A review by sarahjonewt
His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Book 3) by Philip Pullman
5.0
My opinion of this novel has been greatly influenced by the fact that I was in the fifth grade when I first read it. I also read it before I read either The Golden Compass or The Subtle Knife so I ended up reading it no less than seven times in order to wrap my head around the myriad story-lines. And, through the resultant confusion, crisis-of-faith, and the heart-wrenching ending, I loved it. I'm not sure if I would hold it in the same regard had I read it for the first time only recently. However, I do know that, bias or not, this novel is very well written and achieves a depth of characterization that I don't think I've found matched anywhere else.
The Amber Spyglass is complex with regards to the plot, but not over-wrought and Pullman's genius shows itself in how neatly everything comes together. He spares no effort in fleshing out all of the characters without affecting the pacing of the story. To me, The Amber Spyglass fits the science-fiction genre at only a superficial level. There are multiple universes and unique technology that we encounter, but, these play a very peripheral role, which is another reason I fell in love with it.
The Amber Spyglass is complex with regards to the plot, but not over-wrought and Pullman's genius shows itself in how neatly everything comes together. He spares no effort in fleshing out all of the characters without affecting the pacing of the story. To me, The Amber Spyglass fits the science-fiction genre at only a superficial level. There are multiple universes and unique technology that we encounter, but, these play a very peripheral role, which is another reason I fell in love with it.