As I said in my reviews for The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, I’m still missing the thing that’s so uproariously anti-Christian in these books!  The trilogy is a fantastical vision of multiple worlds so close together yet so far apart, of two children coming of age and falling in love, of men striving to set right the wrongs of the universe, of women realizing the debts they owe their children.  Here’s where the story concept deviates so differently from our world view and why (I think) Christians are so afraid of it.  In the worlds of the trilogy, there is no explicit Christ figure.  Mediation between God the divine Authority and man was left up to God’s agents on earth, the Church.  So all of the really evil things you hear about the Church doing so that human kind is redeemed (think Inquisition) are apparently God’s will for … Continue reading →

So last night I inadvertently finished Book 2 of His Dark Materials. I say inadvertently because it’s a 3-in-1 book, so I have no decent idea when one book is going to end, making the flow of the story not at all like intended I think….making it too easy to just “keep reading” instead of just experiencing each book as a singular entity. But anyways, the story is getting more and more exciting. The Subtle Knife introduces Will Parry, a boy from an England much more like ours than Lyra’s, who has to watch over his mother. Her ailing mental health makes it very easy to be noticed, something Will tries to avoid. Will discovers a curtain in the air leading to another world where he meets Lyra and sets out to find his father, who disappeared on an Arctic expedition when Will was a baby. Featuring angels, witches and … Continue reading →

The first in Phillip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy, The Golden Compass is a fascinating fantasy novel. Yes I can see hints of atheistic beliefs (science over religion, etc.), but I can’t see any clear demand/request in the writing. I suppose children shouldn’t absorb it with open minds and be allowed to believe whatever they want afterwards, but I can’t see anything overly bad in it. And it’s a really fun story! A fantastical world (rooted in London*) where humans are forever joined by a small animal daemon that is there constant companion. Where bears are intelligent (and have opposable thumbs) and can manipulate metal and rule their ice kingdoms with honor and tradition. Where witches fly and shoot bows and arrows (cuz you know, they’re not magical or anything…). I recommend checking out the book and I’ll let you know how much the movie adaptation sucks as soon as … Continue reading →

At LAST! J.K. Rowling’s terrible grip on my soul is free! “What about the movies?” DAMN! Just read Harry Potter 7 and I keep seeing future moments from the movie popping into my head….”I’m so excited” (Atlantis: The Lost Empire). The book is really elegantly done, and if you haven’t kept up with the books, just the movies, I would applaud your lack of curiosity and/or your strength of character (not spoiling the future movies by seeing the books). And you know, that’s all I’m really going to say about it, because Harry’s quest is our own quest, and to “spoil” it for anyone with any little hint just isn’t fair. Although I was right about Snape…ha! “Insane theories one, regular theories a billion!” (Futurama). I will however dwell on something I read on Wikipedia regarding this whole Harry Potter thing. On July 18th, the New York Times posted an … Continue reading →

This book details how the world is becoming increasingly Muslim and that America is one of the few bastions of freedom left. Birth rates across Europe are declining. Europe is full of socialist states that have high taxes to fund the social security pensions that the old expect. But with low birth rates, these states are forced to rely on immigrant labor and taxes for their benefits. The only people immigrating to Europe are Muslims. Muslims birth rates are exploding. Europe needs the immigrants, so they cow tow to aggressive Muslims who want infidels dead with laws and regulations that force women into burkas, etc. One part of the book that really hit me (especially after the Political Sciences course I just took) was an exploration of Dick Cheney’s post 9-11 quote, “One of the things that’s changed so much since September 11 is the extent to which people do … Continue reading →