This book, and the series as a whole, just elicits an emotional reaction in me which is produced by few other books. It's not without its plotholes, conveniences and logical fallacies, and rereading it is an adult, I can see how the somewhat heavy handedness of the theological message and the writing of some female characters are valid criticisms. However, ultimately, reading a good book should make you feel things strongly, and whether it is due to its vivid characters, its imaginative worlds, its emotional conclusion or just pure nostalgia, The Amber Spyglass engages me on an emotional and an intellectual level, and leaves me perhaps less generically amazed than my younger self was, but all the more reflective and appreciative of Pullman's writing. A perfect book it may not be, but I think I will never not enjoy losing myself in it. ( )

Read it right after it came out in 2000. Hard to believe how young I was then---12---and now that I'm thinking of it, I'm curious if it'll read differently to me today.

I remember it being not quite as perfect as the first two, but still worthy. ( )

Ultimately, Pullman's reach exceeded his grasp. He just tried to cram too big a story into his trilogy (and especially in this last book). There are too many characters with incomplete story lines, who pop into the main narrative a little too frequently and a little too conveniently to save the protagonists. Properly fleshed out, this probably would have gone on for another novel or two. But by then, YA and adult readers alike would have lost interest because the story ultimately just isn't that interesting or satisfying.
The philosophical/metaphysical/theological point that Pullman introduces is just too muddled. Is the Authority God? Is Metatron? How can a being that "runs" multiple earths (if not their whole universes) be tricked so easily? And what the hell happens at the conclusion of the battle with the Kingdom of Heaven? We never learn because Lyra and Will just pop through to a different world and then completely lose interest in whether their friends survive. They never even once mention the battle again! Even 12-year-olds are not that self-absorbed.
In the end, I just kept listening because I had already committed so much time to the book. But had I never checked the book out from the library, I probably would never have missed knowing how the trilogy ended. ( )

I like the message and the ideas behind these books, but the plot didn't really blow me off my feet. Especially the whole big battle is completely underdeveloped for something which was granted so much attention in the earlier books. The dusty conclusion doesn't really satisfy after 3 volumes of building up to... what exactly?! ( )

I didn't like this one as much as the first, but I was still amazing writing and a very creative story. ( )