Northern Lights

I have been listening to Northern Lights on my MP3 over the last few days and have been really enjoying it. It's read by Philip Pullman and has a full cast. I have previously read the book and the others that follow it (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) but I think I enjoy NL the best. PP handles his subjects in such a non patronising way. It may be a children's book but he doesn't dilute or speak down to the reader which I really like. And he really likes to spin a yarn. I love the armoured bears, daemons, scholars and Gyptians: they all form such a realistic world that you can hear the anbaric lights and feel the pain when a daemon is attacked. The books tackle increasingly complex topics as they progress and by the time we get to the AS, I feel he gets bogged down with his own bugbears and obsessions (eg religion and God) but I will keep on listening to the series and see if this opinion changes...