Okay- October's Abhorsen thread got me thinking about this.
I think the Subtle Knife was the best of the series- by the third book, Pullman was so far into explaining his ideas/statements/theories/whatever that the plot and characters suffered.
Also, was Lord Asriel good, bad, or neither? In the first book, he's portrayed as an unsympathetic villain, but by the third book, characters are talking about him like he's a hero, standing up to the evil Church?
