And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat — and the shattering truth of their own destiny. The Amber Spyglass Will and Lyra, whose fates are bound together by powers beyond their own worlds, have been violently separated.
But they must find each other, for ahead of them lies the greatest war that has ever been — and a journey to a dark place from which no one has ever returned. In this darkly delicious sliver of a tale, Philip Pullman offers a glimpse of the enigmatic girl. His Dark Materials has 38 entries in the series.
Is he the best storyteller ever? In this central position, the final line is remarkably similar to that of the Two Towers, 'Frodo was alive but taken by the enemy'. Turning to Tolkein, in the introduction to his masterwork, he states that 'this is a tale which grew in the telling'. That is a feeling I had with the Subtle Knife, that new ideas are introduced which don't quite fit with what went before.
For example, for all of Asriel's historic attempts to blast a gateway between universes we find that others have been blithely stepping through windows for years. However while I may quible at some details, there is some fantastic writing, not least in the heroic death of a major character which brought me close to tears. The third volume, the Amber Spy Glass is vast in its ambition, but I'm afraid I found it the most flawed of the three.
It is the story of war in heaven, and one in which Pullman draws heavily on Milton's Paradise Lost, while also turning it on its head. This is the story of the triumph of humankind, its ascent rather than it fall.. The first problem I have with it is that it is simply over-written. One almost gets the impression that Pullman has grown in confidence relative to his editor. Scenes drag on unnecessarily, to the detriment of his narrative drive. Whereas the building of the world took place around the story in the Northern Lights, here the plot is subservient to the creation of new universes.
Secondly, the plot starts to get a bit ragged. Comparing once again with Tolkein, Pullman has undoubtedly created stronger characters, and also provides rounded female characters. However one of the beauties of the Lord of the Rings is its internal consistency. This is less the case with His Dark Materials.
Asriel, having apparently just escaped from his universe has seemingly built up a massive alliance and military infrastructure in no time at all. Mrs Coulter and Asriel go through enormous, scarcely credible character arcs, indeed in the case of the latter, it is less of an arc, more of a hairpin bend. Again, while having criticisms, I also thoroughly enjoyed a book in which Asriel seeks to replace the kingdom of heaven with a republic; a book in which the church uses both WMDs and individual assassins in an attempt to kill Lyra; a book in which armoured bears sail a river boat through central asia, using a flaming catapult against those who refuse them refuelling; a book in which Will and Lyra descend into the world of the dead; a book in which Mary Malone, the particle physicist takes on the role of the serpent in a garden of Eden inhabited by wheeled pachyderms;a book which ends with a heartbreaking sacrifice, but also on a note of bittersweet hope.
His Dark Materials is frequently described as being anti-christian. I'd say that is misleading, for the simple reason that there is no Christ figure, or reference to one, in the book. The religion in Lyras world is more like a sort of old testament Catholicism. And, of course, what are the Dark Materials?
Never heard of each other. Only about the works. Conversation turns to the two impressive works of art that Horley has recently added to his collection. A His Dark Materials story. The spellbinding sequel to The Golden Compass, the modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top Book of All Time," continues the epic adventure, catapulting readers between worlds, and toward a devastating discovery.
Lost in a new world, Lyra finds Will—a boy on the run, a murderer—a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels. Each is searching—Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father—but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power.
And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together The mysteries deepen and the wonders grow even more extravagant. Devilishly inventive. Popular Books. The Becoming by Nora Roberts. Fear No Evil by James Patterson.
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