The Amber Spyglass (2000)

*A few spoilers from The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife.*

The final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. I understand that Phillip Pullman is currently in the process of writing a second trilogy within this universe, but I haven’t dived into it yet. So while I don’t know what follows this story, I think the book is a strong conclusion to what came before.

The Magisterium is after Lyra. She’s part of a prophecy that could spell their ruin, and they’re determined to find her. Meanwhile, Lyra’s father Lord Asriel has accelerated his war against, not just the Magisterium, but the Authority itself (i.e. God,) and the subtle knife Will wields could be instrumental in the fight. But as everyone jockeys over the two kids, they’re making their own path. Will can use the knife to cut “windows” between different worlds, and Lyra has just asked him to go somewhere seemingly impossible: the land of the dead, where she hopes to find and help her late friend Roger.

This is such an interesting series. Each book introduces new fantastical elements that don’t seem like they’d mesh with what’s previously been established, and yet, somehow it all works. Lyra’s world already contains an intriguing mix of ingredients—dæmons, witches, armored bears, and so forth—and the introduction of other worlds increases that sense exponentially. In this book, we meet new beings like the Gallivespians and the mulefa, along with actual Angels, new Dust-based inventions from Asriel, and the concept of a world where each person’s Death manifests as a being who follows them throughout their life.

In some ways, The Amber Spyglass follows what’s expected for the final installment of a series like this. We have the prophecy coming to a head and a climactic battle against the forces of Heaven, along with a natural deepening in Lyra and Will’s relationship. But the book also takes us in unexpected directions. As the forces gather around them on all sides, it’s intriguing to have Will and Lyra pivoting away from the main conflict to seek the land of the dead. And that big final battle does end with a bang, but it comes further from the end of the book than you might expect. The denouement is pretty extensive, and for my money, the emotional punch of it hits harder than the flashier action that prefaces it.

As I said in my previous reviews, it took me a little while to fully come around to this series. I found its concepts and inventions interesting from the start, but I needed more time to really get invested in the characters and their relationships. Once I did come around, though, I fell pretty hard for them. The final book brings it all home in a really compelling way, and there were multiple chapters that I read from the edge of my seat.

Because I’m writing these posts some time after I actually finished reading the trilogy, I’ve since gotten through the whole TV adaptation as well. But I think I’ll pause for a bit before I review that, just to give the two versions of the story a bit of their own space.

Warnings

Violence, disturbing imagery, and strong thematic elements.