I read and reviewed each of the three volumes contained here separately, so this is basically just for my own records. The rating is an average of the individual ratings - both Northern Lights and The Amber Spyglass earned five stars from me, while The Subtle Knife earned four. It's true, I think, that the middle volume is a little disconnected from the others - while the first focused entirely on Lyra, the second introduced another protagonist, and although I like Will, he does take over in some ways, and balance isn't really restored until book three.

The real strength of this series starts in the characters, but by the end (and I've read this series more than once, and get the same impression each time) it's the themes that have begun to predominate. It's an interesting transition, a constant zooming out in scale: a series that starts with a strong focus on a single character expands, by the end, to the structure and purpose of the universe. I think it's a successful shift myself - by the end I'm more focused on the themes, as I think I'm supposed to be - and it's supported throughout by a very strong sense of imagery. The whole thing is just wonderful.