HIS DARK MATERIALS IS NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING DAFNE KEEN, RUTH WILSON, JAMES McAVOY, AND LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!
The unforgettable His Dark Materials trilogy that began with The Golden Compass—the modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top 100 Book of All Time"—and continued with The Subtle Knife, reaches its astonishing conclusion in The Amber Spyglass.
Throughout the worlds, the forces of both heaven and hell are mustering to take part in Lord Asriel's audacious rebellion. Each player in this epic drama has a role to play—and a sacrifice to make. Witches, angels, spies, assassins, tempters, and pretenders, no one will remain unscathed.
Lyra and Will have the most dangerous task of all. They must journey to a gray-lit world where no living soul has ever gone and from which there is no escape.
As war rages and Dust drains from the sky, the fate of the living—and the dead—comes to depend on Lyra and Will. On the choices they make in love, and for love, forevermore.
A #1 New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Whitbread Award
Winner of the British Book Award (Children's)
Published in 40 Countries
"Masterful.... This title confirms Pullman's inclusion in the company of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien." —Smithsonian Magazine
"Pullman has created the last great fantasy masterpiece of the twentieth century. An astounding achievement." —The Cincinnati Enquirer
"War, politics, magic, science, individual lives and cosmic destinies are all here . . . shaped and assembled into a narrative of tremendous pace by a man with a generous, precise intelligence. I am completely enchanted." —The New York Times Book Review
"Breathtaking adventure . . . a terrific story, eloquently told." —The Boston Globe
Don't miss Philip Pullman's epic new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials!
** THE BOOK OF DUST **
La Belle Sauvage
The Secret Commonwealth
As you might know, I was very fond of the first part Norther Lights. Then came The Subtle Knife which was only one thing: irritating.
So, I was rather keen to see how the final book would turn out. However, I am really disappointed with Phillip Pullman.
The Amber Spyglass is weird and at times really lengthy. Many of the points he touches throughout the novel have a rather philosophical background which is not only a bit dryly but also a bit of a weird subject for a children's book. In the acknowledgements I found out that Pullman was partly inspired by something Heinrich von Kleist wrote. Just to give you a little context: I had to read that exact text for my philosophy lecture at university this semester. To be honest if I hadn't been familiar with that text I'm not sure I would have been able to grasp some of Pullman's points and deeper meanings.
Apart from irritating and rather complicated subjects being introduced, different plot lines also feel very lengthy. I understand that he wants to give an idea about this whole underlying thing he thought of, but it's not interesting, not thrilling, not capturing.
So, while most of the book was just dragging on, the final chapters simply annoyed me. Some stuff was plain weird, with a few things I even felt like he didn't try to hard to come up with anything fancy. But - I don't want to add any spoilers - the last big thing to happen was rather big cliché that was just not necessary.
After I really like the Sally Lockhart books, this was a huge let-down. I suspected it after reading The Subtle Knife, but still ended up very disappointed and annoyed.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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27 June, 2016:
Finished reading
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27 June, 2016:
Reviewed