I still haven't finished Amber Spyglass—I got distracted this week—but I thought I'd post my reactions so far.
If you've read it, please comment. I don't mind spoilers, but there may be a few here if you haven't read it, so tread lightly.
I was wrong. Lyra isn't a Jesus figure at all. She is, apparently, this figure. I have to hand it to Pullman; that's a much more clever and original concept than the Jesus-figure stereotype. We'll see how that works out for her.
The way Pullman handles the major revelation about who The Authority (God?) really is, is surprising. One of the minor characters, an Angel named Balthamos, casually revealed that information to Will. Maybe Pullman didn't go to the same Novel Writing School I did, because I always thought a major revelation must be discovered by the protagonist after diligent digging, not casually dropped into the conversation by a minor character. But again, I haven't finished the book. Maybe there's more to it that Lyra or Will has yet to figure out.
Balthamos himself is a well-drawn character, more interesting and entertaining than any of the rather wooden characters (the grown-up characters, anyway) in the first two books. He's filled with shades of gray, so to speak. I hope he survives.
And I hope I finish this book soon. I've got other stuff to read, and a paper still to write for my class, which starts up again for Hilary term on Thursday.
Again, the portal to The Sunday Salon is here.
