*This review will contain spoilers for the first two books in the series,The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife.*
Shortly after finishing (and enjoying) The Subtle Knife, I decided to pick up the final book in the His Dark Materials series next and finish off the trilogy. The Amber Spyglass picks up right where the last book ends, with Will finding and immediately losing his father, then discovering the Lyra has been kidnapped.
This is a tough novel to summarize, as it is a sprawling and epic adventure told from the perspective of many characters and layered with lots of symbolism. Speaking generally, the first part of the novel deals with Will's attempts to rescue Lyra, and the rest of the novel deals with Will and Lyra's journey into the land of the dead and their participation in the final battle of the novel between the church, the Authority, and Lord Asriel's army. Also included in the story are sections focusing on Mary Malone, the scientist studying particle physics Lyra first meets in The Subtle Knife. She travels to an alternate dimension filled with strange creatures who need her help to save their species. She crafts the eponymous amber spyglass to analyze the Dust swirling through their atmosphere, which aids in her efforts to reverse the problems this world is facing. She is able to determine that all the rifts between the worlds, torn open through various means over time, are causing the Dust to leak out, with disastrous environmental effects. Eventually, Will and Lyra unite with her there, where they must make some difficult decisions about how to seal off all the alternate worlds from each other and move forward with their own lives.
I enjoyed reading this novel, and it did provide a satisfying end to the series. I was pleased to see my favorite character, the armored bear Iorek Byrnison, return in it, even though his part in the story was limited. I was also pleased to see Lyra regain some of the spunk she lost in the second book of the series and act like her regular, mischievous self again. I liked Will's character a little bit more in this book too. The relationship between the pair was more of a partnership this time around, instead of Lyra blindly going along with whatever Will decided was best.
While I thought this was a stronger entry in the series than The Subtle Knife was, I did struggle a bit with some elements of it. For a children's fantasy series, this was far from an easy read. The path Lyra and Will travel is long and winding, with layers of religious symbolism to it that I didn't always understand. I wasn't sure what everything in the story was meant to represent, especially the Dust, and as the Dust is the most important force in the story, this was probably not a great plot element for me to be confused about. It was easy to get lost between all the different characters, events, and symbols, and the slow pace of many of the sections made deciphering everything a challenge. Ultimately, I did like this story, but I was definitely ready for it to be done by the time I got to the end of the book.
Despite my issues, Philip Pullman's overall themes regarding kindness, personal responsibility, sacrifices, and doing the right thing just for the sake of doing right come across clearly. His stance is firmly against organized religion, and that's a position I found it fascinating to explore in a novel for young readers. The characters in this novel wage a war against God, and things do not go well for God. I was astounded and excited to discover that this was what the novels were about. I did a little research to see how often this book gets banned from school libraries, and the answer is a lot. It is one of the most challenged books of all time in the United States, a distinction that Pullman himself regards as an honor. This guy has guts and I respect his dedication to his beliefs.
So while I had mixed feelings across this series, I am very glad to have spent the time to read it this year and I liked it overall. The first novel in the series, The Golden Compass, has become one of my favorite fantasy novels, and I am still looking forward to the upcoming HBO adaptation. As far as my reading goes, I think I need a break from this world for a little while. When I am ready to return to it again, however, I can dive into Pullman's companion series to these novels, The Book of Dust. Maybe I'll finally be able to understand what the Dust is once I give those a shot.
I enjoyed reading this novel, and it did provide a satisfying end to the series. I was pleased to see my favorite character, the armored bear Iorek Byrnison, return in it, even though his part in the story was limited. I was also pleased to see Lyra regain some of the spunk she lost in the second book of the series and act like her regular, mischievous self again. I liked Will's character a little bit more in this book too. The relationship between the pair was more of a partnership this time around, instead of Lyra blindly going along with whatever Will decided was best.
While I thought this was a stronger entry in the series than The Subtle Knife was, I did struggle a bit with some elements of it. For a children's fantasy series, this was far from an easy read. The path Lyra and Will travel is long and winding, with layers of religious symbolism to it that I didn't always understand. I wasn't sure what everything in the story was meant to represent, especially the Dust, and as the Dust is the most important force in the story, this was probably not a great plot element for me to be confused about. It was easy to get lost between all the different characters, events, and symbols, and the slow pace of many of the sections made deciphering everything a challenge. Ultimately, I did like this story, but I was definitely ready for it to be done by the time I got to the end of the book.
Despite my issues, Philip Pullman's overall themes regarding kindness, personal responsibility, sacrifices, and doing the right thing just for the sake of doing right come across clearly. His stance is firmly against organized religion, and that's a position I found it fascinating to explore in a novel for young readers. The characters in this novel wage a war against God, and things do not go well for God. I was astounded and excited to discover that this was what the novels were about. I did a little research to see how often this book gets banned from school libraries, and the answer is a lot. It is one of the most challenged books of all time in the United States, a distinction that Pullman himself regards as an honor. This guy has guts and I respect his dedication to his beliefs.
So while I had mixed feelings across this series, I am very glad to have spent the time to read it this year and I liked it overall. The first novel in the series, The Golden Compass, has become one of my favorite fantasy novels, and I am still looking forward to the upcoming HBO adaptation. As far as my reading goes, I think I need a break from this world for a little while. When I am ready to return to it again, however, I can dive into Pullman's companion series to these novels, The Book of Dust. Maybe I'll finally be able to understand what the Dust is once I give those a shot.
Challenge Tally
Finally in 2019: 43/6 Books Read - Complete!
Total Books Read in 2019: 67
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