More on "His Dark Materials"

[asterroc]

Here's a review of the series in the Boston Globe. It definitely contains spoilers, and I'm not sure I agree with the final punchline about exactly what Dust is, but it's worth reading. It focuses on just what about the series mainstream Christianity finds so subversive, and why, in fact, those things are actually pro-religion. Of course, entirely dismissing the fact that Pullman is a self-proclaimed atheist in the process, but still intriguing.

Comments

[meleah.livejournal.com]

I think you're making the mistake of only characterizing as 'religious' those characters that were part of an organised religious hierarchy. The review is arguing that the books aren't anti-Christian spirituality (if you like), just anti-current Church doctrine.

In fact, I'm pretty sure the equivalence of daemons with the Holy Spirit rather than the soul or something is made by someone whilst they're in the underworld in the third book. So there's the ghost, the daemon, and the body - which is its own trinity.