Books 35 and 36: Golden Compass and Sublte Knife

So, I nabbed the "His Dark Materials" trilogy in a single book for a song at a used bookstore.  It's been sitting on my shelf for awhile, so I cracked it open.  The first book was amazing.  Great new world, very unpredictable, and setting the tables for some great sequels.  Sure, it was pretty dark for a kids book, but I have this theory that kids are much better at kids being in jeapardy than adults as they seem them as peers rather than the hope that adults view them.  So, the first one ends a bit jarringly, but I race into the second one.  The Sublte Knife is very dark and often quite difficult.  It's focus on children in some really trying situations left me exhausted.  Still, it verges on brilliant, but I've put off the third book for a bit.  Not sure I'm ready to see what happens as it sets up to be even darker than the first two.