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A complex web of thoughts was weaving itself in the bear king's mind, with more strands in it than hunger and satisfaction. There was the memory of the little girl Lyra, whom he had named Silvertongue, and whom he had last seen crossing the fragile snow bridge across a crevasse in his own island of Svalbard. Then there was the agitation among the witches, the rumors of pacts and alliances and war; and then there was the surpassingly strange fact of this new world itself, and the witch's insistence that there were many more such worlds, and that the fate of them all hung somehow on the fate of the child.Meanwhile, two factions of the Church are vying to reach Lyra first. One is even prepared to give a priest "preemptive absolution" should he succeed in committing mortal sin. For these tyrants, killing this girl is no less than "a sacred task."
In the final installment of his trilogy, Philip Pullman has set himself the highest hurdles. He must match its predecessors in terms of sheer action and originality and resolve the enigmas he already created. The good news is that there is no critical bad news--not that The Amber Spyglass doesn't contain standoffs and close calls galore. (Who would have it otherwise?) But Pullman brings his audacious revision of Paradise Lost to a conclusion that is both serene and devastating. In prose that is transparent yet lyrical and 3-D, the author weaves in and out of his principals' thoughts. He also offers up several additional worlds. In one, Dr. Mary Malone is welcomed into an apparently simple society. The environment of the mulefa (again, we'll reveal nothing more) makes them rich in consciousness while their lives possess a slow and stately rhythm. These strange creatures can, however, be very fast on their feet (or on other things entirely) when necessary. Alas, they are on the verge of dying as Dust streams out of their idyllic landscape. Will the Oxford dark-matter researcher see her way to saving them, or does this require our young heroes? And while Mary is puzzling out a cure, Will and Lyra undertake a pilgrimage to a realm devoid of all light and hope, after having been forced into the cruelest of sacrifices--or betrayals.
Throughout his galvanizing epic, Pullman sustains scenes of fierce beauty and tenderness. He also allows us a moment or two of comic respite. At one point, for instance, Lyra's mother bullies a series of ecclesiastical underlings: "The man bowed helplessly and led her away. The guard behind her blew out his cheeks with relief." Needless to say, Mrs. Coulter is as intoxicating and fluid as ever. And can it be that we will come to admire her as she plays out her desperate endgame? In this respect, as in many others, The Amber Spyglass is truly a book of revelations, moving from darkness visible to radiant truth. --Kerry Fried --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
more than a children's book,
By Kyle Laurentine (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials: His Dark Materials - Book III (Hardcover)
This is one of the greatest books I have ever read. In some magical way, this is a book that, through the stories of several very original characters is able to address God, love, maturity, humanity's history and meaning, and countless other wonderful topics. This was more than just a novel to me; it has shaped my philosophy and way of looking at the world. Thos who say that this is a children's book a la "Harry Potter" are wrong. Maybe to the young readers, that's how it is, but I'm 14 and I was able to see that this is more than an easy, pleasurable fantasy like Harry Potter. This is a novel but also a manuscript of Pullman's philosophies and views. It is an extraordinary book that operates on a truly incredible, epic scale. From the first book, things just built up and built up, and here it all comes together in a brilliant, and very sad, climax. Read the series. You'll be enlightened.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent fiction writing & deplorably heavyhanded preaching,
By
This review is from: The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials - Book III (Mass Market Paperback)
Finishing the trilogy leaves me rather depressed. The degeneration of such a marvelous imaginative world of fantasy and science fiction into barely veiled juvenile swipes at Christianity left a bitter taste for the whole series in my mouth. As an elementary school teacher who loves to read out loud to his class I was hoping I'd found another series to use. Unfortunatly not. There is no way this book is appropriate for younger children of parents of Christian backgrounds. I can just imagine the parent calls now... There were also numerous plot holes in this last book as well, ... It strikes me that perhaps Pullman was so eager to set about Christian bashing that he lost sight of the literary integrity of the story itself. Perhaps he was just falling all over himself as the end of the trilogy came to get to his sermon.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dark, brilliant, but with a few blemishes,
By
This review is from: The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials - Book III (Mass Market Paperback)
I just finished this book in geometry class, and let me tell you, it is fantastic! It has everything you'd ever want in a fantasy epic - love, treachery, amazing imagry, well-developed and likeable characters... Pullman really pulls you into the series, especially this one, with the blooming romance of Will and Lyra(who despite their age are obviously quite mature, although some people who read this might feel a bit confused at their ascent).The only thing that really bothered me was a chapter, no, not even a chapter, a fragment of a chapter, in the end when Pullman uses one of his characters to vent on his atheism. I'm an agnostic, so either way, it doesn't so much matter that he's bashing orthodox religion... The fact is, it doesn't make sense that people could go through so something so eye-opening and fantastical and then openly outrule the existence of something like a creator. It was obvious that he was absent, but non-existant? Isn't that just as rediculous as orthodox religion? Pullman needs to read his own novel, I think. Anything's possible. That's the message I got, anyway. Either way, the book's a great read, and the best in the series. Read it; you'll enjoy it. ...
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