Philip Pullman

The final volume in the His Dark Materials trilogy. The conclusion of Lyra and Will's extraordinary journey is read and loved by children around the world.

The Amber Spyglass

From the world of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials- now a major critically acclaimed BBC series ‘We’re going to the land of the dead and we’re going to come back.’ Will and Lyra, whose fates are bound together by powers beyond their own worlds, have been violently separated. But they must find each other, for ahead of them lies the greatest war that has ever been – and a journey to a dark place from which no one has ever returned . . .

The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials 3

"He meant the Kingdom was over, the Kingdom of Heaven, it was all finished. We shouldn’t live as if it mattered more than this life in this world, because where we are is always the most important place.”

“I never thought about that. All I thought about was just the time I was in, just the present. There were plenty of times when I thought I didn’t have a future at all. And now … Well, suddenly finding I’ve got a whole life to live, but no … but no idea what to do with it, well, it’s like having the alethiometer but no idea how to read it. I suppose I’ll have to work, but I don’t know at what."

 love you forever, whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again …”

“I’ll be looking for you, Will, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you … We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams … And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we’ll be joined so tight …”

"It uses the faculty of what you call imagination. But that does not mean making things up. It is a form of seeing.”

“Not real traveling, then,” said Lyra. “Just pretend …”

“No,” said Xaphania, “nothing like pretend. Pretending is easy. This way is hard, but much truer.”

Then Balthamos stood up, sick and weary and full of pain.

“Baruch,” he said, “oh, Baruch, my dear, I can do no more. Will and the girl are safe, and everything will be well, but this is the end for me, though truly I died when you did, Baruch, my beloved.”

And then she saw what they were doing, at last: she saw what that great urgent purpose was.

They were trying to hold back the Dust flood. They were striving to put some barriers up against the terrible stream: wind, moon, clouds, leaves, grass, all those lovely things were crying out and hurling themselves into the struggle to keep the shadow particles in this universe, which they so enriched.

 Dust. It didn’t want to see it go. That was the meaning of this night, and it was Mary’s meaning, too.

Thought, imagination, feeling, would all wither and blow away, leaving nothing but a brutish automatism; and that brief period when life was conscious of itself would flicker out like a candle in every one of the billions of worlds where it had burned brightly.

This was the very thing she’d told Will about when he asked if she missed God: it was the sense that the whole universe was alive, and that everything was connected to everything else by threads of meaning. 

“When you stopped believing in God,” he went on, “did you stop believing in good and evil?”

“No. But I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are. All we can say is that this is a good deed, because it helps someone, or that’s an evil one, because it hurts them. People are too complicated to have simple labels.”

"But it gradually seemed to me that I’d made myself believe something that wasn’t true. I’d made myself believe that I was fine and happy and fulfilled on my own without the love of anyone else. Being in love was like China: you knew it was there, and no doubt it was very interesting, and some people went there, but I never would. I’d spend all my life without ever going to China, but it wouldn’t matter, because there was all the rest of the world to visit."

He smiled back, and Mary thought his expression showed more perfect trust than she'd ever seen on a human face.

"Angels wish they had bodies. They told me that angels can't understand why 

 don't enjoy the world more. It would be sort of ecstacy for them to have our flesh and our senses."

As they climbed, Mary could see the glitter of the moon on the sea far off to the left, and its silver-sepia light seemed to envelop her in a cool sceptical wonder. The wonder was in her and the scepticism was in the world, and the coolness was in both.

Lyra, child, you rest when this is done, you hear? Life is good, and death is over …”

It had once been like running, or singing, or telling a story: something natural. Now she had to do it laboriously, and her grip was failing, and she mustn’t fail because otherwise everything would fail …

Because he's the most narcissistic character I have ever had the pleasure of reading and his main character role has been taken from him. Refer to the link below:

“The other day, when you spoke about her so bitterly, and about me … I thought you hated her. I could understand your hating me. I’ve never hated you, but I could understand … I could see why you might hate me. But I couldn’t see why you hated Lyra.”

“I can’t bear the thought of oblivion, Asriel,” she continued. “Sooner anything than that. I used to think pain would be worse—to be tortured forever—I thought that must be worse … But as long as you were conscious, it would be better, wouldn’t it? Better than feeling nothing, just going into the dark, everything going out forever and ever?”

“Few as we are,” he went on, “and short-lived as we are, and weak-sighted as we are —in comparison with them, we’re still 

 us, Ogunwe! That’s what fuels their hatred, I’m sure of it. They long to have our precious bodies, so solid and powerful, so well-adapted to the good earth! And if we 

 at them with force and determination, we can sweep aside those infinite numbers as you can sweep your hand through mist. They have no more power than that!”

I have been half in love with easeful Death

She pressed her hands and her legs against the rough planks of the platform, and having a minute ago nearly gone mad with fear, she was now suffused with a deep, slow ecstasy at being one with her body and the earth and everything that was matter.

“And this is the reason for all those things: your dæmon can only live its full life in the world it was born in. Elsewhere it will eventually sicken and die. We can travel, if there are openings into other worlds, but we can only live in our own. Lord Asriel’s great enterprise will fail in the end for the same reason: we have to build the Republic of Heaven where we are, because for us there is no elsewhere."

She wasn’t Lyra just then, and he wasn’t Will; she wasn’t a girl, and he wasn’t a boy. They were the only two human beings in that vast gulf of death.

These quotes are slowly becoming my everything.

And that abominable fall yawned all the time, and one little slip, one footstep on a loose rock, one careless handhold, would send you down forever and ever, thought Lyra, so far down you’d die of starvation before you ever hit the bottom, and then your poor ghost would go on falling and falling into an infinite gulf, with no one to help, no hands to reach down and lift you out, forever conscious and forever falling …

Oh, that would be far worse than the gray, silent world they were leaving, wouldn’t it?

“Well, where is God,” said Mrs. Coulter, “if he’s alive? And why doesn’t he speak anymore? At the beginning of the world, God walked in the Garden and spoke with Adam and Eve. Then he began to withdraw, and he forbade Moses to look at his face. Later, in the time of Daniel, he was aged—he was the Ancient of Days. Where is he now? Is he still alive, at some inconceivable age, decrepit and demented, unable to think or act or speak and unable to die, a rotten hulk? And if that is his condition, wouldn’t it be the most merciful thing, the truest proof of our love for God, to seek him out and give him the gift of death?”

Lyra and Will find themselves at the center of a battle between the forces of the Authority and those gathered by Lyra's father, Lord Asriel.

loisesya

A Luneta Ambar

Matheus Villa

Nem frio, nem calor, 0 graus tá ótimo
Terminei o livro e dei uma risada sincera, meu deus, que leitura maçante... Não é ruim, tem algumas coisas que me agradaram, mas ainda sim tem lá seus pontos negativos. Além de arrastado, achei meio confuso em alguns momentos, não conseguia entender e imaginar muito bem o que estava acontecendo e isso me irritou bastante, foi bem frustrante. Para finalizar, por incrível que pareça, achei o final ok. Aliás, queria encontrar o Philip Pullman e falar "Essa Luneta Ambar virou piada meu parceiro"

It was a great book series, until the third book felt a bit out of place. The writing style felt wonky, partially heavily inspired by other works without fitting the original style. Many characters, many story lines and in the end a bunch of loose ends that needed to be finished. But that didn't happen gracefully, rather rushed. As if the author forgot about characters or plots and had to adress it somehow not to leave plot holes. Massive build up in the first two books, just to plummet in disappointment. Had its good moments, but not ending as well thought through as it started. 

Alisa 

Madison Keiran

** spoiler alert **
           Stunning depiction of love, loss, and the afterlife. There is something comforting about the idea of our souls being returned to the universe once we die in order to create life for those who come after. This book was gorgeous and heart-wrenching, and helped me to realize that growing up and losing one’s “innocence” isn’t the horrendous, dirty thing that the church makes it out to be. It’s a neutral, beautiful part of life. I could speak endlessly about this series, I can’t wait for my children to read it someday.

I loved this, as evidenced by the quotes I highlighted. And in the print version, we get notes by Mary! (but they're written in literal doctor's handwriting so I can't really read them.)

The only drawback is that they are literally 12.

Reread: if I weren't so tired I'd be in tears. Also I'm so glad they made Mary a sapphic former nun in the TV series. I'd forgotten it wasn't like that in the books. Not gay, but should be.

I loved this, as evidenced by the quotes I highlighted. And in the print version, we get notes by Mary! (but they're written in literal doctor's handwriting so I can't really read them.)

The only drawback is that they are literally 12.

Reread: if I weren't so tired I'd be in tears. Also I'm so glad they made Mary a sapphic former nun in the TV series. I'd forgotten it wasn't like that in the books. Not gay, but should be.

Samantha Chavez 

the first and last time i will ever let a man break me like this.

Though I did get a little lost in parts, I found this book so full of adventure, love, hope, joy and wonder. The worlds and characters Philip Pullman creates. - Mary Malone and Aral being one of my favourites make you think a lot about this world and life. Beautiful. 

Laura Gill

Michael Springer

This was a strong conclusion for the trilogy, and once again Pullman surprised me with how the events unfolded. This strikes me as a very complex and challenging series for the young adult audience it is intended for, and I think this is also something that works in its favor. 

I questioned at the end of the second book if Pullman really COULD resolve everything he'd set up thus far. He does, and he does it well.

Gavin

Its blunt, scrutable way of making atheism seem heroic probably wouldn't stand a re-read, but this was a big deal when I was 12.

Prashanth Srivatsa

Pullman can write, we've got that sorted already, and in his grand finale, he goes all guns blazing, gathering worlds, a heap of fascinating characters (there are lilliputs who ride dragonflies, no kidding) and conventional romance that saves the world with a big bang, literally. A great trilogy. I'll miss being a part of this world.

The third volume in Philip Pullman's groundbreaking HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, now a thrilling, critically acclaimed BBC/HBO television series. "We're going to the land of the dead and we're going to come back." Will and Lyra, whose fates are bound together by powers beyond their own worlds, have been violently separated. But they must find each other, for ahead of them lies the greatest war that has ever been - and a journey to a dark place from which no one has ever returned... this edition has a stunning cover from celebrated artist, Chris Wormell.

It was good but quite slow. I did really enjoy it though

Sara

"The Amber Spyglass brings the intrigue of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife to a heart-stopping end, marking the final volume of His Dark Materials as 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."--publisher website.

poprika

Great story, loved the ending :) 
some parts where a bit confusing, but loved it overall. Excited to watch the show now

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)

Jeff James

It’s kind of amazing how out there this trilogy gets. I wish I’d known back in the day when I first started reading it, because I might have made the effort to finish what I’d started instead of stopping after book one. These books were easily some of the best I’ve read in a good long while, and each book in the trilogy only improved on the one before it.

This one includes a harrowing trip into the afterlife for Lyra and Will and ends with some hard choices for both characters. There is an epic battle scene between humans, angels, witches and just about everything under the sun.

I’m hugely excited about the HBO adaptation, which will hopefully do it justice, even though they are condensing the books into two seasons instead of doing a book per season. Still, the bizarre visuals in the second and third books should more than make up for anything condensed for television.

Micah

Pullman had right up until he pulled the "let me tell you explicitly about my religious ideology as a guise for my main character's insight."

Courtney

Stephanie Highfield 

** spoiler alert **
           Why did the protagonist change from Lyra to will? She was far more interesting. I enjoyed this more as a teen than now. The first one holds up though!

nonchi

Ending: GREAT, world: Marvelous, characters: unforgettable, message: precious... like.. if u consider yourself a human being, you have to read these books. for real


but didn't like the angels, at all. 

3.9 stars.

Sandra Tammaru

I read this for a while and it put me in a slump for quite some time. And yet I thought it was brilliant. I cant fathom that its a children's book bc it deals with such intense subjects and it truly is a book for everyone. The ending, tho so tragic, was exceptional and I loved the inevitability of it.

For all those who are dying to learn the fate of Will and Lyra, hoping for the return of Iorek Byrnison, longing to know the truth about Dust, and waiting to face the ultimate clash of opposing powers, this book has the answers.

Celeste Richardson

I’m honestly pretty blown away, and I can’t believe I waiting this long to read His Dark Materials. It was wonderful, balancing thought-provoking philosophy with nearly breakneck-speed action in this final installment. Pullman crafted a world, or should I say worlds, that I found captivating, and characters whom I grew to care about deeply. Many of these characters, especially Lyra and Will, have taken a little piece of my heart, and I believe they’ll reside there from now on. What a marvelous adventure.
“I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.”
While reading this book, I did something fairly unusual for me: I kept having to write about my thoughts. Usually, I might take notes on my phone and compile them all after finishing the book, or simply take no notes at all and write a review with nothing but my final thoughts circling around in my head. I could do neither here. I had to actually write out my thoughts as they came to me, so I didn’t forget to address something that I felt was important or forget why that element felt important in the first place. Because I responded to this book so differently from most, my review is going to be a bit different, as well. The next four or five paragraphs are thoughts I had to write out while I was reading. I decided to leave them mostly in their raw form instead of polishing them up and trying to wrangle them into some kind of flow that made sense. Most of these observations and opinions are very religious in nature, as this trilogy hinges so strongly on both belief and Christian mythos, so remember that these are incredibly subjective leanings. Without further ado, here are those thoughts. If you tire of my rambling, feel free to skip down to the last two paragraphs for my final views.
“I stopped believing there was a power of good and a power of evil that were outside us. And I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are.”
The problem with the Church of Lyra’s world isn’t their belief or their faith, which I actually saw very little evidence in the series. The problem is that they wish to erase the gift of free will. God could have prevented the original Fall of man in the form of Eve’s choice and Adam’s decision to follow her example. But He didn’t, because one of the greatest gifts He gave us was the ability to make our own decisions through free will. Mankind has no right to revoke that right from future generations, because it’s not a right we bestowed on ourselves to begin with. Instead of taking away our ability to make our own decisions, God gave us another option: accepting the gift of salvation provided by His Son’s death and resurrection.
“All the history of human life has been a struggle between wisdom and stupidity.”
The theory of gaining absolution before the committing of a sin is one of the most disturbing concepts I’ve encountered. It flies in the face of God’s gift and His claim to judge us by our motivations even more than by our deeds. I know that this is a tenet that was once held by very radical sects of the Church, but it’s absolutely repugnant and theologically unsound. Which actually made it a perfect fit for the Church as portrayed by Pullman.
“I’m just trying to wake up - I’m so afraid of sleeping all my life and then dying - I want to wake up first. I wouldn’t care if it was just for an hour, as long as I was properly alive and awake…” 
A number of the epigraphs in the book come from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, which would have seemed like an almost too obvious decision from Pullman if this weren’t so obviously inspired in large part by Milton’s work. And as Milton conveyed Lucifer more as an antihero than a villain, it was easy to guess which side Pullman would favor in his narrative. However, Pullman’s take was original enough to maintain a level of unpredictability often absent in stories that are so closely linked to a retelling.
“People are too complicated to have simple labels.”
The descriptions of the Mulefa and their world reminded me of Perelandra, a world visited by Ransom in Lewis’s Space Trilogy. The mood, the innocence, the vast difference between the sentient creatures and humankind, and the relationship one of the adult human characters develops with these unique creatures all hearkened back to Lewis’s Ransom, and his experiences. This was a welcome addition, and was a much needed change of pace in the midst of so much action and trauma throughout the rest of the book.
“What work do I have to do then?" said Will, but went on at once, "No, on second thought, don't tell me. I shall decide what I do. If you say my work is fighting, or healing, or exploring, or whatever you might say, I'll always be thinking about it. And if I do end up doing that, I'll be resentful because it'll feel as if I didn't have a choice, and if I don't do it, I'll feel guilty because I should. Whatever I do, I will choose it, no one else.”
The spoiler that was thrown in my face when I was a child, (view spoiler)[namely that the two main characters kill God (hide spoiler)], was vastly overstated by the person who delivered it. Yes, this event does occur, but I was expecting premeditated brutality, not the quiet, heartbreaking outcome of an act of kindness. The whole worldview of this trilogy, while different from my own, was not nearly as radical as I was led to believe. This is a story of growing up, of leaving childhood when all you want to do is cling to it, of choosing one dream from many and mourning as the other possibilities move from could-be to might-have-been. It’s about doing good when it would be so much easier to be selfish, and redeeming yourself when the decisions of your past had a hand in harming others. It’s about love and free will and that fact that being able to choose your own path is both blessing and curse. I believe all these things. Where I differ from Pullman is in my belief that God is near, that He respects your choices but cares deeply about you, while Pullman conveys a God who is distant, uncaring, and fallible. I very strongly disagree with this quote and others like it for pretty obvious reasons: “The Christian religion is a very powerful and convincing mistake.” Pullman and I couldn’t be more opposed on that statement. Did that difference make me love this book, and the trilogy in its entirety, any less? Absolutely not.
“When you choose one way out of many, all the ways you don't take are snuffed out like candles, as if they'd never existed.” 
I was honestly blown about by His Dark Materials. It is one of the richest, most lovingly crafted trilogies I’ve had the pleasure of reading. It is epic and heartbreaking and sweet and fierce, and I absolutely loved it. Both Lyra and Will, and many of their supporting cast, will always have a place in my heart. Especially Lyra. She is kind and brave and incredibly loving, and I think every little girl could use a role model like her. Each book somehow improved the volume that preceded it, and it’s a series that I believe will lend itself very well to rereadings. His Dark Materials is a modern classic of the fantasy genre for a reason, and it’s well worth your time.

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

Diogo Nunes

Some interesting ideas but mostly dull. Worth the reading to find out the ending of the trilogy, but not much more than that.

Gaia Marino

Other than the fact that I was expecting this kind of bittersweet ending, I loved it. Loved the metaphors, the Nietzsche-esque battle against God and the way the population rebelled against an Authority that was keeping them from the true conscience and the knowledge they could reach.

I stand by what I said in my review for The Subtle Knife, I think Northern Lights would have been great if left as a standalone model. However I did think this book delivered more than I expected. By this point in the series I felt invested in Lyra’s story and really love the bond between her and Pan. Therefore I was really moved by the events in this book. I also enjoyed the multiple POV’s and how these all weaved together in the end

I can understand why this is a loved series and really enjoyed the full cast audiobooks which helped to bring the story to life.

Helen Borham

I stand by what I said in my review for The Subtle Knife, I think Northern Lights would have been great if left as a standalone model. However I did think this book delivered more than I expected. By this point in the series I felt invested in Lyra’s story and really love the bond between her and Pan. Therefore I was really moved by the events in this book. I also enjoyed the multiple POV’s and how these all weaved together in the end

I can understand why this is a loved series and really enjoyed the full cast audiobooks which helped to bring the story to life.

Sarah Ryan

My least favourite of the trilogy. However I enjoyed it more than I remember doing so the first time.

Anna Campbell

** spoiler alert **
           A much harder book to read than the second, but a grand adventure to wrap up the series! I loved getting some closure for all of the complicated characters. I loved getting to meet Mary and Will’s daemons, even if I don’t understand the name of his. 
The end was heartbreaking but right. I’m very glad that this was not a series about two 12 year olds falling in love, but that came in at the end and was so natural! 
I wish we had got explanation of Will’s mom’s condition—is it the same as when someone has been attacked by a Specter? I was disappointed in his lack of relationship with his father, though that reveal was so subtle and amazing. 
I absolutely loved the chapters about Mary and the mulefa, and I’m so glad that wasn’t rushed.
The ending was very satisfying for me, and I know Mary, Will and Lyra will all go on to lead such good and full lives.

The Amber Spyglass

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