The Amber Spyglass brings the intrigue of
The Golden
Compass and
The Subtle Knife to a heart-stopping end,
making the final volume of His Dark Materials the most powerful of
the trilogy.
Along with the return of Lyra, Will, Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel,
Dr. Mary Malone, and Iorek Byrnison the armored bear, come a host
of new characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with
the power to see Dust; Gallivespian Lord Roke, a hand-high
spymaster to Lord Asriel; and Metatron, a fierce and mighty angel.
So, too, come startling revelations: the painful price Lyra must
pay to walk through the land of the dead, the haunting power of Dr.
Malone''s amber spyglass, and the names of who will live--and who
will die--for love. And all the while, war rages with the Kingdom
of Heaven, a brutal battle that--in its shocking outcome--will
uncover the secret of Dust. Philip Pullman deftly brings the
cliff-hangers and mysteries of His Dark Materials to an
earthshattering conclusion--and confirms his fantasy trilogy as an
undoubted and enduring classic.
1. Dust, Dark Matter, and Sraf are three different names for the
same material. How do these names reflect the different worlds they
come from? What attitudes and feelings does each society have about
this material?
2. Why do you think the subtle knife breaks when Will thinks of
his mother? When the knife breaks, do you think Mrs. Coulter is
aware of her influence on Will? Are there any connections between
Mrs. Coulter and Will''s mother?
3. In each book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, a
special device (such as the alethiometer, the subtle knife, or the
amber spyglass) is introduced in connection with the pursuit of
Dust. What are the different properties of each instrument? How
does each instrument reflect the personality of the person that
uses it (i.e., Lyra, Will, and Dr. Malone)?
4. When asked to mend the subtle knife, Iorek is hesitant:
"Sometimes a tool may have other uses that you don''t know.
Sometimes in doing what you intend you also do what the knife
intends, without knowing." What do you think the knife''s
intentions are? Based on these intentions, who do you think created
the knife and for what purpose?
5. By the end of The Amber Spyglass, what similiarites
can you see between Lyra and Mrs. Coulter? How is Lyra''s
storytelling different from Mrs. Coulter''s lying?
6. In The Amber Spyglass, Mrs. Coulter goes through a
dramatic transformation as her maternal feelings for Lyra break
through to the surface. What is the catalyst for this change?