The Amber Spyglass
Tina
The Golden Compass is all about adventure. The Subtle Knife raised a lot of questions. This book is all about the heart. The third installment of Pullman’s trilogy is the longest and the most moving of the three parts.
There are three separate events told in this book. The main story is the journey of Will and Lyra. Lyra was kidnapped by Mrs. Coulter and Will saved her with the help of Iorek. In the process, the subtle knife was broken and he asked Iorek to fix it. Then they journeyed to the world of the dead where no living soul has ever gone before. Joining them in this journey is the angel Balthamos and two Gallivespian spies of Lord Asriel, Tialys and Salmakia. They have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save Roger and the other dead souls trapped in the world of the dead.
In another world, Lord Asriel learned of the prophecy involving Lyra and upon realizing that the Magisterium is after her daughter’s life, he rushed to save them. But when Lyra and Will escaped and went to the world of the dead, he abandoned the pursuit and focused his energies in the final preparations for the war against the Authority and his Regent, Metatron. Even the witches and the armored bears joined Lord Asriel’s side in this war. Most importantly, he managed to convince Marisa Coulter to join his side and leave the Magisterium. They battled Metatron face-to-face and defeated him, but died along with him as they pushed Metatron into the abyss. In the end, Lord Asriel and Marisa Coutler sacrificed themselves to save their daughter, Lyra.
Meanwhile, Dr. Malone was forced to leave her world and she entered the world of the mulefa. She lived with these strange creatures, learning their language and way of life, and she managed to create a device, the amber spyglass, that enabled her to see Dust (in mulefa language, it is called sraf). Through the mulefa, she learned more about the origins of Dust and how all living things depend on it, and learned of the impending danger: the Dust is leaking somewhere at an alarming rate and this is the reason why the seedpod trees (the source of wheels and oil for the mulefa) are dying. If this continues, the mulefa (and eventually, the other worlds as well) will die.
Lyra and Will succeeded in letting the ghosts out of the world of the dead, and with the death of Metatron, the reign of the Authority is now over. Lyra and Will escaped to the world of the mulefa, and learned about Dust from Dr. Malone. For the first time, they realized that they love each other, and their love made the stream of Dust change its course. This happiness is short-lived, because they learned that the openings that the subtle knife makes causes the Dust to leak. In addition, a new Specter is born everytime a window is opened using the knife. To save everyone, all openings between worlds must be closed, except one. They also learned that they could only live their full lives in their own worlds. In the end, they decided to part ways and live on their own worlds, closing all openings except the opening they created in the world of the dead.
Thoughts on the Book
I had mixed reactions after reading the final chapter in the journey of Lyra and Will. I got bored in some parts, and honestly I am annoyed with some of the characters. But the hopeless romantic in me cried while reading the last chapter of this book.
I felt bored while I was reading the part of Dr. Malone and her interaction with the mulefa. What can you expect, the mulefa led boring lives. But it was essential to the story, and taking out those parts will make the plot unbelievable. It is worth the wait, and things will make much more sense after Mary created the amber spyglass. The mulefa’s world is the perfect setting for the last few chapters in this book because of the quiet ways of the mulefa. There’s a sense of peace and serenity that is needed to build up the final scene.
I am not really sure of what I think about Lord Asriel. I might be biased because of what he did in The Golden Compass, but he is portrayed as a man with a sense of justice (as explained by Lord Faa of the gyptian tribe and the witch Ruta Skadi). And he did love Lyra, although he wasn’t very good in expressing it. Maybe the author intended to put an air of mystery around Lord Asriel, making him appear like a flawed hero. Marisa Coulter on the other hand, underwent a transformation that surprised me a bit. She was a villain when the trilogy started, but she is now portrayed as a loving mother who would do anything to save her daughter.
I really enjoyed reading the book whenever the focus shifts on Lyra and Will. I can’t help but admire their selflessness and willpower. It takes a lot of determination to go to the land of the dead to see Roger. It takes strength of character to leave Pan behind and continue to journey to the world of the dead. More importantly, it takes a big heart to decide to leave one opening for the souls of the dead people instead of using the opening for them to visit each other. I cried when they realized that they cannot be together. It’s just too tragic. Still, it warms my heart whenever I read something that demonstrates man’s capability to be selfless.
In conclusion, I think a line from the book best summarizes the message it wants to convey:
…and the knife had broken because, he thought, it had at last met something it couldn’t cut, and that was his love for her.
Posted on: Monday, June 9, 2008 at 10:16 am 
Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.