I loved these books, but for the life of me I can’t imagine understanding them to any great extent while I was reading “young adult” books. They really do seem more advanced than that.

Perhaps I was just a late bloomer.

First two books were great — preachiness and contrivances in the 3rd book totally ruined the trilogy for me.

I owe every creative bone in my body to Philip Pullman’s trilogy here. I read Northern Lights (or The Golden Compass) because it was required reading for my school bookclub, felt deeply changed by it, and managed to track down the rest of the series over the course of the next three years.

I shed a few tears after reading the first book, and a few more after concluding the trilogy.. a habit I have only just showed signs of breaking out of. XD

The concepts in these books are unlike anything else I’ve read. The characters are WONDERFUL and the books are impossible to put down. My only beef with them is that they don’t go on for several more volumes. ;o;

..yet. ^_