Reviews

I resisted reading these books for a long time. Because I don't like plot-driven books, and I especially don't like plot-driven young adult books, and also people love these stories so deeply that I thought something fundamental would change in our relationship if I read them and said 'meh.'

But also, every time I let slip that I'm a bit of a maltheist, people would ask if I had read this trilogy, which piqued my curiosity.

So yes: your pestering worked, and yes: you are all right, this is just the best.

kendal_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

5.0

smackingcheese's review against another edition

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3.75

Lyra falls asleep a lot

angus_mckeogh's review against another edition

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4.0

I've had this on my shelf for quite some time. I was very much interested in reading The Amber Spyglass based on it being the first children's novel considered for the Booker Prize. And logically to get to that book I should read the first two books in the series. Moreover, I'd previously read, The Ruby in the Smoke, which is the first book in the Sally Lockhart series, and I'd have to say it was much too juvenile for my tastes at this time (similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events in that respect) thus I was left unimpressed. However, His Dark Materials has much more gravitas in the topics it's broaching and the situations which take place. Furthermore I found it engaging and definitely left me looking forward to when I get to the next book in the series.

kspeckl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

annashiv's review against another edition

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4.0

I had a friend who was obsessed with this series, and I can certainly see why. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm and constant talking about it kind of spoiled the experience for me, which usually doesn't happen. I just couldn't seem to separate myself from her views of it, and so I enjoyed it less than I probably would have had I known nothing about it. Still, it was beautifully written. There are several good characters, and the plot is compelling. The ending was not enough to make me want to finish it which probably wasn't helped by my friends opinions and enthusiasms. Still, I'm glad I read it. It was certainly interesting, and I don't understand why it is so controversial. I have heard about the other controversial things in the later books as well, so I'm not ignorant to them. I just don't understand why a book is considered so dangerous to children's beliefs. I think it encourages a child to think for themselves more than that religion is bad. I think it is good for a child to learn to make their own decisions and conclusions. Any adult who thinks this will ruin religion for anyone must not think their faith is strong to hold up to words on a page. Books can be powerful, I agree with that, but the changes a book makes on a person are the changes they allow. Not everyone gets the same things out of any book and they only get what they are looking for in a way that is hard to explain. In any case, just let your child read the stupid book. It's good.

natasha_saidikowski's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is as good as I remembered. It ends spectacularly and there’s a lot of excellence in the middle. My big criticism is the amount of exposition, even in dialogue. This book is an origin story and the kicking off point of this trilogy (which in many ways has grown into a saga with The Book of Dust series). As such, it has a lot of groundwork to lay so the audience can understand what comes later. And all of that information is provided as exposition, often in the form of dialogue from various characters, but strictly exposition nonetheless. Oftentimes, we just get blocks of text that could be dialogue or not, with no indication of what the characters are doing as they speak (so presumably just sitting there) or even how they’re speaking (so they just come off as pedantic lecturers). It’s important and interesting information, but it could have been presented in a more interesting way.

If you can slog through that exposition, there’s some pretty exciting stuff, from the battle in Bolvangar to mortal combat in Svalbard. And, of course, the last few pages are extraordinarily exciting as Lyra and Pan head off on their next adventure.

Definitely worth the read. Just be aware that there’s a lot of history and world to establish.

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