The Amber Spyglass

by Philip Pullman

480 pages

English language

Published Sept. 8, 2003 by Laurel Leaf.

ISBN:: 978-0-440-23815-7

(205 reviews)

In the astonishing finale to the His Dark Materials trilogy, Lyra and Will are in unspeakable danger. With help from Iorek Byrnison the armored bear and two tiny Gallivespian spies, they must journey to a dank and gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone. All the while, Dr. Mary Malone builds a magnificent Amber Spyglass. An assassin hunts her down, and Lord Asriel, with a troop of shining angels, fights his mighty rebellion, in a battle of strange allies—and shocking sacrifice.

As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living—and the dead—finally comes to depend on two children and the simple truth of one simple story.

19 editions

aaron r. reviewed The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3) by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials (3))

The Amber Spyglass Review

4 stars

The epic conclusion of Lyra and Will's journey.

Had great fun with this book and the series as a whole. Per usual, Pullman has the great ability of interesting and intricate worldbuilding and plot threading.

Many questions left lingering in the previous entries were answered here.

That said, this book did go anywhere and everywhere, which I feel made things a bit hard to follow at times. Likewise, I felt the ending build-up/battle was a bit lacking w/ some of the messaging slightly unclear.

Either way, this was all around a fantastic trilogy.

tivasyk reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

not entirely ininteresting, but in the end it's just a YA fairy-tale with a little to much mixed in.

Paul Kater reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Third book in the series. Still an amazing world - or should I say 'still amazing worlds'?
Mr Pullman did his best to create a fantastic set and I enjoyed most of it.

Most? (No spoilers but my own opinion follows, proceed at your own peril.)

Yes... the end of this one felt a bit 'forced', as if this book was more a battle of willpower than a bout of inspiration. Maybe I'm totally wrong but there you have it. My view.

Still kudos to the author for pulling off such an epic fantasy story.

V171 reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

It's hard to describe the conclusion of this trilogy. I found this so be such a divergence from the start. The Amber Spyglass was an epic; spanning across worlds, story lines, and perspectives at breakneck speed. I found that I missed the "simple" story of the Golden Compass about a girl trying to save her friends. I found a lot of The Amber Spyglass hard to follow. Not only was the story winding and the pacing fast, but I found that many of the themes and concepts that Pullman was trying to convey weren't fully fleshed out. At points I was confused by the message, and at others I thought the messaging was so blatant, it was funny. But I did enjoy the overarching message of the books, and (while winding) I enjoyed the path.

Overall, I enjoyed this trilogy, but I wish it was as strong in the end …

unsquare reviewed The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3) by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials (3))

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It’s kind of amazing how out there this trilogy gets. I wish I’d known back in the day when I first started reading it, because I might have made the effort to finish what I’d started instead of stopping after book one. These books were easily some of the best I’ve read in a good long while, and each book in the trilogy only improved on the one before it.

This one includes a harrowing trip into the afterlife for Lyra and Will and ends with some hard choices for both characters. There is an epic battle scene between humans, angels, witches and just about everything under the sun.

I’m hugely excited about the HBO adaptation, which will hopefully do it justice, even though they are condensing the books into two seasons instead of doing a book per season. Still, the bizarre visuals in the second and third books should …

Steen Christiansen reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A wrenching finale that delivers everything it needs to.

Unruly Stacks reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Honestly, I'd've given it 4 stars if the preachy tone has been even a TINY bit subtler.

Ikwezi reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

the Republic of Heaven...excellent

Maika reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

The first two-thirds or so of this book were at least as strong, creative, and engaging as the previous two books [which I thoroughly enjoyed], but I cannot escape the feeling that the ending just wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. The final chapters of this substantial trilogy were occasionally [not to mention ironically] tainted by deus ex machinas instead of further thoughtful plot development. If anything the ending felt premature. What seemed to be the promise of further adventures was stunted and ultimately foiled by deus ex machina and declarations that felt brittle and hollow to me when compared with the substance of the rest of the journey.

I am sincerely looking forward to the eventual release of The Book of Dust but, based on what I've read about it so far, I don't think it will do anything to rectify the untimely ending and resolution that took place in The Amber Spyglass, which is a pity. It almost felt like there could've been a fourth book that began in the last fifth of The Amber Spyglass. It would've told more of the story that was simply hinted at before being abruptly glossed over and truncated at the end of the trilogy. This fourth book could even ultimately have ended in the same manner that The Amber Spyglass did. That would've been marvelous. Perhaps I'm over-eager and jumping to conclusions and this is precisely the sort of thing that The Book of Dust will do. We'll see.

All things considered, this was a very enjoyable and captivating journey. I'm just sorry that it ended leaving me feeling a bit bewildered and cheated rather than pleasantly exhausted and fulfilled. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

Mark Anderson reviewed The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, #3)

Review of 'The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3)' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The third and final book in the His Dark Materials series, this book was a great finale, bringing back the wonder and fantasy of the first book as well as tying in all the plot expansion from the second. The theological, scientific, and philosophical elements that Pullman spins together in these yarns is incredibly challenging and complex given that it was written for young adults, especially given that the elements of angels and the church that are brought in are decidedly heretical in nature. Which was what makes these books such a delight, really---is that Pullman is deliberately weaving a story with the very simple focus of appreciation of nature, and human love and life, and yet he does so in such a natural, delightful story-telling way that you never even really bother to think about deeper implications. When you do, it is with appreciation at the unpreachy way he …