BBC #3, His Dark Materials, book 3, The Amber Spyglass

*AGAIN, IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BOOK 2, THIS REVIEW WILL BE A SPOILER*
And even if you have read book 2, this will contain spoilers for book 3.

Controversy first!

I'm not sure if Philip Pullman meant this series to be a opposing side to Narnia or not, but it sure does relate a negative opinion of churches and God. Near the end, Mary Malone explains how she found out there was no God. God, the Authority, dies (notably Lyra and Will were actually trying to help him, not kill him). The Angel next to God is killed by Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter. The Authority had locked all the dead spirits in a state of perpetual misery, regardless of how they had lived their lives. The church is pretty much destroyed in Lyra's world. Seems pretty anti-religious to me.

However, since my beliefs are very different than the beliefs which the main characters find so abominable, it's really easy for me to look past that part. Mary Malone said "I came to believe that good and evil are names for what people do, not for what they are." She was using this as a reason not to believe in God or the church, but that logic doesn't work for me. I believe judging people based alone on what we feel is good and evil is not our job, that there is a layer deeper which we can't see. Mrs. Coulter is a good example of this. All you see from her in the first 2 books is hate and cruelty in the name of the church. Then she turns around and gives her life to save her daughter and the world. The under layer had the potential for her to do good things, as well as evil.

I feel like the flaw to the argument against the church is that Pullman depicts the church as black and a world without the church as white. In reality, it's much like Mary's statement. Good and evil are names for what actions the people in the church do, not what the church itself is.

If you're religious and are worried about what your kids will do with the information they get in these books, discuss it with them. Helps to have read it yourself first though. I wouldn't forbid it, but hey, that's my opinion. You can raise your children however you want.

Again, once we move past the controversy you find a very delightful book. I found the beginning of this one to be a little slower than the beginning of the other two, but it was still good. Lyra and Will's adventures through the worlds--including the world of the dead and the world of the mulefa-- is intriguing. I did think the part just before the ending was almost anti-climatic. The whole story based itself on Lyra and Will saving the day: the knife destroying the Authority etc. Lyra and Will tried to SAVE the Authority. He died because he was old. It was Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter who destroyed the Metatron. And all Will and Lyra had to do to "save" the world in the end was kiss and then give each other up. Yeah, the giving each other up was hard. They loved each other. But after all the adventures they went through, it wasn't as BIG as I was expecting.

I do have to admit when they gave each other up, I almost cried. So it was a tear jerker. The books make you come to love Lyra and Will and see their love for each other. I enjoyed that part of the ending, even if it was sad. I also think that since the book explained a little bit more about what happened to Lyra when she went home, it should have done the same with Will. But not the worst.

I really recommend this book. It makes you think about beliefs while wrapping you into a grand adventure with two incredible kids. His Dark Materials is a good read.