His Dark Materials Trade Paper Boxed Set (Golden Compass, Subtle Knife, Amber Spyglass)

The first two-thirds or so of The Amber Spyglass were at least as strong, creative, and engaging as the previous two books [which I thoroughly enjoyed], but I cannot escape the feeling that the ending just wasn't as satisfying as I'd hoped it would be. The final chapters of this substantial trilogy were occasionally [not to mention ironically] tainted by deus ex machinas instead of further thoughtful plot development. If anything the ending felt premature. What seemed to be the promise of further adventures was stunted and ultimately foiled by deus ex machina and declarations that felt brittle and hollow to me when compared with the substance of the rest of the journey.

I am sincerely looking forward to the eventual release of The Book of Dust but, based on what I've read about it so far, I don't think it will do anything to rectify the untimely ending and resolution that took place in The Amber Spyglass, which is a pity. It almost felt like there could've been a fourth book that began in the last fifth of The Amber Spyglass. It would've told more of the story that was simply hinted at before being abruptly glossed over and truncated at the end of the trilogy. This fourth book could even ultimately have ended in the same manner that The Amber Spyglass did. That would've been marvelous. Perhaps I'm over-eager and jumping to conclusions and this is precisely the sort of thing that The Book of Dust will do. We'll see.

All things considered, this was a very enjoyable and captivating journey. I'm just sorry that it ended leaving me feeling a bit bewildered and cheated rather than pleasantly exhausted and fulfilled. Perhaps my expectations were too high.