The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The final chapter of the His Dark Materials trilogy is a massive volume (in both page count -most by far – and breath) that closes the door tightly on the story of Lyra Silvertongue.
For a book that spans so many places, times, environments, and more this was a real “page turner”. I could not keep from wanting to read one more chapter. The overall story was a hurtling conclusion of all the items developed in the prior 2 books, more in the Subtle Knife than the Golden Compass. The Amber Spyglass is the most heavy handed of the three and the adult factor is turned up significantly.
The writing in this volume is the best of the three. The Golden Compass had the advantage of being “Lyra’s story” and could focus and run with that part of the story. The Subtle Knife was a hodgepodge of things, but really was “Will’s Story” that also introduced a new narrative structure with a more traditional fantasy jump from place to place and view point changes. The Amber Spyglass takes that up one more and the writing feels more “Literature” verses “Fantasy” with long stretches in one area and then back to another. He also introduces an opening quote on each chapter that helps frame the meaning and content of the chapter.
Pullman also completely embraces the Milton “Paradise Lost” vision and brings the inevitable to its conclusion. I found the ending a complete conclusion. Of course there are questions but not because there are incomplete things but because I became so endeared to the characters. There was one character whose final actions I was kind of mixed about but for the whole, we get a full path to the characters and their stories.
I would recommend these to anyone that likes a strong solid read but I still question the age group these books would fit best with. Some still want to call them kids’ books. But the themes are very complex and dark and the theology statements would really only make sense to someone who has some knowledge to reflect on.
