Who knifed The Subtle Knife?

I've recently been re-reading The Subtle Knife, the second volume of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, and the sequel to The Golden Compass.

What an amazing and imaginative piece of fantasy literature! Pullman's ability to dream up alternative worlds, and then describe them to us so convincingly as to make them seem real, is apparently boundless. But beyond inventiveness, which he shares with many other fine fantasy writers, his work displays a strong intellect, well versed in history, science, theology and literature. Most importantly, he is a writer of great skill who uses his command of language to arouse emotions of wonder, joy, horror, and deep sorrow in his readers.

He cannot be compared to J.K. Rowling. The Harry Potter books are children's books, although certainly books that many adults enjoy as well. Pullman's trilogy, although child-oriented, more closely bridges the gap between children's and adult fantasy literature.

I was favorably impressed with last fall's movie of The Golden Compass, while also agreeing with fans who lamented its shortcomings. I did feel that its producers probably respected the book as well as could be expected, considering commercial considerations and time constraints. The movie ended, clearly, in anticipation of the sequel. New Line Cinema (now absorbed by Warner Bros.) had contracted with Hossein Amini to prepare the screenplay, and release was planned for 2009.

But American box office receipts did not meet expectations (although international receipts were very good). As a result, filming of The Subtle Knife appears dead.

The studio reportedly refuses to discuss its future plans for the trilogy, if any. Chris Weitz, the director of The Golden Compass, prefers not to discuss the matter so long as the studio is refusing comment.

In a couple of interviews with British newspapers this week, Pullman states that religious boycotts in the United States by Christian groups apparently hurt the film at the box office. He lamented this religious reaction, in an interview with the Telegraph:

"When religion gets its hands on the levers of power - whether to go to war, hold people prisoner or decide what they can or can't do - that is when it is dangerous.

"I find it very hard to understand how anyone can disagree with that.

"In the world we live in, both Catholics and Protestants have wielded that power to the detriment of very many people."

Although he was "hopeful" that the film ultimately would be made, he had no knowledge of any such plans by the studio at present. He noted that the child actors from the first movie were growing up, and that it would soon be difficult to make a sequel using the same cast.

As a Christian myself, I find this all very sad. Christianity should fire the believer's imagination with the infinite possibilities of the Universe. Christianity bridges the apparent chasm between our tiny lives and the creator of the billions of galaxies, each containing billions of stars, that we see swirling about us. Christianity is not a formula for cutting that creator -- or that creation -- down to comfortable dimensions that we can easily comprehend.

As Christians, therefore, we need to be humble. Simple intellectual humility should force us to ponder any work of human imagination, asking ourselves whether the author may have hit upon some grain of truth worth considering, some accurate glimpse into the nature of ultimate reality or the convolutions of human behavior.

The story of Galileo should remind us of what can happen when we lack the necessary intellectual humility.

I hope Warner Bros., or somebody, will eventually film The Subtle Knife. Meanwhile, the book is there -- on your bookshelf or in bookstores -- for the reading or re-reading.