Every trilogy has an ending, but why end like this?
357354
For very page I read, there was at least two I skipped. The previous twos books were great, but sadly, they had to be capped off with this.

  The charcters lost their charm, and there was only one I was interested in, but since Silverberg suddenyl changed his style from one character persepective to all, sadly, that one character came around all to few times.

  This book also pocesses one of the worst endings I have ever read. To think that I forced myself all the way though those long pages only to see that as my reward. One word for that ending, horrificly pathetic. All right, that was two.

  Back to the characters. Poorly developed, and if I hadn't known them before, I think I would have rooted for the antagonists to kill them off, just for the excitement. Its what Silverberg should have done, or something like it. This book was duller than lectures. It was like, almost reading a very unrealistic history noevl, where the you strangely get to experience the hourly introspectives of the characters that NO ONE CARES ABOUT.

  Personally, I would have rather done my homework, but my own pride in the fact that I've never not finished a book kept me from that. And while the first two books only took me a week or so to read, this one took twice that, despite the fact its shorter. (If there wouldn't have been the boring introspectives and side stories, I might have finished it in a minute.)

  So, if you are a fan of the other books, you don'thave to get this book. Have someone just tell you how it ends, and spare yourself three hundred some odd other pages. If you haven't read the other two books, read them, its worth it, and then decide for yourself wether you want to bore yourself to death. My advice, find it in the library, for five bucks are better spent elsewhere.
1963156
Dont like trilogy. character were changed to different bad people for no given reasons. ones u liked at first.thows u off.
4591283
I like the entire story. This third book is the conclusion of the story, not a work that stands alone. So, what should the rating mean? Should it tell a potential buyer that the series, overall, is good? On that basis, it would (and does) get four stars.

Or should it tell others who have already purchased the first two volumes of the trilogy whether the quality of the story-telling has improved or declined in relation to the previous works? On that basis, it would get three stars.

For this individual book, on the plus side:
(1) The author actually got the long-awaited conclusion to the story out the door.
(2) The third volume of the trilogy actually concluded the story, in a way that is not open-ended. So unlike, say, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the trilogy is unlikely to be expanded to four or five books :-)

On the minus side:
(1) As regards the battles, the story proceeds at pretty much the same pace for the first two books and three-quarters of the third book. The story mostly revolves around Cale and his prickly relationships with friends and enemies, with this punctuated by the occasional large battle, where his hallmark ability to judge the strategic and tactical situation, along with his pragmatic ruthlessness (although hardly remorselessness) come into play. Cale and company are pushed into a corner by the ever more victorious Redeemers. Then the third book makes a huge leap, leaving all the required battles in between to your imagination, so that it can proceed to the penultimate battle. I had the impression that the author just ran out of steam here. It could be that the author just ran out of pages, and was forced to cut the story short, or else suffer the indignity of having to split the third book and publish a four-volume trilogy. Either way, I was mildly disappointed at missing out on more lurid descriptions of death and destruction.

You might think that the points I listed on the plus side are something that one should be able to take for granted, and therefore not really pluses. But I'm still waiting for the conclusion of "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss, and for the next installment in "Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin, it's been years, and it could be more years. So I don't take those things for granted.
726737
Mostly I found this anti-climactic. The varying situations and arguments they had once they left the factions were boring. But (spoiler alert) Tris dying in the end was a morbidly refreshing ending. I wonder if they will be brave enough to end the movie trilogy the same way.
1403515
The United Continuums neatly wraps up the trilogy but also leaves open the possibility for future stories.  Although the ending was satisfying, perhaps too much time was spent on the other continuums and not enough focus on our protagonists. But those who really liked the first two books will find more of the same here.

Story:  The Second Continuum has reappeared in space and has made its intentions known: to wrest control of the Doom project and destroy the other continuums.  Myra, Aero, and Seeker will each have a battle to fight: Aero to regain control of the Second Continuum, Seeker, to influence her people, and Myra to prevent the evil Second Continuum leader Drakken from killing her in dreamspace.  But each of their continuums are lead by selfish and destructive individuals just as dangerous as Drakken - will they be able to unite the continuums in the fight against Drakken?

Admittedly, I liked this book least of the three.  For one, it's frustrating to once again have a 'big bad' telling our heroes his exact plans down to the finest detail - sure, he's a megalomaniac; but that doesn't mean he has to twist his metaphorical mustache while revealing all his nefarious plans.  Similarly, even the name Drakken sounds cartoony to the point of middle grade read.  It was hard to take it seriously when he was monologuing his evil plans.

Similarly, I found the focus of the book to be all over the place.  I think the writer perhaps didn't have enough plot while the heroes essentially 'waited' for Drakken to arrive.  So we have the POV switching from each of the continuums:  Aero and Seeker taking control back of theirs was fine but I admit I lost interest reading so much about what was still happening in the 13th continuum underwater.  I think I would have preferred to be surprised about whether they made it or not rather than continuing to follow their story and taking away from the main plot of Aero, Seeker, Myra.

Also kind of frustrating was the lack of nuance between good and evil.  The evil were evil - just for the point of being evil.  Similarly, the good guys also felt narrowly drawn and far too good.  I especially grew annoyed with Divinus' 'my dear' over and over again to Myra.  He could be paternal without it, to be honest, and it wouldn't have come off so treacly.

I think as a shallow read the book is fine - and most should be very satisfied with it.  I just expected much more at this point - more richness and nuance in the world and characters.  Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
3446775
After the strengths of the first two books, as well as the opening two  thirds of this volume, I would have been willing to assert that this  trilogy was one of the best works ever written in fantasy.  In almost all respects, I continue to believe this. However, Hobb has  somewhat  sadly stumbled in the concluding hundred  pages, appearing to rush to resolution, as if having once predetermined  that this work would be  a trilogy, she could not  decide to extend it into a fourth book. This is truly unfortunate, has her  conclusion appears rushed and,  compared to the  pages preceding, loosely wrapped up, with a resolution that is only barely  satisfying.
  After all the character and plot  development that led up to this work, the final hundred pages seem  precipitate. The main characters come  together  abruptly and in a way that is largely contrived, several are disposed of  summarily, and everyone else lives happily ever after. While  this type of fairy tale ending may satisfy some, I found the  conclusion to Hobb's earlier Farseer Trilogy far more credible. Further,  the  disposal of the Chalcedians, the plot against  Bingtown and the Satrapy of Jamaillia, the restitution of the Vestritts,  and the rescue of the  fortunes of the Wild River  Traders, as well as Reyn and Malta's new identities, never reach full  fruition, rather arbitrarily and hastily wrapped  up  as are so many other plot threads earlier so well developed and measuredly  evolved, and Wintrow's fate in particular seems atrophied. Finally, the  mystery of Maulkin's Tangle gets  settled simply  with a quick trip up the river.
  While I continue  to believe overall that this is one of the best works of fantasy that I  have read, I nonetheless remain mildly disappointed in  the ending. After the investment of time and energy, both by the author  and myself, in setting up and developing a wonderful story, I can  only wish that she had been willing to committ an equal  amount of time and development to her ending, which would have provided the  substantial balance needed to conclude this story  fully. As is, the ending seems somewhat stillborn, with so much more that  it could have  offered. I can only say that I'm  sorry.
4759067
This trilogy is basically what would appear to be the size of one average-sized novel, split into three books.  And this first story ends at what feels like the end of a chapter instead of the end of a book in a series.  Is it worth it?  Not to me, neither price-wise nor with the chopped stories.  Perhaps once the third book comes out theyll do another release with all three stories in it.

The basis of this first booka psychic group within the CIA that is so secret its believed that not even the president is aware it existsis an intriguing idea.  A young girl with strong psychic abilities is kidnapped and the group is sent to rescue her before shes forced to do something that could change history.

I did like the characters and what they can do as well as the situations they face.  The story is told from two points of view.  Hope, the young girl that was kidnapped, and Kylie, a woman within the PSI group sent to rescue Hope.  Both have the ability to hear conversations anywhere and there is some commonality in their experiences.

We really don't know a whole lot about any of them, and at this point, not even sure who to trust.  Thats both cool and part of the problem.  We don't know enough about the characters much less the relationship and back history of the PSI group, and that lack of depth makes it feel like were being told a story instead of experiencing it while reading the book.  Perhaps that changes as the story progresses in future releases.

I won't be picking up the next installment, but if they ever come out with all three stories released into one book, I would like to see what happens.
3782600
A bit confusing here and there but a good end to a good trilogy! Wraps most things up and is completely understandable in the end!
3718866
Three seemingly separate stories that all come together in a surprise ending.
3887663
I was disappointed - normally I enjoy Roth's writing, but the end of the trilogy fell short of the previous two noveld
1056356
while this is a good story - it just ends.  to get the entire story of the family/friends, you need to read all 9 books - and yeah, except for the first book, they aren't long; so theoretically the author could have combined books, but choose not to.  to me, that's not fair to the reading/buying public - hence why the 1 war
852921
The trilogy wraps up nicely, and opens up interesting opportunities for sequels. It's a rich universe, where plenty more interesting twists can happen.
4157203
While this book ends the trilogy and in a satisfying way, the  scenarios are such that they could be used in a series or at least a "home base" for other stories.

The basis of the trilogy, was that Earth was dying, larger areas were becoming uninhabitable, there was severe overcrowding, oxygen masks had to be worn outside to breathe, as the air was so polluted.  Technology was  secretly developed  and sometimes without consent, used to genetically modify humans to live in a different ecosystem on another planet. At the same time, their memories were modified so they thought they were native to the planet.  Technology then enabled this same planet to be terraformed and made mores suitable for unmodified humans. This made the  modified humans very expendable.

The government was controlled by businessmen who only looked to profit and to  personal gain, while all were not hostile to the majority, they did not really concern themselves  about them or let them make choices.  The development of the new modified humans and their fight for survival and how the planet might be shared, made for fascinating reading. Not everyone would want to have the modifications and also, unless  clean development standards were maintained, the new location would become as unlivable as the old. Also the planet could not hold everyone on Earth, so who would get to leave?  With the advances in technology, there was hope that Earth itself could be saved, pollution could be dealt with, the air and water and lands cleaned, but the kind of leadership that would take did not seem apparent. There is much yet to explore.

I  enjoyed the book, it was complex and the characters were richly defined, It was descriptive.  I could "feel" what Earth had become.  It is concerning that in the here and now, in some cities, air pollution is so bad that many  people do wear masks (not oxygen masks yet).  Scary.
530176
I read the trilogy of these stories in order, and became quite enthralled with the stories and the characters.  I was looking forward to the final book being a continuation of that theme.  The first 75% of the book held true to this, and it was great reading, great storytelling, etc., but then the book fast-forwards 20 years and the story is wrapped up.  This was a bit confusing and disappointing after how methodical and well thought out the prior editions were.
The great thing about the characters is that you got to know them, and took part in their trials and tribulations as they did.  This is what made the story great and the characters come to life.  After the 20 year jump, everything was wrapped up in a backward glance, when as a reader, you want to go through it with them.  It almost seemed like the author realized that she would be writing about these characters for years and was intimidated by it, so thought she'd just wrap it up and be done.
BOTTOM LINE..  if you've read the prior books, you WILL want to read this one too.  But be prepared, you probably won't find them as rewarding as the prior two books.
2223665
Like the previous two books in this trilogy, "The Amber Spyglass" is a mesmerizing read. It draws you in and refuses to let go. The plot was wonderfully interwoven with symbolism and subtle humour, the characters are fresh and lifelike, and the overall writing is almost surreal.
So why did I not rate this book 5 stars? The ending. All right, yes, the ending was beautifully written - no question about that. It was, however, a rather weak ending to such a strong trilogy. It was so terribly sad it made me cry, and I was disappointed that Pullman chose to end his series with a whimper rather than a bang. In my opinion, this ending is the coward's way of finishing the trilogy (or maybe I just like happy endings). Nevertheless, it was meant to tug at the heartstrings and so it did. It was, really, unbearably sad, and made me think about what became of the characters for far too long afterwards.
The religious part I enjoyed, because it isn't a very popular opinion in the world today. The "killing God" angle really was very interesting. To everyone who objects to this book for religious reasons, remember: it's called freedom of speech. If you don't like it, don't read it. Be forewarned now that the book presents controversial views of the Church.
All in all, a book worth reading. Just be sure to have some Kleenex for the end.
604740
Philip Pullman has written an excellent trilogy, "His Dark Materials" which, I'm sure, will stand the test of time as a classic even considering the unforgiving last chapter."The Amber Spyglass", the third installment of the trilogy just doesn't come across with the ending that's anticipated from the wonderful story that leads up to it - a let down, as if Mr. Pullman just lost interest.
4145511
I get it, I think. This is a trilogy, and this is book 2, and the ending is left hanging, presumably to be wrapped up in the next book. This is a very well-crafted novel, but it's frustrating that book 3 is not now available--the story is concluded but the main culprit is not revealed.