His Dark Materials III: The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman > Reviews > Mystery solved

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:	Ending of a great story
Disadvantages:	It is indeed the end .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Introduction

Well folks this is the third and final part of my review of His Dark Materials! I know it has been a few days coming but as I have said I realised when I came to write it that I didn’t have my copy of the book. However, now I am back and armed with my book so I can finish my review! For those of you who have not seen my first two reviews, I must first say, in case you haven’t guessed, that this book is part of a trilogy. This is the third book in this trilogy, with the first two being ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘The Subtle Knife‘. the trilogy is in fact written by Philip Pullman and came third in the BBC’s Big Read. This book was in fact published in 2000, with the other two volumes in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Once again I would like to make any apologies in advance if people feel that anything I have said in this review gives away what has already happened in the first two books. Of course, I have to give you some idea but I am talking more in respect to twists in the plot. I shall avoid these at all costs!

Blurb

As in all my book reviews, I firstly tell you what the books says:

‘Will is the bearer of the knife. Now, accompanied by angels, his task is to deliver that powerful, dangerous weapon to Lord Asriel- by the command of his dying father.

But how can he go looking for Lord Asriel, when Lyra is gone? Only with her help can he fathom the myriad plots and intrigues that beset him. The two great powers of the many worlds are lining up for war, and Will must find Lyra, for together they are on their way to battle, an inevitable journey that will even take them to the world of the dead…’

This is actually quite short and sweet compared to the first two books. Now for those unfamiliar with the His Dark Materials world, the two main characters in the books are called Will and Lyra. In fact, the first volume contains no mention of Will and we are introduced to him at the very beginning of the second book. It seems when you read book three that you have already come so far with both of the main characters. I have to say I could not wait to read this volume!

Now there is one thing you have to know about this book if you haven’t read either it or my other two reviews before. It is best explained by this extract from the book:

‘Northern Lights is the first part of a story in three volumes. The first volume is set in a universe like ours but different in many ways. The second volume, the Subtle Knife, moves between three universes: the universe we know, the universe of Northern Lights; and a third universe, which differs from ours in many ways again. The final volume of the trilogy, the Amber Spyglass, moves between several universes.’

This illustrates to you that this book is in fact set in many different universes and as hinted at in the blurb, it even finds its way into the world of the dead. Now this is not as confusing as it may seem it has the potential to be. You quickly learn the different whereabouts of the different characters and in many ways the author himself keeps track so you don’t have to! One last note about these books and once again this is for the benefit of those finding out about this trilogy for the first time, Lyra has what is known as a dæmon. Now that is a creature that is in fact part of Lyra and feels everything she does (a different physical form of the same person).

Author

As I have already mentioned, this book was written by Philip Pullman. Pullman has indeed written other books before but none of them have enjoyed the same success as ‘His Dark Materials’. Pullman was I fact born in Norwich and he attended Oxford University and read English. He wrote Northern Lights in 1995, the other two following in 1997 and 2000. His inspiration for this particular book came from a poem by Milton called Paradise Lost. This book refers to how the Almighty must maintain order or all will be lost. Many say this book was written to be against the church. However Pullman claims this not to be the case.

(NB: this is a quick note on the author designed specifically for those who have not read review one. I am fully aware that it is the same content from number one and two.)

Story

Clearly, this is where the book climaxes and so I wish to not give too much away. However, at the same time I need to give you enough to make you want to read this entire trilogy. Well, firstly let me just say the quality of the writing and indeed story in this book does not slip. The opening chapter introduces us immediately to the new predicament within which Lyra currently finds herself. It appears she is being help captive by Mrs Coulter. Now, Mrs Coulter is a character that has appeared in both books and she is definitely an interesting one. She is also a character I cannot really say too much about as without doubt it would spoil your enjoyment of the books; especially the first one.

Anyway, the opening dialogue is between Mrs Coulter and a small girl named Ama. In fact Mrs Coulter has hidden Lyra in a cave and drugged her with sleeping potion so she stays in slumber all day long. Ama comes from the village at the bottom of the hill where the cave lies and she has an arrangement with Mrs Coulter to bring up food. Then the action switches to Will, who is being followed by two angels, named Balthamos and Baruch. The angels want to take him to see Lord Asriel, however, Will refuses and decides he must find Lyra. He ends up bargaining with the Angels and they will find Lyra in return for Will’s cooperation.

The book then visits Lord Asriel, who is spying on the Ministry (I.e. Church) and trying to find out what they are up to. In order to spy, he uses one of the Gallevespians, a group of small people, like dragon flies, who are skilled spies. He discovers the churches’ plot to kill Lyra and he decides he must get to her first to stop such a thing happening. In the mean time, Will manages to catch up with an old friend of Lyra’s, Iorek Byrnison. Iorek is a giant bear who wears great, strong armour and is a fearsome fighter. Will tells Iorek of his meeting with Lyra and how he is going to find her. The bear agrees to help Will find Lyra.

Eventually, using the Subtle Knife, will manages to find Lyra. He struggles to save her and in the melee, the Knife breaks. However, at the same time, two Gallevespians named Lady Salmakia and Chevalier Tialys intercept to try and take Will to Lord Asriel. Asriel demands the Knife but Will does not let these little people dictate and the Gallevespians are forced to follow in order to achieve their mission.
Whilst hatching their plan to visit the world of the dead, Will and Lyra must firstly fix the Subtle Knife. Lyra knows straight away who to turn to, none other than Iorek, who is a very skilled craftsman. The knife is re-forged and the Gallevespians are still there. So Will cuts his way through to a parallel universe with the Knife (I didn’t explain before but the Subtle Knife has the power to cut a hole between different universes and accordingly to re-seal them). They eventually find themselves in the suburbs of the dead and then on the boat into the land of the dead. Here, they start uncover the truth behind Dust (a continuous theme in all three books and the reason Lyra started her quest). Yet, before that they must encounter the terrible and horrifying Harpies, though what they are I shall leave to the book! Their quest continues and culminates into one of the most fascinating and truly touching endings I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

As a sub-plot to all of this, I must also make mention of a character that appears also in the Subtle Knife and I did point out in my last review that she plays a bigger role. This character is called Mary Malone. Mary actually comes from the same Universe as you or I in the book (and Will) and she finds herself however, wandering into a parallel universe. In this place she encounters a fascinating new race named the Mulefa. Now they sound and act strange but it is these characters that provide a tool for the author to make a statement about real life in my view. I’m sure those who have read the book know what I mean and I shall leave it to you to see for yourself when you read. Nevertheless, Mary makes startling discoveries about this strange race. This proves a little distraction from the overall plot and I feel these bits weren’t as good as the rest in all honesty. That said, I do see why Pullman included them in the book.

All in all, I think it is fair to say that a lot goes on in this book and rightly so, it is after all the ending to one of the most fascinating journeys you could ever read about.

Characters

This is the point where I start to bring all three books together but at the same time shall keep it relevant to this particular volume. I have struggled over one question both before and whilst writing this review, who is the best character? Or put another way, who is my favourite? Well to tell the truth this is difficult but I think I’d have to say Iorek Byrnison. I love Iorek’s character for a few reasons. Firstly, I love the way Pullman personifies him, even giving him a soft side in the way he so dearly loves Lyra. Furthermore Iorek is such a fearsome fighter and that is something I admire. Especially in book 3 we hear more of him in action and we are also given a great dose in book 1. Iorek is also worldly wise and is very perceptive; he envisages the fighting and the role of the bears long before it happens. Finally, I think it is great the way Pullman gives him an almost God like persona in his own right. You feel as the reader that when Iorek is about nothing bad will happen as he is so strong and powerful and at the same time wise.

In the final book, however, I would say that my favourite character is Lyra. I think that is the case because of the way we see her come of age. After having read a 1000 pages of text, all of it never too far away from her. You start to feel for the character and in this final instalment, we finally see her coming of age, a responsible young woman and I have to say the end increases the reader’s liking for her though I shan’t say how, you’ll have to find that part out yourself! Of course this story wouldn’t be the same if it were not for Will and he too is a character I like very much.

Overall
Well I don’t suppose it would surprise you too much to find out that this is one of my favourite all time books (whole trilogy I mean). This book has everything on offer. It takes us from happy to sad, from angry to calm and from love to hate all in a 1000 pages. As for book 3 itself, I’d say this is probably my favourite of the three. I love the ending, though it is very sad and I think the action scenes are superbly written. I also love the way everything comes together in the end from the other two books and all unanswered questions are finally solved.

I once again would like to reiterate that these books are principally designated as children’s books, however, I see no reason why adults will not enjoy these. In fact an adult might even get more enjoyment from it than a child, such is the variety of things on offer in this book. There are a couple of scary things in this book such as the thing I mentioned before like the Harpies. Also those who take offence at somewhat anti-religious content would also be advised to stay away from this book. Although the references are more covert than overt, they are nevertheless there.

This books weighs in at a reasonably hefty 548 pages, which is well in excess of it’s predecessors. This may seem a big read at the moment but if you have already been encapsulated by the first two, then without doubt, you wouldn’t care if this was another 500 pages on top of that! One final though is that of a critic in the Observer who remarked ‘Philip Pullman. Is he the greatest storyteller ever?’

Thanks for reading!

ISBN: 0-439-99358-x
RRP: £6.99

His Dark Materials is also available as one whole trilogy.