Okay, The Golden Compass = great story, great book.
The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass = crock of shit. Except for the Melufa; I loved those things.
Pullman isn't that great. I agree 100% that his story and characters had no real motivation for anything. Any story that deals with a multiverse usually end up over their head and sucking. For instance, as much as I loved The Dark Tower, by the end I was dragging my feet praying to God that it was gonna get better before it ended.
And then it ended and I was pissed.
But the Epilogue made up for that...A LITTLE BIT.