Isn't it wonderful when you go into reading a series without thinking much about them and you walk out utterly in love, moved and changed? This is what happened to me with this series. His Dark Materials is unlike any other 'children's' story out there. It's about children, yes, but the themes are much more complex signifying much more than what is on the page. It makes you question belief not by placing it in doubt but by making you truly think about the universe, its formation and human nature. As the series progresses you see Pullman evolving as a writer and it's no longer so much about the characters but about the theme permeating these books.