Borrowed from public library. Well written story. Even if I thought the ending unjust ( )

This is my favorite book from the trilogy. Yes it has a slow start but it more than makes up for it in the end. I was literally at the edge of my seat with my nose practically touching the pages as I read. ( )

This book, unlike the other two, has a slow start. Of course, it's also considerably longer than the other two. Unfortunately, Lyra spends about the first third of the book unconscious! Will has some stuff to do while she's conked out, of course, but not exactly a whole lot-- and like in The Subtle Knife, all of the important things are being done by characters who are not our protagonists. But this one picks up once Lyra and Will are reunited and decide to journey to the Land of the Dead: they're once again active parts of the story, driving the narrative instead of reacting to it, and they're both on top form, especially Lyra, who is at her manipulative best. All of the material in the Land of the Dead is fabulous, at turns harrowing and joyful. Once they get out, then there's of course their time with Mary Malone among the mulefa, which is great in its own way. I think Mary Malone is the most interesting character in the trilogy who's not Lyra or Will, so it's nice to see her step into prominence here. All in all, it's another excellent installment in the His Dark Materials trilogy; the start is somewhat slow and disappointing, but once the story kicks into gear, it's on par with the excellent first book. And that ending! Oh, that ending! I don't think I have ever read a line more heartbreaking than this: "He kissed her again and again, and each kiss was nearer to the last one of all."

A slow start without any thread to remind me where the action had left off the previous book put me off for a while. I pushed through and eventually got into it. Sort of disappointed that the great confrontation I was expecting Lyra to have to face never manifested -- I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't all sorts of other characters throwing themselves in front of the children to take out their obstacles.things that still bother me, or at least make me ponder:* why Lyra? What marks her as special?* Why is the trilogy called His Dark Materials? Whose? ( )

Lyra and Will continue their dimension-hopping adventure, with a stop in the world of the dead, and come to some amazing conclusions about themselves and life, while the battle for the fate of the universe is fought around them. In the conclusion to the His Dark Materials trilogy, Lord Asriel finishes his fight against the kingdom of heaven while his child and her friend attempt to make things right by finding the dead Roger. In true epic fashion, there are a great many characters and locations, so that it may be rather difficult to keep track of what is happening to who where. The sense of mystery, and the hope of finally achieving resolution pulls the plot along, but the climax might leave some rather empty: are we to believe that two thirteen-year-olds admitting they love each other changes the destiny of the universe? This book is quite blatant about pushing an agenda which may upset many, with God trying to stifle humanity and His church being the evildoers. Those that have made it this far will no doubt want to finish the story, but may wish that it had been fleshed out a little more. ( )