Have you ever had a movie or book that you were really excited to watch or read, and then become disappointed when it doesn't live up to what you thought it would be? Well, that seems to be happening a lot to me this year. First, there was the movie eragon (a complete flop), then there was the third Pirates of the Caribbean (bad morality, to many innuendos and paganistic thinking) and the Father of Dragons (no real point to the book, some odd character changes) and the Bourne Ultimatum (not much of a plot, looked like it had been hurriedly put together) and most recently, the subtle knife. This is book two of Phillip Pullman's series His Dark Materials. the first book of the series, the Golden Compass, (which is coming to theaters soon) was an enjoyable book, and the impression I got of it was a simple little kids story. Well, when I read the second book it was fine too, until the end. In the second book many things happen. for one, the whole book felt darker than the first, but it was still okay through most of it. Then angels were put on the seen. unlike real angels, who do Gods will always (other than the fallen), these angels can be summoned by a man and commanded by anyone. that was the first problem. Then there was the obvious belief in evolution, the raising of an army to kill God, the portrayal of all churches as evil, and that there is a knife that can kill even God. this was a major disappointment to me because i enjoyed the first book a lot. I am not advising any one to go to the movie or not, but be aware of what the agenda is. In the two times that I read the golden compass I didn't even catch a hint of what direction it would take, but it became quite obvious in the subtle knife. Today I read an article done by plugged in magazine about Phillip Pullman. It is beyond a doubt that he hates the church, and Christians, but does not believe there is a God. and although the golden compass looks and sounds like something C.S. Lewis wrote, Pullman has blatantly said many times that he hates all of C.S.Lewis's works. Something to think about :)