| It's hard to properly appreciate a story when its core is so antithetical to a closely held personal belief. People, no matter how much we try to avoid it, are simply too apt to bias. And beyond that, if you disagree with the core of the story on such a base level, it will not be able to 'move' you emotionally in the ways it intends to. So, its understandable that since your religious beliefs are polar to those of Pullman's (which obviously formed the core of his story) that you would prefer, say, a story more analogous to your own views like Narnia.
That said, HDM had some flaws in the story. He started too many side plots that he didn't properly come back to or resolve. This was somewhat the case in the second book, and much more the case into the third. It's my hope that the inevitable clean up that the movies will do will take care of a lot of that.
Also, as I said before, and I will give anyone who is planning on reading this series this piece of advice: Do not read the last 50 pages of that last book. The ending was *atrocious*. | 