I remember reading somewhere, in an interview I think, that Pullman was heavily influenced by Narnia - influenced in a not-what-to-do way, I mean. There's a subtle indicator of this in Northern Lights, where Lyra first becomes aware of another world while hiding in a wardrobe. It's The Amber Spyglass, however, that really makes clear what a failure The Last Battle was - the final Narnia book remains the only book I have ever thrown across a room in disgust, and my childhood hatred for that mean-spirited piece of shit has never abated.

Of course I am influenced here by my own atheism, but the themes and focus of Spyglass - and by extension the rest of the trilogy - are abundantly clear, and they're written here with such fundamental kindness and wonder and strength that the ending is as hopeful as it is sad, for all it is an absolute ending of things we would like to see continue, I'm sure. It's just all done so well, and so thoughtfully, that it remains one of my favourites, even after a number of rereads.