His Dark Materials III: The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman > Reviews > Definitely worth the wait

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Absolutely
Story	Outstanding
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!

Advantages:	An absolutely brilliant book !
Disadvantages:	Last in the series !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I read the prequel to this book, The Subtle Knife, when it was first released in 1997. In some ways I wish I hadn't, as I had to wait an agonizing three years to find out what happened next! But it was definitely worth it, as The Amber Spyglass is an absolutely brilliant book.

The series is set in different worlds. There is Will's world, which is like the real world, Lyra's world, where people have 'daemons', sort of parts of their personality in animal form, and another world, where horrific creatures called spectres are lurking, waiting to suck out souls. In these books there are witches, talking bears and amazing wheeled creatures called mulefa. Each book is incredibly imaginative and impossible to put down!

The Amber Spyglass picks up where The Subtle Knife left. Lyra has been kidnapped and Will is searching for her. I won't say what happens, but the plot of the book is incredibly original - it's very complexed but without being confusing.

The characters are outstanding. By the end of the book they feel like old friends! We meet many old characters from the previous two books - Lyra, Will, Lord Asriel, Mrs Coulter, Dr. Malone - and some great new ones too, such as the angels Balthamos and Baruch.

This is an amazing book! I would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy books, but I would recommend reading the first two in the His Dark Materials trilogy - Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife - before reading it as it'd be much easier to pick up on the plot.