I read "The Golden Compass" and "The Amber Spyglass" and squirmed through them. They made me very uncomfortable before I knew of Pullman's hatred of all things Christian. What disturbed me the most was how these books were marketed towards children and young adults; they are decidedly NOT for youngsters!!! The covers are beautiful but extremely misleading.
I know his books have been optioned for filming by Hollyweird. I don't care how they sugar-coat the plot, I won't see them or have anything to do with them.
Here's something that'll make you squirm. The Database of Awardwinning Children's Literature (http://www.dawcl.com/introduction.html) shows that Pullman's
Golden Compass (1995) was the recipient of these prestigious awards: American Library Association Notable Books for Children (1997), ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1997), Carnegie Medal (1995) and Guardian Award for Children's Fiction (1996). Amber got some, too.
> I know his books have been optioned for filming by Hollyweird.
Coming to a theater near you.
Likewise. Seems to be a theme here - read the first two of Pullman's books and become disgusted. Same thing happened to me. I have a volume with all three books in it. Never made it to the third book. Did read the end - some garbage about a "Republic of Heaven." It stank on ice.