[davem]

I think its plain that in HDM the message became so dominant in Pullman's mind that the story was thrown away. Pullman is a talented writer - but that's the problem: he's talented enough that he can present boring, illogical & frankly silly ideas in an exciting & interesting way.

The whole 'killing the ghosts' thing in HDM is typical. As the writer of the piece I linked to states, Pullman, in getting rid of God & Heaven & being unable to adopt an idea like reincarnation, is left with offering nothing at all - when you die that's it. You get dissipated into some kind of 'ocean' of matter.

Now that strikes me as being a pretty depressing concept, even if was true - all the people you care about, your friends, family & pets, will die & disappear forever & you'll never see them again, & when you die you'll also just disappear forever.

OK - let's say that's true - & for all I know it may be. It seems to me that the most honest response is to acknowledge the sadness of that, even to grieve over it. The most dishonest response is to present it as some kind of glorious 'liberation' from boredom. But, as I say, Pullman is a skilled writer & can present the ugly in a beautiful way, or the hopeless in a positive way. And too many readers fall for the style & miss the substance. I mean, could we not expect just one character out of all of Pullman's Multi-verses to mutter 'Ey up - that's a bit rubbish!' But no - everyone seems blissed out by how fantastic it is to dissipate into nothingness.

Its a bit like one of those 'well-meaning' adults who can't wait to tell children (for their own good, of course) that there's no Father Christmas or Tooth Fairy - some do it in a stark & simple way, others, the more 'creative' ones, do it in a 'positive', upbeat way, but in the end the children have some of the magic taken from their lives for no better reason than that an adult decided they would be better off without it.