I read the second and third books of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy back to back, so I don't think I can really comment separately on The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. I realy enjoyed the first book, The Golden Compass, finding it very creative and an exciting adventure. Finishing the trilogy, I realize that I didn't know the half of his creativity. The adventure kept on moving, keeping me gripped to the end, but the ideas he explores are bold and provocative. What happens when we die? Do we have souls? Does God exist, and is He good? I'd heard that these books were considered heretical by some, by I didn't realize the extent of it. From the point of view of organized Christianity, these books are profoundly heretical, far more so than the Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, even more than Satanic Verses is heretical for Muslims. The organized church in his book is a corrupt puritanical and power-hungry organization, with names like the Magisterium, the Consistory Court, and the Oblation Board making it a thinly veiled analogy of the Catholic Church. (The fictional church is based in Geneva, so it has Swiss Guards. Just how thin can the veil be?) His account of God, angels, and creation is revealed in the second and third books, and it is shocking. But what is most heretical is that he describes a world in which good and evil exist and people can be moral without needing a creator or an afterlife. Heaven is where we build it. All of this theology (or is it anti-theology?) is not dry philosophical prose, but is integrally woven into a fascinating fantasy of parallel worlds, intriguing characters, and a great battle between good and evil (though it's not always clear who is on which side until the end). One of the parallel worlds encountered is a very creative imagining of an alternate evolution. This trilogy is written as a fantasy for a youth audience, but like the latter Harry Potter books, deals with some dark themes that require a bit of maturity to appreciate. Unlike Harry Potter, where each of those books ended in a safe place, each of these books before the last one ends with things looking rather bleak. (In Hollywood's version of The Golden Compass, they had to twist the order of events to end on a more upbeat note.) But in the end, they really make you think about goodness and truth and self-sacrifice, and the meaning of life. I thoroughly enjoyed these books, but they are not for the theologically faint of heart.

Oh, the ending was so sad!! Really, I loved the story and I am glad that finally learned what Pan ended up as - which was the whole reason I began reading this series! I was surprised by how much death it involved - and the fact that there wasn't really a happily ever after, but a sort of a hint at it... If there is a companion novel written, I imagine I would read it.

As for the religion thing, it did get preachy in its own way in this book... which did detract from the story overall, I felt. Still, it was exciting to read. All in all, I think Pullman's books aren't really for young children, but they are certainly entertaining for teens and on.

ok this finale book is a bit toooo long and maybe not understandable..............
will kids undertand this book clearly..........
i was a kid when i read it.........
i understood it but i couldnot implicate its meaning behind the christianity thing.............
the ADAM AND EVEn and the Serpent thing.........
maybe i need to study the book again........
but still a HEAVY and HUGE book finale with some surprising twists and sad conclusions..............

I read this trilogy because the minister at my church condemned it from the pulpit. Usually (at least in my church), that's a pretty good indication that a book might have some interest or that it might give a good expression of an interesting point of view---even if it is not the interesting point of view that I accept as true. In this case, this contrarian form of guidance proved useless. The minister was not correct, but his error was in making the book appear as something when it is hardly anything at all.

Most people I know regard this book quite favorably. They suggest that it is "just fiction" and "just a fun book." From that point of view, it is reasonable to say that the author is a decent journeyman wordsmith, neither distinguished among professional authors, nor much worse than most. The editing of this third volume seems to have been very loose. It is paced quite slowly and more chaotically than necessary. It is, all things considered, less well crafted in its layout than the previous volumes.

I demand more of a book than "good fiction." To be worthy of my attention during this short stay on Earth, any work of art has to express something useful and, if at all possible, profound. This book is clearly the fictional construct of an atheistic author. Perhaps he is, indeed, as someone else commented, the atheist answer to C.S. Lewis. If so, the atheists are pretty short of spokes-people.

The book likes to repeat unhappy sayings about the Church of its world, about the corruption of the clergy and generally the need for a better institution. If that theme were carved on the pages in the literary equivalent of bass relief, then we could have fun together. Even as an avid church goer, I think we have seen no more urgent time for restructuring and purification of the Church since the time of Thomas Aquinas. So, we could have had fun. We could have agreed, but this aspect was sketched as a cartoon---hardly worth mentioning.

More of the philosophical effort of the book goes toward denouncing the author's idea of the unseen spiritual forces that lie much more toward the heart of religion. He makes the Creator God into some sort of extraordinarily pitiful God, perhaps suffering from some version of Alzheimer's. He makes the high angels, who serve before the throne of God into lustful bullies. It is not just irreverent, but ludicrous. Einstein was fond of saying that we cannot solve a problem from the same frame of mind that gave rise to the problem. We cannot understand the higher wisdom of deep mysticism from a cartoon caricature. It is so absurd that a grown person should be ashamed to put such a thing in print. It's just plain rubbish, and that's much too kind a phrasing for it.

This book may be amusing if you wish to read it for just entertainment. It's message is a caricature and unworthy of the time a person might spend reading it (even if you read very fast indeed).

The song "Shenandoah" or the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony are, indeed, melodies. However, because they strike generation after generation as lyrically beautiful and hauntingly expressive, it would be wrong to say they are "just songs." They are masterworks of music for the ages. That's what I want. My associates who claim this is "just fiction," are quite right. It is really "just fiction." It does not rate as highly on the scale of memorable art as some of the worse German drinking songs, and it certainly makes no comparison to "Im Himmel es Gibt Kein Bier."

Pullman is an excellent writer. His stories are wonderfully told. The characters are engaging, and the plot certianly clips along. He has a powerful imagination.

However, he is dealing with very heavy subject matter here to be calling his books "young adult" fiction. I can totally see why organized religion has a problem with his books. Organized religion, in this trilogy, is the enemy/villain. God himself, and his cadre of angels, are the characters that the protagonists fight against (and defeat). While I think these books can be fruitful reads for adults, as they stimulate thought on topics not traditionally entertained (much like Sophie's World, which I really enjoyed), I would not want my, say, 12-year-old kid reading this stuff. It's hard enough trying to teach your child to comprehend the immensity of the world, God, faith, good/evil, without Pullman undoing all you've tried to instill.

Sooooo, if you're interested in theology, and you're over 18, read these books. If you're part of the backpack set, though, you might want to talk with your parents about them first.