The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials Series #3)

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Our Review
The third installment of the wonderfully successful trilogy from Phillip Pullman will not disappoint. Starting with the return of Lyra, readers know they are in for a great ride. Will's hold on the magical blade that can cut between both worlds is staunch, the introduction of new worlds produces questions and answers, and the war with the Kingdom of Heaven swells forward. The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife offered readers fantastic tales of a mysterious and bizarre word. In this finale, Pullman ties up loose ends and also provides nail-biting revelations, as Dr. Mary Malone and Mrs. Coulter look to a future no one could have predicted. And the secret of Dust will astonish many readers. Prepare to be blown away with the conclusion to this modern classic.

Publishers Weekly

"In concluding the spellbinding Dark Materials trilogy, Pullman produces what may well be the most controversial children's book of recent years," wrote PW. As he asks readers to examine the ideas of organized religion, "Pullman riffs on the elemental chords of classical myth and fairytale. Stirring and highly provocative." Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

In concluding the spellbinding His Dark Materials trilogy, Pullman produces what may well be the most controversial children's book of recent years. The witch Serafina Pekkala, quoting an angel, sums up the central theme: "All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity. The rebel angels, the followers of wisdom, have always tried to open minds; the Authority and his churches have always tried to keep them closed." Early on, this "Authority" is explicitly identified as the Judeo-Christian God, and he is far from omnipotent: his Kingdom is ruled by a regent. The cosmic battle to overthrow the Kingdom is only one of the many epic sequences in this novel--so much happens, and the action is split among so many different imagined worlds, that readers will have to work hard to keep up with Pullman. In the opening, for example, Lyra is being hidden and kept in a drugged sleep in a Himalayan cave by her mother, the beautiful and treacherous Mrs. Coulter. Will is guided by two angels across different worlds to find Lyra. The physicist and former nun, Mary Malone, sojourns in an alternatively evolved world. In yet another universe, Lord Asriel has assembled a great horde of otherworldly beings-including the vividly imagined race of haughty, hand-high warriors called Gallivespians--to bring down the Kingdom. Along the way, Pullman riffs on the elemental chords of classical myth and fairy tale. While some sections seem rushed and the prose is not always as brightly polished as fans might expect, Pullman's exuberant work stays rigorously true to its own internal structure. Stirring and highly provocative. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass concludes the trilogy which he began in The Golden Compass and continued in The Subtle Knife. These books are best read in order, for you need the foundation to understand and know the heroes, Lyra and Will, and their parallel words. Lyra lives in a world that has the feel of turn-of-the-century England where religion, alchemy and science vie for power, and innocent Lyra is able read a mystical instrument that tells the future. She meets Will in the second book. He comes from a world where specters can suck out your soul and he has a knife that can cut doors into other worlds. The first two books were so well-done that it seemed impossible for Pullman to create a satisfying conclusion. His triumph was known to his followers long before the Whitbread acknowledged it¾partly from his skill in making references to Dante, the Bible, Homer and Aeschylus, without bogging down the story. In The Amber Spyglass, Lyra and Will's relationship blossoms. Its guileless beauty contradicts the horrors of war that surrounds them, while their pubescent struggles correspond to the tenuous global situation where changes come abruptly and unexpectedly, and one often feels alone. Separation is both a symbolic and organizing structure; subplots coexist and the characters strain to find unity. Pullman doesn't end this series simplistically, but creates one last irony. After an Armageddon-like clash that is Blakian in concept and feel, Lyra and Will move forward in a bumbling way, their adolescence overwhelming a perfect symbol for the new order. For the good of their individual worlds and their shared universe, they must separate and struggle to regain what they've hadtogether. Part of the "His Dark Materials" series. 2000, Knopf, $19.95. Ages 14 up. Reviewer: Susie Wilde AGES: 14 15 16 17 18

KLIATT

Pullman completes his amazing trilogy with a masterpiece in this third volume. The action is relentless, pulling the reader forward through bright and dark images of alternate worlds. Pullman introduces intriguing new creatures at the same time that characters and concepts from the first two books in the trilogy weave in and out. How he completes the whole with the plot resolved, the characters dearer to the reader, and the themes coming to some closure, is a feat that is truly impressive. In his Acknowledgements, Pullman mentions his debts to the works of William Blake and to John Milton's Paradise Lost. His descriptions of angels, the journey of Will and Lyra to the World of the Dead, and the numerous metaphysical references do connect him to Blake and Milton. However, since the trilogy's concept of Dust is linked to theories in quantum physics, and a main character is Dr. Mary Malone, a physicist in modern Oxford, this fantasy could only be written in our time. As is true of all good fantasy, a reader is able to approach the trilogy primarily as adventure, filled with dangerous journeys and villains, with abiding love and friendships, with marvelous creatures and creations. Will and Lyra, brave children, struggling, sometimes nearly paralyzed by fear and grief, are heroes all readers care for and admire. At the end of the trilogy, Will and Lyra approach adulthood making difficult decisions and acknowledging their love for one another; in doing so, they become beloved, fully realized characters no reader will ever forget. When, in addition to this level of story, a reader discovers mind-expanding concepts, great themes related to the nature of God, man, and the universe, then it seemsto me that a classic work of literature has been created. And the language! The first chapter, The Enchanted Sleeper, begins: " In a valley shaded by 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." Editor's Note: the first two books in the Dark Materials trilogy have received the highest acclaim in the field of children's literature and are also ALA Best Books for YAs. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2000, Random House/Knopf, 518p, 00-044776, $19.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; January 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 1)

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-With The Amber Spyglass (Knopf, 2000), Philip Pullman completes his epic trilogy, collectively titled, His Dark Materials. The young heroine, Lyra Belacqua, is still battling the evil forces that inhabit the warring fantasy cosmos introduced in The Golden Compass (Knopf ,1996), and continued in The Subtle Knife (Knopf ,1997). In this volume, Lyra is rescued from her often unscrupulous mother by her trusted companion, Will. Will and Lyra endure a perilous journey to the land of the dead, and reconnect with Dr. Mary Malone who has made the all-important spyglass. After encounters with helpful angels, demons and witches, as well as difficulties with clergy and theologians, the pair fulfill their destiny. With this comes a deeper understanding of the dangers to their universe, and eventually, painful, but necessary choices. Pullman does a first class job as narrator of his language-rich text. He is joined by a superb cast of 40 British actors who bring the book's large and diverse array of characters into sharp focus. This fine recording is almost a stage play in a box, and it is a solid purchase for both school and public libraries. Considering the book's 500 plus pages, the recording is likely to be a very popular way for fans both young and old to conclude Pullman's classically-inspired saga.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

From The Critics

Familiarity with the prior novels in 'His Dark Materials' is essential for an easy understanding of Book 3 of the series. The Amber Spyglass continues the adventures of Lyra and Will, who journey to a dark world while an amber spyglass involves the world in war and chaos. The plot is compleXx and evolving but counts on a background developed in the prior books.

U.S. News & World Report

...rich in thought as well as adventure. Pullman knits religion, creation, evolution, death, physics, original sin, and growing up intoe his own personal theory of everything.

Malcolm J. Jones

...almost everyone who does read Pullman becomes a fan.
—Newsweek

Kirkus Reviews

The longed-for third volume in this trilogy (The Golden Compass, 1996; The Subtle Knife, 1997) satisfies deeply: full of grand set pieces, resplendent language, and glorious storytelling. Lyra Silvertongue at 12, from a world like but unlike this one, is keeper of the alethiometer—the golden compass. She can read its ways to find the truth, but it has been taken from her. Will Parry, of this world, injured by the subtle knife that can cut windows between worlds, will bring it back to her. And in yet another place, an Oxford researcher makes a spyglass that enables her to see the golden patterns of Dust, stuff of the universe. All of the splendid characters of the earlier books make a return, like Pan, Lyra's daemon, part of her very self; Iorek Byrnison the bear king; and Lyra's bewitching parents, Lord Asriel and the terrifying Mrs. Coulter. Whole new races appear: a panoply of angels; the mulefa, whose triangulated legs use the wheel in a new way; the brave and dashing Gallivespians, who live but a decade and are small enough to ride dragonflies. Across this brilliant and vivid canvas, the largest of themes play out: life and death, goodness and evil, self and other, the redemptive power of love. Lyra and Will's quest is hard and heartbreaking: they can only rely on themselves and each other to save their worlds, and the cost is great. There are roaring battles and moments of great tenderness; there are unforgettable scenes—Lyra and Will leading ghosts through the land of the dead, for example—and not a few echoes of Paradise Lost with some deeply unconventional theological implications. What matters at the last are the stories, and thetruthof their telling. Readers will be chastened—and warmed—and sorry to see the last page. (Fiction. 12+)