Scan barcode
A review by halthemonarch
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
4.0
Oooookay there’s a lot to love in the series. The unique language, the true and honest characterization of a large ensemble of characters, a massive plot all bowed together at the end to say free thinking and the spirit of unity and creativity will rebuild the republic of Heaven after rotting in the hands of the close-minded blah blah— It’s all good and great when you take several steps back from it. The fabric of the story started to fall apart in the second book for me. Now after finishing the trilogy, it felt like a detour in introducing our second protagonist that had no plot, that moved onto a conclusion filled with extradimensional imagery and a bunch of broad generalizations about how Pullman feels about Christianity.
At the end of book 2, enough has happened to turn Will and Lyra into steadfast friends. We open on book three and Lyra is telling Roger (she comatose, he a ghost) that Will is her greatest friend and ally. Then as soon as she wakes up, Lyra’s whole motivation for going to the world of the dead was to say sorry to Roger? “Sorry that my shitty dad killed you. That I guess I led you into a trap and betrayed you.” And everyone was just.... down with that plan? Will had lost his father, sure, but weren’t there more pressing issues like the war between Heaven and Earth? That the betrayal of the prophecy was to do with Lyra and Pan, and yet there was no mention of Will at all, not to mention that he’s totally devoid of personality— the whole book he’s mopping up his wounds, pining for his mother, or backing Lyra up. The concept that the Adam and Eve of old weren’t punished for seeking knowledge, and later through this grand adventure the multiverse would be blessed with a steady flow of cosmic energy because two adolescents fell in love at the right time, after the right ordeals, on the right planet, in sight of the right deities the worlds would be put back to normal again just seems coincidental. As much as I enjoyed each leg of the journey, none of it felt like part of the same story.
I keep trying to compliment these themes but it all seems random and chaotic. The lore of so many worlds coming together— the spectors in Cittegazze, the deamon-less people off Will and Mary’s world and yet the simple, teachable, available in less than a minute way to see one’s deamon Serafina imparts on Mary, the Mulefa and their problems, the existence of angels, how simple it was to convince the harpies to change jobs after a millenia, the instant re-death of Roger but the lingering spirits of John Parry and Lee Scoresby, how Angelica and her brothers were never mentioned again— It was a lot to take in!! It took me the whole three weeks the library had to lend it to me to finish this book. A lot was happening and there were many different layers to see and absorb.
It left a bad taste in my mouth that Asriel and Marisa died in service of their daughter after lying to, mistreating, and neglecting her for, in Marisa’s case the short time they knew each other and in Asriel’s her WHOLE LIFE. I understand Marisa’s side of it more easily than Asriel’s, which speaks to my unique experience about how complicated a mother’s love can be and what it looks like to be at war on the inside— Asriel never struck me as a model parent and after he killed his daughter’s best friend we barely hear from him except to be a foil for Mrs. Coulter’s frantic energy whilst captured or in danger. I can understand that from her very first appearance she was self serving, yes, but she did grow to have a genuine love for her daughter. Asriel seemed horrified at the idea of sacrificing her and sent regents to attain her when she was in danger, but he didn’t go through half the lengths Marisa went through to keep her safe, and yet they were both equal in their cruelty and equal in their martyrdom.
But as always I was charmed by Pullman’s style of writing. I was charmed by the world of the Mulefa and the Galithespians, I was charmed that love was the answer to all of the problems, to all of the wrongs of the universe and the. end to a knife that should have never been made. There’s a lot to find charming in this series, not least of which is the messages that one would be able to take away. I did feel it dragged and stuttered sometimes. It was repetitive with adjectives and some parts lacked proper tension or stakes, in my opinion? It felt like I was reading another Coehlo novel, except with more concrete details.
At the end of book 2, enough has happened to turn Will and Lyra into steadfast friends. We open on book three and Lyra is telling Roger (she comatose, he a ghost) that Will is her greatest friend and ally. Then as soon as she wakes up, Lyra’s whole motivation for going to the world of the dead was to say sorry to Roger? “Sorry that my shitty dad killed you. That I guess I led you into a trap and betrayed you.” And everyone was just.... down with that plan? Will had lost his father, sure, but weren’t there more pressing issues like the war between Heaven and Earth? That the betrayal of the prophecy was to do with Lyra and Pan, and yet there was no mention of Will at all, not to mention that he’s totally devoid of personality— the whole book he’s mopping up his wounds, pining for his mother, or backing Lyra up. The concept that the Adam and Eve of old weren’t punished for seeking knowledge, and later through this grand adventure the multiverse would be blessed with a steady flow of cosmic energy because two adolescents fell in love at the right time, after the right ordeals, on the right planet, in sight of the right deities the worlds would be put back to normal again just seems coincidental. As much as I enjoyed each leg of the journey, none of it felt like part of the same story.
I keep trying to compliment these themes but it all seems random and chaotic. The lore of so many worlds coming together— the spectors in Cittegazze, the deamon-less people off Will and Mary’s world and yet the simple, teachable, available in less than a minute way to see one’s deamon Serafina imparts on Mary, the Mulefa and their problems, the existence of angels, how simple it was to convince the harpies to change jobs after a millenia, the instant re-death of Roger but the lingering spirits of John Parry and Lee Scoresby, how Angelica and her brothers were never mentioned again— It was a lot to take in!! It took me the whole three weeks the library had to lend it to me to finish this book. A lot was happening and there were many different layers to see and absorb.
It left a bad taste in my mouth that Asriel and Marisa died in service of their daughter after lying to, mistreating, and neglecting her for, in Marisa’s case the short time they knew each other and in Asriel’s her WHOLE LIFE. I understand Marisa’s side of it more easily than Asriel’s, which speaks to my unique experience about how complicated a mother’s love can be and what it looks like to be at war on the inside— Asriel never struck me as a model parent and after he killed his daughter’s best friend we barely hear from him except to be a foil for Mrs. Coulter’s frantic energy whilst captured or in danger. I can understand that from her very first appearance she was self serving, yes, but she did grow to have a genuine love for her daughter. Asriel seemed horrified at the idea of sacrificing her and sent regents to attain her when she was in danger, but he didn’t go through half the lengths Marisa went through to keep her safe, and yet they were both equal in their cruelty and equal in their martyrdom.
But as always I was charmed by Pullman’s style of writing. I was charmed by the world of the Mulefa and the Galithespians, I was charmed that love was the answer to all of the problems, to all of the wrongs of the universe and the. end to a knife that should have never been made. There’s a lot to find charming in this series, not least of which is the messages that one would be able to take away. I did feel it dragged and stuttered sometimes. It was repetitive with adjectives and some parts lacked proper tension or stakes, in my opinion? It felt like I was reading another Coehlo novel, except with more concrete details.