The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Well, I've finished it. In about four days I have completed the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, with the final book being read today. And I have enjoyed it. There were a number of strands of the story going on all the time, but I managed to just about follow them. Many people have spoken against this trilogy, because it seems to be against the Church, and the main enemy in the book is an organised religion that has many trappings of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church; however, writers have always used different ideas and institutions as inspiration, and the story of friendship and love triumphing (although over what is never entirely clear) and people from different races working together is a positive and encouraging one. Even if the ideas of the Almighty and the Metatron being overcome are slightly absurd and comical in the telling ... It's been a good journey, and journeying is what this book is all about.