ΤΟ ΚΕΧΡΙΜΠΑΡΕΝΙΟ ΤΗΛΕΣΚΟΠΙΟ
The Amber Spyglass - from Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" Trilogy (Book 3 of 3)

Με το Κεχριμπαρένιο Τηλεσκόπιο ολοκληρώνεται με πραγματικά αριστουργηματικό τρόπο η επιβλητική Τριλογία του Κόσμου. Η Λύρα και ο Γουίλ, οι ήρωες των δύο πρώτων βιβλίων («Το Αστέρι του Βορρά» και «Ο Άρχοντας των δύο Κόσμων»), βρίσκονται σε μεγάλο κίνδυνο. Με τη βοήθεια του Γιόρεκ Μπάρνισον, της οπλισμένης αρκούδας, και δύο μικροσκοπικών Γκαλιβεσπιανών κατασκόπων, πρέπει να ταξιδέψουν σ’ έναν σκοτεινό και μυστηριώδη κόσμο, όπου ποτέ δεν έχει πατήσει άνθρωπος. Στο μεταξύ, η δόκτωρ Μαίρη Μαλόουν φτιάχνει ένα καταπληκτικό κεχριμπαρένιο τηλεσκόπιο. Ένας δολοφόνος βρίσκεται στα ίχνη της. Ο λόρδος Άσριελ, έχοντας στο πλευρό του στρατιές λαμπερών αγγέλων, δίνει τη δική του μάχη με απρόβλεπτους συμμάχους και ανυπολόγιστες συνέπειες. Καθώς ο πόλεμος γίνεται ολοένα και πιο σκληρός και η Σκόνη χάνεται από τον ουρανό, η μοίρα των ζωντανών –και των νεκρών– είναι στο χέρι των δύο παιδιών.

In this book, Will ignores the angels and with the help of a local girl named Ama, the Bear King Iorek Byrnison, and Lord Asriel's Gallivespian spies, the Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia, rescues Lyra from the cave where her mother has hidden her from the Magisterium, which has become determined to kill her before she yields to temptation and sin like the original Eve. They journey to the Land of the Dead, temporarily parting with their dæmons to release the ghosts from their captivity imposed by the oppressive Authority. Mary Malone, a scientist of the world of Will, interested in Dust (or Dark Matter/Shadows, as she knows them), travels to a land populated by strange sentient creatures called Mulefa. There she learns of the true nature of Dust, existing as panpsychic particles of self-awareness. Lord Asriel and the reformed Mrs. Coulter team up to destroy The Authority's Regent Metatron, but perish in the attempt, taking Metatron down with them. The Authority himself dies of his own frailty when Will and Lyra free him from the crystal prison Metatron has trapped him in, able to do so because an attack by cliff-ghasts kills or drives away the prison's protectors. When Will and Lyra emerge from the land of the dead, they find their daemons (Serafina names Will's soul, now in a daemon form, "Kirjava"). After all of this, Lyra loses her ability to read the alethiometer, and some other twists bring the trilogy to a climactic end.

552 pages
paperback

His Dark Materials, a trilogy of fantasy, award-winning novels by Philip Pullman, comprises Northern Lights (1995 — released as The Golden Compass in North America), The Subtle Knife (1997) and The Amber Spyglass (2000). The books have also appeared as a single-volume omnibus in the United Kingdom and in North America, titled His Dark Materials. The trilogy follows the coming-of-age of two children, Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, as they wander through a series of parallel universes against a backdrop of epic events. The story involves fantasy elements such as witches and armoured polar bears, and alludes to a broad range of ideas from fields such as physics, philosophy, theology and spirituality. The trilogy functions in part as a retelling and inversion of John Milton's epic, Paradise Lost; Pullman commends humanity for its attainment of wisdom and knowledge rather than condemning it (as in Milton's poem). Although Pullman's publishers have primarily marketed the series to young adults, Pullman also intended to speak to adults.