Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺
A remarkable conclusion to an incredible series
Summary:
This installment picks up right where the second book left off. Will has just met his father and witnessed his death, but while he was witnessing this, Lyra was kidnapped by her mother, Mrs. Coulter. The book opens with Will realizing that Lyra has been taken by her mother. He then sets out to find her.
With the help of a number of individuals, including Iorek Byrnison, Will finally does find Lyra and free her from her mother, but all of this coincides with the arrival of rival armies - some from Lord Asriel's army and some from the Church of Lyra's world.
It is also discovered that the reason Lyra was kidnapped by her mother was because her mother wants to protect her. The Church wants her killed because it has been prophesied that Lyra will be instrumental in the victory of Lord Asriel's forces over God and The Authority (his Church, headed by his servant Megatron/Enoch).
Mrs. Coulter actually begins her final machinations when she is captured by Asriel but flees back to the Church. However, this time she is acting as a spy for Asriel and not the Church. She ultimately ends up returning to Asriel's fortress to help in the final confrontation with The Authority.
Meanwhile, Lyra and Will have one more task they must perform before they go to Asriel to help him defeat God. Lyra promised her childhood friend, Roger, who was sacrificed by Asriel to open the inter-dimensional portal (1st book), that she would find him in the world of the dead. With Will's help she makes her way into the world of the dead where they realize they have to free the dead, who are being kept there in misery and are prevented from doing what they were always meant to - return to the matter from which they came. Will ultimately uses the knife to cut a portal out of hell, allowing souls to return to the dust from which they came.
That portal just happens to open up into the world of the mulefa. Mary Malone, the dark matter researcher from the second book, decided after meeting Lyra that she was going to figure this dust matter out. Her brief encounter with dust directed her to leave Oxford in search of answers. Using the I-Ching, which also channels dust, she makes her way to the world of the mulefa. The mulefa are sentient creatures but look somewhat similar to elephants except they have a diamond shaped torso that allows them to ride on wheels (a cool thought experiment to be sure). It is during her time with the mulefa that Mary discovers a method for viewing dust - The Amber Spyglass. She also begins to realize that dust is created by sentient life.
When Will and Lyra escape from hell, they go first to Asriel's battlefield to find their daemons. They arrive to find Asriel's forces have engaged those of The Authority. As it turns out, The Authority is an ancient and powerless creature that has been trapped inside a sarcophagus like box by Megatron. His legions are actually being controlled by the merciless Megatron, who has usurped his authority. When an attempt to smuggle The Authority out of Megatron's fortress is foiled, the box lands near Will and Lyra who, not realizing what they are doing, cut open the box with The Subtle Knife and free God, who quickly dissipates back to dust to end his miserable existence. And so God dies.
But in order for Asriel's war to succeed, Will and Lyra have to reunite with their daemons, which they left behind when they entered the world of the dead. In order to give them the time they need, Asriel and Mrs. Coulter face off with Megatron and drag him down into an abyss inside the world of the dead. Eventually Will and Lyra do find their daemon's, but they are in grave danger so they quickly cut a portal into the world of the mulefa where they eventually reunite with Mary. In this realm of peace and quiet they are finally able to explore the limits of their relationship, including a scene that could possibly be construed as them having sex, though it isn't explicitly so.
But despite their love for each other, Will and Lyra also realize they cannot remain together. The opening of the portals has consequences. Each time one is opened it allows dust to escape and creates a spector, which sucks out people's souls. Also, people are designed to live in the world to which they were born. As Will's father discovered, if you spend to much time in a different world, you will become sick and die young. However, because dust is created by sentient life, imagination, and progress, dust can afford to be lost. Will and Lyra think they may have found the answer for them to stay together - leave a door open for them. But they quickly realize that there is only enough dust produced to allow only one door to be left open, and that has to be the door allowing people to escape from hell. They cannot remain together.
Thus, in the end Will and Lyra have to part, despite their remarkable love for each other.
Comments:
First, let me say that this book is incredibly well-written, as is the whole series. It deals with some very serious matters and it does so well, offering a perspective that is likely to be foreign to many people. And even though I have a few criticisms about this book, I absolutely loved it and recommend the entire series.
First, there were two plot lines that were unsatisfactory. The first was the idea of Lyra as Eve,
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