The Amber Spyglass

Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass is the huge, daring last book of His Dark Materials, for 11 year olds who are ready for big questions about life, death and who's really in charge of the universe.

What happens

It picks up in a hidden cave high in the Himalayas. Lyra is asleep and has been for days. Mrs Coulter keeps her that way with a drink she brews herself, and tells the local villagers the girl is under an enchanter's spell. Is she keeping Lyra safe or keeping her prisoner? Even Mrs Coulter's own golden monkey isn't happy about it.

Somewhere else, Will is on his own with the subtle knife and two angels who won't leave him alone. They want him to take the knife to Lord Asriel. Will wants one thing only, to find Lyra first, and nothing they say will change that.

Balthamos, the grumpy one, is a brilliant character. He's sarcastic, sulky and deeply offended at having to pretend to be a blackbird. But he also loves his companion Baruch with his whole heart, and you believe it.

Will is wonderful too. He works out how to use the knife to open windows into any world, not just two. He's so determined and so tired, and when he finally shouts that he hates all the killing, you completely understand why.

It's a book that thinks as much as it fights. Early on the angels tell Will that the Authority, the being people call God, is actually an angel who lied about creating everything. Lyra dreams of a dark plain full of ghosts, where a little boy keeps whispering her name.

A word of warning first. This is a dark, grown-up book. There are dead bodies, a boy with missing fingers and a knife fight with an angel. The ideas about God and the church come in early and matter a lot, and some families will want to talk them through.

For a confident reader who's already been through the first two, this is the one they'll be desperate to get to. But please don't start here! It takes for granted everything that happened before, so hand over Northern Lights first and come back to this one in time.

What to read next

If your reader loved Balthamos and his sharp tongue, they'll get on famously with Bartimaeus. The Amulet of Samarkand opens with a shaking boy of about twelve summoning an ancient djinni, who's furious at being bossed about by someone so small.