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 Reviewed by: The Rev 9th Jul 2001 
 


The Amber Spyglass

Philip Pullman
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Pullman brings His Dark Materials to a close with a big, sprawling, apocalyptic piece of work that ties up all those loose ends quite satisfactorily. The most amazing thing about The Amber Spyglass-- since by now series readers should be perfectly familiar with the setup/revelation dynamic (and again, there are many things Pullman set up in the earlier books that are obvious, but their fuction seems to be to conceal the less obvious setups, equally brilliant in this book as the last)-- is that by the last hundred pages in this novel, the reader has seen any number of ways in which Pullman could wimp out and take the easy road with his characters. Happy endings all around, the world is saved, blah blah blah. Nope. Pullman allows his characters to think that happy endings are in the offing before hitting them with the painful truth that, hey, this is real life. And after 1,200 pages of Pullman's many parallel universes, it might as well BE real life.

I was pained to see this series end. Probably the finest series of fantasy novels I've read since first being introduced to Michael Moorcock's Elric novels back in high school. Hopefully His Dark Materials will achieve the same lasting success those books have had.



See also
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman reviewed by Ee Lin
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman reviewed by The Rev
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman reviewed by Ann M.
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman reviewed by The Rev
Count Brass by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
Firing the Cathedral by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
Kane of Old Mars by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
King of the City by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
London Bone by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Bane of the Black Sword by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Blood Red Game by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Champion of Garathorm by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Chronicles of Corum by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Dreamthief's Daughter by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
The Ice Schooner by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Jewel in the Skull by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Mad God's Amulet by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Quest for Tanelorn by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Runestaff by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Sailor on the Seas of Fate by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Skrayling Tree by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ian D.
The Sword of the Dawn by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Swords Trilogy by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The Vanishing Tower by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev
The War Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock reviewed by Ee Lin
The Weird of the White Wolf by Michael Moorcock reviewed by The Rev