The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials

A fabulous book by Philip Pullman again! I loved the story, it’s like you know what’s going to happen and it actually does and then sometimes it doesn’t! It was so exciting! I liked how Will found Lyra again and I hated how they separated, I was so sad after! Will and Lyra should have never separated, they should have had stayed together and travel. My favourite part of the story is when Mary Malone finds out about the Mulefa, the wheeled creatures. They sound so beautiful and their language is so cool, I love them! The book is so awesome!

As I mentioned before. Do not read this book until you have read The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife. This is the last book to the Trilogy. It is boring at some points but the exciting parts are amazing. I almost cried at the end. I like books that make me cry. lol

I found this story almost had to much info in it to digest the first time I read it. I had to reread it to get everything I needed to understand to move on to the next book.

The last book reveals the fate of Lyra, Will and the world. Written beautifully, it will be hard to forget this amazing book.

but I won't. I'll just say that it really made me think, about both my personal values and religion in general. The main thing I wanted to say is that I think that this book is great for people who are ready for thought-provoking material, and don't be put off by the fact that it says 'best suited for kids aged 10-12'. That is such an inappropriate age bracket. You're never too old for this trilogy.

this was not my favorite out of the series but it was good. i have read worse. the ending was cool and the entire story line was unique but again wasn't my favorite. Although i still suggest you read it too finish off the series

definately had a lot going on and in thsi book everything comes together which i enjoyed seeing the entire picture. Had it's dull moments that lacked sturcture/action but overall good read

This is the third book in a fantastic series. Lyra and Will find each other and continue with their adventure. They journey though many different worlds and also have their own personal journeys. They have a host of creatures who help them: armored bears, little people named Gallivespians with deadly spurs, witches and angels. Although each of these creatures has a path they would like to lead these children on, Will and Lyra seem to want to do their own thing and decide to first visit The Land of the Dead.

Meanwhile, Dr. Malone goes in search of the children. On the way she visits a land where the creatures are diamond shaped and they live in tandem with big seed pods which they use as wheels. She learns to communicate with them and starts to learn how they can see Dust and see it disappearing from their lives. Dr. Malone wants to find a way to reverse the outward flow of Dust and save civilization.

There is a war between good and evil and the church is front row center.

I found this book even better than the other two. I don't think I have ever read a series where each book keeps getting better. You could see the two children growing in their personal development. A great book!!!

The Amber Spyglass is a satisfying conclusion to the His Dark Materials trilogy, well-written with believable characters.

I did find the sections dealing with Mary and her discovery of Dust and the mulefa to be a bit slow, with the effect of arresting the rocketing momentum of the novel. And I do question the logic of Pullman's publisher categorizing the series as suitable for 10-12 year olds. There are concepts in the novel that are extremely adult: atomic physics, original sin, Christian mythology, little say the modern retelling of Milton's Lost Paradise and Dante's Inferno. In places the language is quite advanced, not that children shouldn't be challenged. I think perhaps the marketing 'experts' didn't know what to do with a novel that had a child protagonist.

Still and all, a good read.

This series of books were far better then I expected them to be. The Amber Spyglass is a great ending to a awesome story, The characters are fully developed and they learn so much about the world. I did find the middle of the book to be kind of draggy but it picked up before I got too bored. This book was great and really fun to read.

A 4.9. Take all the beliefs in the entire world and mix them up together, then give them them a different spin. You will be surprised who are the bad guys. I wish there was a really happy ending in this one, Usually, I love bad endings. This was mixed.

My entire review could be this: Phillip Pullman's "The Amber Spyglass" is one of the poorest closing books of a trilogy ever written.

But I feel compelled to continue. At one point, I actually stopped reading "The Amber Spyglass," put it down and vowed not to finish, but I wanted to be able to slag off the book with authority, so finishing became a must. And I even had a slight hope that Pullman could save his series

I did finish, but it never got any better.

Mulefa? Gallivespians? Iorek Byrnison fixing the incredibly fragile subtle knife? The knife breaking at all? Mrs. Coulter continuing to live? The incredible coincidence of everyone meeting the same Cittàgazze kids? It was all too much, and it only got worse as the book went on.

Thematically it was equally frustrating. There has been so much talk about Pullman's anti-religiosity, but the most offensive part of The Amber Spyglass is Pullman's portrayal of women. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Pullman is a misogynist , but he does seem to have a poor understanding of women.

The five main women in "His Dark Materials" are a catalogue of feminire stereotypes. Lyra, as her name so clumsily suggests, is a consummate liar, who eventually becomes a moony-eyed, love sick teen, subordinating herself to her lover Will. Mrs. Coulter is a manipulative femme fatale whose only hint of goodness is her inexplicable maternal instinct. Mary Malone is the pure ex-nun full of kindness and curiosity, blessedly open to all new things. Seraphina Pekkala, the loyal witch, is the classic "heart of gold" character (usually she'd be a whore with a heart of gold, but in a kids book witch with a heart of gold will do). Then there is Mrs. Parry, Will's mom, and her madness (other women appear in the story more, but they're not as important as Will's mom). There are few if any shades of gray in these women, and as the book drew ever nearer the close I found myself hoping desperately for the women to do something unexpected. My wish went unfulfilled.

Maddening, frustrating, and a great disappointment because of what it promised, China Mieville got it right when he made his list of 50 books every good Marxist should read and said, "in book three, 'The Amber Spyglass,' something goes wrong. It has excellent bits, it is streets ahead of its competition… but there's sentimentality, a hesitation, a formalism, which lets us down."

On second thought, Mieville was too nice. "The Amber Spyglass" should be avoided like a plate of raw chicken meat on a hot African day. Read "The Golden Compass" and skip the rest. Period.

P.S. As for the titles I've recommended...they are all books that I hated as much as I hated "The Amber Spyglass." So if you like Pullman's shabby finale you might actually like the other books I hate.

Loved the first book and was disappointed by the second. The third took me a little while to get into. I found it seemed to have more of that lagging feeling as the second book. The last couple hundred pages really redeemed themselves, though. Great pace and a lot of action. I also loved vicariously exploring these other worlds in such detail. My heart broke at the end of this book, and despite the intended message, Pullman is evil! ;P

Although it is difficult to really summarize what happens in the book due to its place as the final in the trilogy without spoiling anything, Pullman definitely had ambition with his final installment. He opened doors for himself by taking on topics such as a pair of very gay angels which were expelled from heaven. Will and Lyra delve into the world of the dead to change what had always been. And Lord Asriel continues with his deliberate attack on what the people in his world call "The Authority", his intent to create a Republic of Heaven as opposed to a Kingdom. Previously Pullman's attack on the church was quite subtle, but with The Amber Spyglass, it becomes perfectly clear.

One of the prevalent characters in The Amber Spyglass became Dr. Mary Malone. Her story in particular is a direct attack on the Church, but Pullman does not ever reject the existence of God, in fact he even implies it. But instead of the Church, he encourages a personal spirituality, and tells us to do good for the sake of doing good, and no matter how you try to justify something bad, it is still bad. All of the morals are still there.

The Amber Spyglass is filled to the brim with Pullman's excellent writing, and brings the trilogy to a comfortable close after telling us the secret that separates innocence and experience. The ending is sweet and nostalgic, but I think it would be better felt by those between 12 and 14 or adults who have kids that age. Although it is still a stunning read for, as they say, 'kids of all ages'.

I can't beleive a person could even write something this beautiful. The ending is indescribable. Nothing can compare!

A wonderful book. I actually liked this series more than Harry Potter, it seemed more believable. My only regret is that it's only a trilogy.

A terrific ending to the adventure centred around Lyra. Pullman created an awe-inspiring World with mystical creatures such as armored bears and tinker-bell like beings while maintaining enough similarities to the real world, preventing confusion. This book is definitely my favorite of the 3 (the other 2 being "The Golden Compass" and "The Subtle Knife" and brings around a terrific conclusion.

Wow. This book has left me truly and utterly speechless.
I have read too many novels in my 13 about the horrifiying experience of breaking up with your boyfrind. Quite honestly, I think that someone ought to think up some new ideas for books; the losing the boyfriend idea is becoming quite tedious.
And yet, here I find an oasis in the middle of a desolate place full of mindless, boyfriendless, teenaged girls. 'The Amber Spyglass' is one of the best books i have ever read. And i have read more books than I can count. So this book, being the one of the few other than Harry Potter, immediately caught my attention. And it kept until I had finished the entire triliogy. It only took me three and a half days.
This is not to say that I don't like romance. The romantic moments between Will and Lyra are some of my favourite parts - Philip Pullman had thought that bit out wonderfully. The only part that I didn't enjoy, was the end. He left so many questions unanswered: did Will and Lyra ever get married? Did they ever find each other? What did they do for a living?
Those are the only questions Philip pullman had left unanswered, and they have plauged me since I finished the book. I wanted so for the two of them to stay together.
And yet, it is the unanswered questions that keeps the public wanting to read Philip Pullman's works. I don't like those questions but without them, there would be no need for the human imagination. Something a book doesn't always leave room for.
In short, I advise you - yes you, the one reading my review - to buy this book, or at the very least, read it. I can promise you that you will love it and that you won't put it down until you have finished the last sentence of the last book.
Happy reading! :)

This is my favourite book! It's just one of those books that gets you thinking a lot. What if there is no heaven or hell and it's really just another world where everyone goes regardless of what they did in life? Anyways, the plot was really good and the characters seemed so real. It was as if you could actually sense the change in Will and Lyra as they grew up. I realize a lot of people had a problem with the ending but I really liked it. It was one of those tragically happy endings that makes you cry and feel sad yet happy all at the same time. I highly recommend this book although, please, read the first 2 parts of the trilogy!

An ending you never expected to finish the trilogy. Philip Pullman weaves a tale that loses you completely in his story of love, life and fantasy.