The Amber Spyglass
World Fantasy Award nominee 2001.
The Amber Spyglass brings the intrigue of The Golden Compass and The
Subtle Knife to a heart-stopping end, marking the final volume of His
Dark Materials 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, come a host of new
characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with the power to
see Dust; Gallivespian Lord Roke, a hand-high spymaster to Lord Asriel;
and Metatron, a fierce and mighty angel.
So, too, come startling revelations: 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 uncover the secret of Dust.
Philip Pullman deftly brings the cliff-hangers and mysteries of His Dark Materials to an earthshattering conclusion – and confirms his fantasy trilogy as an undoubted and enduring classic.
Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman (born 1946) is an English writer. He is the best-selling author of His Dark Materials, a trilogy of fantasy novels, and a number of other books.
Life
Pullman was born in Norwich. The family travelled with his RAF pilot father's job, including to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where he spent time at school. His father was killed in a plane crash in 1953 when Pullman was seven. His mother remarried and with a move to Australia came Pullman's discovery of comic books including Superman and Batman. From 1957 he was educated at Ysgol Ardudwy school in Wales and spent time in Norfolk with his grandfather, a clergyman. Around this time Pullman discovered John Milton's Paradise Lost, which would become a major influence for His Dark Materials. From 1963 Pullman attended Exeter College, Oxford, receiving BA in 1968. Pullman married in 1970 and began teaching children.
His first fantasy novel was Galatea in 1978, but it was his school plays which inspired his first children's book, Count Karlstein, in 1982. He stopped teaching around the publication of The Ruby in the Smoke (1986), his second children's book, whose Victorian setting is indicative of Pullman's interest in that era.
Pullman taught part-time at Westminster College, Oxford between 1988 and 1996, continuing to write children's stories. He began His Dark Materials about 1993. The Golden Compass was published in 1996 and won the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. Pullman has been writing full-time since 1996. He was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list in 2004.
His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials consists of three primary books, and includes four additional books that complement the series but are not considered mandatory reads. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series His Dark Materials Universe
Book Reviews
I was very disappointed with The Amber Spyglass. I really enjoyed the series until I read this book. Without giving too much away, major characters completely turn away from their true nature. The plot falls apart in certain aspects. The series had a lot of potential, but the last installment did not live up to my expectations.