h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I finished this trilogy in three weeks flat (not bad for a father of an eighteen month old daughter and a full time worker - the hour and half commute each way helps with reading time though).

I finished the 'Amber Spy Glass' just three days ago, and it still haunts me - especially the ending, although the journey to the land of the dead sticks in mind as a one of the more evocative and emotive episodes.

I am left in a quandary - I respect a lot of what Pullman has to say (both in his books and interviews), but would have to agree to disagree with him about God and the church. Unlike a lot of Christians who have commented on these books I do not find them either offensive or evil. I do not agree with his depiction of God, but accept a degree of literary license here - this is not what he thinks God is, it is the sort of God that would be behind the worst excesses of the church, or indeed any religious power group throughout history. Trouble is, most of my follow travellers think this makes everything Pullman says in wrong, instead of just enjoying a strong, well written and intelligent story, and being able to look the bits we disagree with in the face and accept them as just that - areas of disagreement.

Sadly the reaction of most Christians seems to reflect exactly the intolerance and brutal suppression of dissenting views that Pullman rails against. Well, we aren't all intolerant bigots Philip - despite evidence to the contrary. Just keep writing at this level, and well done for proving the critics wrong when they said a children's book could never win a major literary prize - shame more 'adult' fiction is not so imaginative or well written!!

Do Edited Entires get updated? I think they should, considering that The Amber Spyglass won that award (name please?)