this is like comparing a sketch done by my 8 year old cousin to a Titian, there IS no comparison. To be fair, Rowling's Potter books ARE good, but come on, while Rowling entertains with the adventures of a teenage boy, Pullman has meticulously constructed an allegory that illustrates so splendidly the beauty of love, of life, and of how to live it correctly. Nothing else classified as children's literature comes close; C. S. Lewis and Narnia? Close but Pullman surpasses him. I'll here try to explain why. Everything about the series is absolutely beautiful, and every detail serves a purpose. A previous reviewer claimed that many of the key events seemed subdued, but overlooked the fact that this was SUPPOSED to happen; the protagonists are children and do not have a full understanding of the great magnitude of their actions (hence the battle ending Asrial's crusade could almost be missed by the non-attentive reader). Also, Pullman's choice of children as his protagonists (probably the only reason why this is classified as children's literature; children will probably enjoy the fantastic images presented, but will not understand what Pullman is ultimately aiming at) is key, because of their innocence. Without giving away too much, their playing of Adam and Eve is found in the blossoming of their romance, and in Pullman seems to be saying that this is analogous to the original Fall of man (and that we all undergo this fall in adolescence), and that entering into this love, is our inheritance, and is a beautiful thing; he shows that the Great Fall may not have been such a bad thing after all, because without it we would have been unable to comprehend what true love is, having nothing to compare it to. The chapter "There is Now" is alone worth the price of admission; In it Pullman fully describes his attack against some tenets of Christianity (catholicism specifically), through Mary's almost objectivist view: that consciousness (and love) alone justifies life, that this life should be celebrated, and lived to the fullest. It is precisely this that makes Pullman criticize the Chruch; it (the church) places more emphasis on the next life, and declares this life to be worth little, while Pullman fiercely believes that this life is immensely important. The ending (which continues this idea with Lyra's charge to form "the republic of Heaven") is absolutely beautiful and utterly perfect; it evoked very strong emotion in me, something that I find rarely happens in fiction, much less CHILDREN'S fiction. But again, the ending bestows an enormous sense of responsibility onto the reader, and children may find it very unsatisfying. I could go on forever, (raving about how Pullman is able to create scenes of such immense power, how he has tackled an epic-A war on God!-and pulled it off brilliantly, how the dialouge, especially coming from the children, is very believeable, especially in the last couple chapters, the excellent pacing, starting small [as it should] back in the sitting room at Oxford College, and growing inevitably into the war on God Himself, that causes the pages to burn beneath your fingers) but just simply go out and buy the series, starting with "The Golden Compass" (also, if you can think you can tackle it, read "Paradise Lost" before hand as well as it was a strong influence on Pullman and the adept reader can find reconstructions of it within). It is completely, utterly brilliant; I very rarely give 5 stars, and this work deserves it.
Very Highly Recommended
Rating:
Summary: Disapointing and rather insulting
Review: I am a high school freshman so I am thinking that my opinion probably counts. I've read tons of books in the Fantasy area, and this has to be the worst. I read this book about a year ago, so excuse me if I get a few details wrong. It bothered me to see this with such a high rating. I read the first two books of this series and thought they were pretty good. I couldn't wait until this one came out. The author's attacks on the church didn't bother me too much because I thought he was just talking about things like the horrible things the church has done in the past when they got two much power for their own good. Human weakness sort of thing. Then we get to this book. I thought, being a christian, that the attack on god was just appalling. I did finish the book, hoping for some worthwhile explaination, but got none. I couldn't even find the climax of the book, the "big battle" he was suppose to be leading us to. Then there was the sappy, sappy ending that made me want to barf. I would say, especially if your a Christian, don't read this book. Pullman had a pretty good series going and completely ruined it with this book. Read Harry Potter or C. S. Lewis or ANYONE instead.
Rating:
Summary: A book i would totally reccomend
Review: Philip Pullmans writing is a fascinating mixture of fantasy and reality and the result is a masterpiece of literature. When Lyra first begins her jourey she is just an innocent little girl with nothin really spectacular about her. But as you read on you find yourself in a complex twist of emotions and adventure. For example, Lyra is growing up, and she now has to nmake decisions for herself and now, instead of being a little girl;, she has become a person, capable of rising up to any situation. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and i would highly reccomend it.
Rating:
Summary: Philip Pullmans The Amber Spyglass
Review: The third and last installment in the series His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, is an amazing and thought provoking novel. The Amber Spyglass tells the story of a young girl named Lira and a boy named Will, both on the brink of adolescence. They set off on a quest to bring an end to destiny and death as we know it. As the many worlds of Pullman's amazing universe begin to collide, Lira's father wages war with the church and even God himself. And when Lira finds the end of her journey she discovers a terrible eon old lie that will tare all of the worlds into a war fought by, not only men, but also angels, war with only two outcomes, life or death.
Rating:
Summary: The most incredible book on the planet!!!
Review: I really enjoyed this book, mr pullmans writing reaches the level of JRR Tolkien and outstrips by far many other fantasy writers. I read the book for the first time 2 years ago and recently when i re-read it, i couldnt put it down till i had turned the last page and read the last word!!!! it is an incredible book, and i totally reccomend it not only for people of my age but for everyone who wants to read a marvellous and breath-takin fantasy adventure story.
Rating:
Summary: simply breathtaking
Review: The Amber Spyglass is one of the best books i have ever read. the plot is so gripping and compelling its a struggle to put it down. pullman manages to pull you into the pages with his enchanting style of writing and complex and instantly lovabel charachters. the ending to the story is unique in the fact that i have never cryed so much over a book, and i forewarn anyone who has not yet read it to be equipped with a box of tissues. i still feel a pang every time i think of The Amber Spyglass. it is a true literary achievement, and i would reccomend it to anyone who dosnt mind having their heart broken in the end.
Rating:
Summary: the Amber spyglass
Review: this book is so good, you want it to end to know what happens, and then you don't so the adventure never ends
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