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The Finale
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From: Joseph Matzner <matzner>
Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 08:48:30 -0500
I agree with Clare Ferguson when she wrote, "i've really been enjoying reading these discussions even though I didn't like Amber Spyglass nearly as much as I wanted to" and "I lent the book to friends of my and while my friend felt the ending of The Amber Spyglass was trite (as do I)..."
I have raved abut this series based on the strength of the first 2 books. I have been quiet about my disappointment with the 3rd book because I thought I had somehow missed something that I did not miss in the first 2 books.
To me, "The Amber Spyglass" was anticlimactic. The scene that was built up to be Armageddon, didn't work for me. It seemed very disjointed and unsatisfying. It seemed as though many important events were occurring simultaneously and they were all such matter of consequence! At least I had felt they were all matters of consequence from the way the first books prepared me for these events. Beings from all the worlds were battling, Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter were fighting Metronon--it was good vs. evil with winner take all! But instead of those events taking center stage, the story switched to Lyra and Will looking for their daemons. As they looked for their daemons, Lyra and Will stumbled onto the Authority. When they let the Authority out, he just dissolved and blew away. It was never explained why he was kept that way or what his dissolving/death meant. Was Pullman saying "God is dead?" The "death" of the Authority, the death of Metronon, the outcome of the war, etc., none of this was ever mentioned again. I expected these events to somehow affect what was to come next. I too felt the love story and separation of Lyra and Will was trite.
In the first 2 books, every time I re-read something (and I did this often), I found new meanings. There were so many layers, so many interpretations, so well thought out! I felt Pullman just didn't put the same effort into "The Amber Spyglass" as the first 2 books. I thought it was disappointing. I continue though, to highly recommend this series based on the strengths of the first 2 books. I believe most young readers will enjoy "The Amber Spyglass" for what it is and not need the "deep" meanings/explanations that I was looking for.
Jo Matzner
Received on Wed 09 May 2001 08:48:30 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 09 May 2001 08:48:30 -0500
I agree with Clare Ferguson when she wrote, "i've really been enjoying reading these discussions even though I didn't like Amber Spyglass nearly as much as I wanted to" and "I lent the book to friends of my and while my friend felt the ending of The Amber Spyglass was trite (as do I)..."
I have raved abut this series based on the strength of the first 2 books. I have been quiet about my disappointment with the 3rd book because I thought I had somehow missed something that I did not miss in the first 2 books.
To me, "The Amber Spyglass" was anticlimactic. The scene that was built up to be Armageddon, didn't work for me. It seemed very disjointed and unsatisfying. It seemed as though many important events were occurring simultaneously and they were all such matter of consequence! At least I had felt they were all matters of consequence from the way the first books prepared me for these events. Beings from all the worlds were battling, Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter were fighting Metronon--it was good vs. evil with winner take all! But instead of those events taking center stage, the story switched to Lyra and Will looking for their daemons. As they looked for their daemons, Lyra and Will stumbled onto the Authority. When they let the Authority out, he just dissolved and blew away. It was never explained why he was kept that way or what his dissolving/death meant. Was Pullman saying "God is dead?" The "death" of the Authority, the death of Metronon, the outcome of the war, etc., none of this was ever mentioned again. I expected these events to somehow affect what was to come next. I too felt the love story and separation of Lyra and Will was trite.
In the first 2 books, every time I re-read something (and I did this often), I found new meanings. There were so many layers, so many interpretations, so well thought out! I felt Pullman just didn't put the same effort into "The Amber Spyglass" as the first 2 books. I thought it was disappointing. I continue though, to highly recommend this series based on the strengths of the first 2 books. I believe most young readers will enjoy "The Amber Spyglass" for what it is and not need the "deep" meanings/explanations that I was looking for.
Jo Matzner
Received on Wed 09 May 2001 08:48:30 AM CDT
