Review: #632
Title: The Amber Spyglass
Series: His Dark Materials - 3rd and final book
Author: Philip Pullman
Read Before: yes
Comments: The Amber Spyglass exceeds all expectations and brings a spectacular finish to the His Dark Materials trilogy. Like the previous two books, the plot constantly evolves to the point that when you’re at the end, you come to realize what a massive journey you have undertaken and how large the scope was. It begins innocently enough with Will, accompanied by two angels, searching for Lyra. He wields the Subtle Knife, able to cut windows into other worlds. Once they are reunited and they set about onto their purpose, the author expertly shrouds it with red herrings and other mysteries such that it is only until the final few pages of the novel that you come to realize what everything meant. Once you’ve read that revelation, every mystery that the series has ever raised, from the nature of Dust, to the Spectres to the purpose of the Subtle Knife, is perfectly explained and all plot points resolved. That one moment where everything becomes clear cannot be described, it was amazing. The ending was bittersweet and one of the most emotionally packed sequence of events ever, the author expertly manipulated your feelings, feeling joy and sorrow at the same time for the characters. The ending is truly a masterpiece and it is at this point that you realize how expertly the author has crafted every single detail of the story. You feel every hope, despair, happiness and pain that Will and Lyra were feeling, and the ending stalemate result is so beautiful and full of meaning, that you will feel as lost if the same situation happened to you. Throughout The Amber Spyglass, Will and Lyra develop heavily as characters, and bit by bit, the read becomes emotionally attached. All this is punctuated through heavy themes in the war between the Creator and its creations. It becomes philosophical and sparks your imagination at the cycle of life, with the novel’s interpretation fitting perfectly such that you feel that it is plausible and true, it’s too perfect for it not to be true. The ability for The Amber Spyglass to tell a story with such subtle complexity, yet keeping it simple enough to follow is a massive achievement and unparalleled. Every page captures your attention and nothing feels unnecessary. The fact that you care about every single character, and their redeeming qualities, these characters that you have met and come to known, makes the impact of their fates all the more powerful. Overall, while The Amber Spyglass is much longer than the previous two books, it is one of the best stories every told, the scope of it is astounding, covering multiple worlds, physics, philosophy, morality, ethics and honor amongst other things, it will truly leave you breathless with amazement at the journey you have made upon finishing, it’s something that will keep your mind busy mulling over the various details and aspects of the world the author has created for a long while afterwards.
Rating: 9/10
