Product Description

Will is the bearer of the subtle knife. He has promised his dying father that he will deliver the terrible blade to Lord Asriel. War is coming, the greatest war there has ever been, and the knifeis the only weapon that can defeat the enemy. A stranger in a world that is not his own, Will sets out on a perilous journey. But can he fulfil his promise when Lyra, his brave companion, has disappeared...?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20890 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Philip Pullman brings The Amber Spyglass to the spellbinding "His Dark Materials" sequence, which dazzles everyone who reads it, children and adults alike. After the original Northern Lights, he kept up the quality in The Subtle Knife, the second title in the trilogy. Now he brings the series to an extraordinary conclusion. Will and Lyra, the two children at the heart of the books, have become separated amidst great dangers. Can they find each other, and their friends? Then complete their mysterious quest before it's too late? The great rebellion against the dark powers that hold Lyra's world, and many others, in thrall is nearing its climax. She and Will have crucial parts to play, but they don't know what it is that they must do, and terrible powers are hunting them down.

The pace of the book is compelling, the writing powerful. Pullman's plotting is intricate and cunning, surprising the reader again and again. Perhaps what is most striking of all, however, is the depth of the characterisation. Lord Asriel, Mrs Coulter, Iorek Byrnison the king of the armoured bears, a host of minor characters, most of all Will and Lyra themselves: the book is a library of beautifully drawn, remarkably convincing characters walking in worlds of marvels.

In this volume the cosmic dimensions of the story become more prominent, as a great conflict across many universes comes to a head--how well the narrative sustains such immensely weighty resonances is a question critics may well disagree on. The author's beliefs also come more into the open, and with them a polemic anti-religious theme that will please some readers and alienate others.

Philip Pullman's writing commands immense respect; more than that, it is raising the profile of the best children's books among adults, as demanding critics of all ages fall in love with this remarkable trilogy. --David Pickering

Customer Reviews

A Great Ending!

If you don't want to know how His Dark Materials ends, look away now...!

No book is perfect. In this trilogy, the author throws his net so widely that there are almost bound to be some loose ends, inconsistencies, and so on. I doubt whether such things greatly detract from a reader's enjoyment. But the feature of this book which really "gets" to readers is its ending.

In this trilogy, the author has created a universe (or universes) in which anything is possible or conceivable. We, therefore, naturally expect a happy ending. Pullman could easily have provided one. Instead, he has created an ending which is at least bitter-sweet if not downright sad. Readers have been both moved and disturbed by this and, as I think the ending is the book's finest feature, I would like to offer a comment or two.

The love between Lyra and Will is carefully prepared but it nevertheless comes as something of a shock because it occurs so very late in the novel. Pulman has been accused of making an unnecessary assault upon the readers' heartstrings, even of gratuitous sensationalism. I disagree for three reasons. Firstly, the love is an important part of the plot because it actually has a physical impact upon the environment in which it happens. (The author does not explain exactly why this happens - one of the "loose ends" referred to above!) Secondly, the love between Will and Lyra is of an emotional rather than of a gratuitously sexual nature. Many readers, it seems, fail to grasp the distinction. But isn't it possible - especially when young - to be helplessly in love with someone without necessarily wanting to have sex with them? Likewise, is it not possible to lust after someone you don't like very much - like Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter? Finally, the love element draws together a great many of the moral themes of both the novel in question and the trilogy as a whole. Love is seen not as some selfish gratification of individual desires but as a whole way of living, in which doing the right thing for the right reasons, especially in defiance of power and authority, becomes more important than putting oneself first and getting what one wants. The two protagonists can be seen, throughout the trilogy, as agents of Love opposed to the oppression of authority / religion. Their acceptance of their situation, and their affirmation of the value of life and existence, is thus all the more moving. It certainly haunted this reader for days after finishing the book.

A great conclusion to a great series. I can only think of one other author who offers so much to both younger and older readers and that is Lewis Carrol - a very different author but one whose books, like Pullman's, can be understood at many different levels.

Let us hope that when the book is made into a film, the producers concerned will have the courage to present the ending as Pullman wrote it. And let us all hope that Pullman is never so seduced by success that he yields to the temptation to provide a "happily-ever-after" sequel.

After all - Puccini made a whole career out of making people cry!

It sounds sad, but I can't recommend this book enough
I know it does sound sad, and most customer reviews just say "yes, it's great, it's the best book I've ever read" and that sort of thing. In this case, though, I think it probably is.

The intricacies of the plot, the characters and the ideas are incredible and enveloping. The story is fast-paced and multi-faceted. The emotional involvement is second to no other book I have ever read. It is a very sad book in parts, but also very uplifting. It made me believe in love, and life, and all those sorts of things.

You may not be as emotionally malleable as me, and so may not find youself affected so profoundly by the book as I have been, but if you enjoyed Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife, then there is really nothing to do other than to read this one and be astounded. If you haven't read those two titles, then be very aware that this is a trilogy and that it will make much more sense if you read them first.

Above all else this book highlights the dizzy heights that Philip Pullman's story-telling can take you. It is a classic book in a classic trilogy. What more can be said?

A classic concoction of cunning and cleverness!
Pullman's third and final Dark Material's book is as phenomonal and groundbreaking as the previous two at least. Using a recipe of adventure, love, emotion and fantasy he has created a universe (well several, apparently) of his own. The first book since Lord Of The Rings to actually depict a world where you could actually live. Also in likeness to Tolkien's masterpiece, it has some amazing battles, I won't spoil it for those who haven't read it, but the final one is incredible. I found this book enthralling and read it in two days.

The plot at the start is about four or fivefold with several storylines slowly running their course. As in many adventures the seperate 'subplots' eventually merge into a wonderful finale. Then for about seven chapters at the end there is the twist that every reader was waiting for...

This book will be brilliant forever. Its greatness lies in the 'subtlety' (a word frequently mentioned in His Dark Material's 2) of the web of characters, universes and relationships. Lord Asriel for instanceis a perfeect example. A complex, sometimes unruly individual with very centred ideas. Compelling stuff...