Philip Pullman

Indulge me or ignore me, here--it's brief. Comments on this list led me to order the first two books (now in paper) from Amazon, and they arrived this morning--I didn't open the box. When I got to work, a co-worker gave (lent) me his hc copy of -The Golden Compass-, and I, amazed at the coincidence, said thanks, but it wasn't necessary. He then reminded me that he had pressed Pullman on me months ago and I had been hoity-toity about "juveniles." Ooops! Milton epigraph! I think I was very wrong--can't wait. -alga

Almost through -The Golden Compass-. Lapland witches!! That bear!! Ooooh! -alga

There are bears? <borrows son's new book> It's rather good, isn't it! Why am I here in the office when I should be at home reading the last two chapters? Most unfair. I particularly like the fact that the Aurora does play an important part in the story - very clever. And the alethiometer is a wonderful thing. It has that feel of something discovered, rather than invented. It's completely convincing and believable. Spectacled Bear. P.S. I've taken the liberty of cc'ing this to alga to say thank you for provoking me to read this (which wasn't really just because there are bears :-), and for the background on the witches.