"The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman - review

Hatice Giritli

Group 9 Friday 5th November 2004

My Book Review of the Week: The Amber Spyglass

This week I chose to read the novel “The Amber Spyglass” by Philip Pullman. He was born in Norwich on 19th October 1946. The early part of his life was spent travelling all over the world, because his father and then his step father were both in the Royal Air Force. He spent part of his childhood in Australia, where he first met the wonders of comics, and grew to love Superman and Batman in particular.

After he left school he went to Exeter College, oxford, to read English. He did a number of odd jobs for a while, and then moved back to Oxford to become a teacher. He taught at various middle schools for 12 years, and then moved to Westminster College, Oxford, to be a part-time lecturer. He taught courses on the Victorian novel and on the folk tale, and also a course examining how words and pictures fit together. He eventually left teaching in order to write full-time.

“The Amber Spyglass” brings the conspiracy of “The Golden Compass” and “The Subtle Knife” to a heart stopping close, marking the third and final volume as the most powerful of the trilogy. Along with the return of Lyra, Will, Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel, Dr. Mary Malone, and Iorek Byrnison the armored bear. In “The Amber Spyglass” we are introduced to a host of new characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with the power to see Dust; Gallivespian Lord Roke, a hand-high spy-master to Lord Asriel; and Metatron, a fierce and mighty angel. And this final volume brings startling revelations, too: the painful price Lyra must pay to walk through the land of the dead, the haunting power of Dr. Malone's amber spyglass, and the names of who will live - and who will die - for love. And all the while, war rages with the Kingdom of Heaven, a brutal battle that - in its shocking outcome - will reveal the secret of Dust. Lyra was kidnapped by her mother and put to sleep in a valley by the snow line. While she slept she had dreams about her friend Roger, and her act of betrayal. Lyra makes a strong but painful decision of leaving her daemon behind in the world of the dead to see and rescue her friend Roger.

Wills job is to accompany her to keep her safe and to take the knife to Lord Asriel but he doesn’t do this at first. He takes Lyra down to the world of the dead to rescue Roger and all the other dead people. Then they go to Lord Asriel who sacrifices himself to kill Metatron, the angel authority, to keep his daughter and Will safe. He and Mrs Coulter, Lyra’s mum, work together to push Metatron into the Abyss but fall in to it with him. Then his task is to show the angels how to close a window ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Philip Pullman uses a lot of description in his novels. He gives the readers the satisfaction they expect from the book:- well structured story line, good characters, interesting settings and plots, supreme elegance of style and tone, a richly inventive imaginative landscape, and, some very big ideas fearlessly explored. His style of writing is descriptive and imaginative.

The themes used in “The Amber Spyglass” are Love – In” The Amber Spyglass”, Will says to Serafina, "Thank you, Serafina Pekkala, for rescuing us at the belvedere and for everything else. Please be kind to Lyra for as long as she lives. I love her more than anyone has ever been loved." Courage- where Lyra leaves her daemon behind in the World of dead and fear- when Lyra and Will fear that the other will get hurt and that they will never see each other again.

There are eight new characters in “The Amber Spyglass”:- Ama: a herdsman's daughter whose curiosity and kindness help save Lyra from the clutches of Mrs. Coulter.

Balthamos: one of Will's Angel guides. Like all of his kind he is wise beyond human understanding, though his nature is sarcastic.

Baruch: a low-ranking angel and the younger of Will's Angel guides. The love he shares with Balthamos allows them to communicate with each other across great distances.

Father Gomez: an agent of the Consistorial Court of Discipline, Father Gomez has been schooled in the highly secret doctrine called Pre-emptive penance, which allows him absolution for the sin of murder. He is sent out by the Court to find - and kill - Lyra.

Lord Roke: Gallivespian spy-captain to Lord Asriel. His agents the Lady Almakia and Chevalier Tialys are sent to protect Lyra and Will and ultimately help to guide them through the world of the Dead.

Metatron: a mighty angel appointed by the Authority as regent of the kingdom of heaven.

No-Name: a filthy, harpy-like creature that guards the passage between the World of the Dead and the World of the Living. Given power by the Authority to see the worst in everyone, No-name and her compatriots plague the souls in the world of the Dead.

Sattamax: Mulefa Elder who describes the inexplicable demise of the Seed Pod trees and enlists Mary to help his people find the cause and the solution to their dire situation.

I think there is no target audience for this book because I think it can be read by all age groups.

In conclusion I found the novel “The Amber Spyglass” just as interesting and enjoyable as the first two books in the trilogy. It uses a lot of imagination and descriptive words.

Out of ten I would give “The Amber Spyglass” a ten because I enjoyed reading it and was hooked into the third and final book of the trilogy after reading the first chapter. I liked the way Philip Pullman added a small amount of what was happening in Lyra’s dream in between the chapters. I recommend it to anyone and everyone!!!!

By Hatice Giritli

Group 9