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Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife is the second book in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. In this book Lyra crosses into another world, and meets Will a boy from yet another world - our own. One thing to note is that this book needs to be read as part of the trilogy. The first book (The Golden Compass) can just about be read on its own - although there are a few loose ends - but I would advise that to read the second book you need to have read the first and go on to read the third.

This book seemed to me to have a more sci-fi feel to it than the first, with Will and Lyra moving about between different worlds, and the possibility of interacting with the mysterious 'Dust' via scientific equipment. My feeling is that the books aren't really suited to the 12 year old readership which would be suggested by the age of Will and Lyra, but to a somewhat older readership. If you fit in to this category, but felt that the first book was too unsophisticated for you then you should still give the second a try, as you might find the sci-fi approach more to your taste.

Amazon.com info

Mass Market Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0440238145
Salesrank: 213447
Weight:0.35 lbs

Published: 2003 Laurel Leaf

Amazon price $7.50

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 352 pages
ISBN: 0590112899
Salesrank: 81287
Weight:0.53 lbs

Published: 1998 Scholastic Point

Marketplace:New from £4.50:Used from £0.01

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Amazon.ca info

Mass Market Paperback 304 pages
ISBN: 0440238145
Salesrank: 47996
Weight:0.35 lbs

Published: 2003 Laurel Leaf

Amazon price CDN$ 9.99

Marketplace:New from CDN$ 2.90:Used from CDN$ 0.01

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Product Description
Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted underworld—Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: 12-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another’s, has also stumbled into this strange new realm. On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will discover an object of devastating power. And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat—and the shattering truth of their own destiny.

Product Description

Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted underworld—Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: 12-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another’s, has also stumbled into this strange new realm.

On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will discover an object of devastating power. And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat—and the shattering truth of their own destiny.

Truly one of the great fantasy works ever written *****
Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is easily one of my all time favorite fantasy series. This is despite recognition that it resorts to some pretty weak storytelling techniques at way too many places (more of that later). But the books' weaknesses are overwhelmed by wonderfully sketched characters, almost endless imagination in creating worlds that astound and delight, and a wonderful and engrossing story. Pullman's story is also amazingly unique and refreshing, completely unlike any other fantasy stories of recent decades. C. S. Lewis wrote that one of the joys of reading is that it pulls you into worlds of which you previously knew nothing. That is certainly the case here. My complaint with most fantasy novels is that they provide endless repackagings of Middle Earth-like worlds. At this point I'm suffering from pretty serious Middle Earth imitator fatigue, which is one reason that I've read less and less sword and sorcerer kinds of fantasy as the years have gone by. But the multiple worlds explored in Pullman's trilogy are both unique and delightful, and fantastically refreshing (yes, pun intended) after so much dreck out there. Many of my fellow Christians detest these books because of their explicitly anti-Christian bent. I mean, seriously. People are afraid that a fantasy novel trilogy is going to threaten their faith? Moreover, I honestly believe that both the cosmopolitan (if Old School and decidedly orthodox) C. S. Lewis and the ultra reactionary pre-Vatican II Catholic J. R. R. Tolkien (who thankfully kept his reactionary religious beliefs out of his fantasy fiction) would both have loved this series of novels. Yeah, Pullman hates Christianity. So what? I found his antireligious stance trite and Pullman's depiction of God really had nothing to do with my God. I can't express how much I love these books despite some really serious flaws. I refer to the Dei ex machine. Yep, the plural. Over and over and over Lyra and/or Will or other characters are saved by the miraculous intervention of one or another hero. The degree of coincidence is nothing short of incredulous. Many writers utilize coincidence, but Pullman is almost without shame in going to that well over and over. So repeatedly characters get in dire circumstances and someone shows up at the most crucial moment to rescue them. The only other complaint that I have with the book is the resolution of the prophecies about Lyra. She is part the new Eve and part Christ figure. The latter role is played out in her emptying hell. In some Christian mythology (it is not orthodox theology since it is based on tradition rather than Scripture) Jesus after his death storms the gates of hell. Lyra performs that function before she goes on to become the new Eve. I enjoyed the freeing of hell part of the book, but it isn't clear precisely how the new Eve part fulfilled in any significant way acts that fulfilled the great prophecies made of her. But the strengths of the book dwarf the book's undeniable weaknesses. It is, in fact, a testimony to the trilogy's strong points that you can forgive them because there is so much in the book to love and enjoy. Frankly, this is one of my all time favorite fantasy series, right up there with LORD OF THE RINGS, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, and the Harry Potter books.

Truly one of the great fantasy works ever written *****

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is easily one of my all time favorite fantasy series. This is despite recognition that it resorts to some pretty weak storytelling techniques at way too many places (more of that later). But the books' weaknesses are overwhelmed by wonderfully sketched characters, almost endless imagination in creating worlds that astound and delight, and a wonderful and engrossing story. Pullman's story is also amazingly unique and refreshing, completely unlike any other fantasy stories of recent decades.

C. S. Lewis wrote that one of the joys of reading is that it pulls you into worlds of which you previously knew nothing. That is certainly the case here. My complaint with most fantasy novels is that they provide endless repackagings of Middle Earth-like worlds. At this point I'm suffering from pretty serious Middle Earth imitator fatigue, which is one reason that I've read less and less sword and sorcerer kinds of fantasy as the years have gone by. But the multiple worlds explored in Pullman's trilogy are both unique and delightful, and fantastically refreshing (yes, pun intended) after so much dreck out there.

Many of my fellow Christians detest these books because of their explicitly anti-Christian bent. I mean, seriously. People are afraid that a fantasy novel trilogy is going to threaten their faith? Moreover, I honestly believe that both the cosmopolitan (if Old School and decidedly orthodox) C. S. Lewis and the ultra reactionary pre-Vatican II Catholic J. R. R. Tolkien (who thankfully kept his reactionary religious beliefs out of his fantasy fiction) would both have loved this series of novels. Yeah, Pullman hates Christianity. So what? I found his antireligious stance trite and Pullman's depiction of God really had nothing to do with my God.

I can't express how much I love these books despite some really serious flaws. I refer to the Dei ex machine. Yep, the plural. Over and over and over Lyra and/or Will or other characters are saved by the miraculous intervention of one or another hero. The degree of coincidence is nothing short of incredulous. Many writers utilize coincidence, but Pullman is almost without shame in going to that well over and over. So repeatedly characters get in dire circumstances and someone shows up at the most crucial moment to rescue them.

The only other complaint that I have with the book is the resolution of the prophecies about Lyra. She is part the new Eve and part Christ figure. The latter role is played out in her emptying hell. In some Christian mythology (it is not orthodox theology since it is based on tradition rather than Scripture) Jesus after his death storms the gates of hell. Lyra performs that function before she goes on to become the new Eve. I enjoyed the freeing of hell part of the book, but it isn't clear precisely how the new Eve part fulfilled in any significant way acts that fulfilled the great prophecies made of her.

But the strengths of the book dwarf the book's undeniable weaknesses. It is, in fact, a testimony to the trilogy's strong points that you can forgive them because there is so much in the book to love and enjoy. Frankly, this is one of my all time favorite fantasy series, right up there with LORD OF THE RINGS, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, and the Harry Potter books.

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) ***
Not just for kids! Imaginative and fascinating story. It is helpful to have read the first book, but it does stand alone quite well.

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) ***

Not just for kids! Imaginative and fascinating story. It is helpful to have read the first book, but it does stand alone quite well.

What's the hype about? *
People aren't going to like me for not liking this series, but though I normally really love big thick books, this trilogy has more problems than I can list here, the main one being how boring it is, first one is 0k, second one takes forever and a lot of the plot points don't make a great deal of sense when you think about it, why is she explicitly attracted to murderers, for example (that's a little creepy to be honest). First book is 0k action-wise, but highly prejudiced and ever-ready to caricature, the second and third are the same, but overlong, very slow, and very boring with little in the way of good action, to the point that I barely finished them, I'm not sure what the hype is about really, controversy couldn't make Dan Brown a good author, but he's still better than Pullman, who seems to hate rather a lot of people in a way I can only describe as xenophobic. Mild Spoilers: In the second book her original friend, who she travelled half way round the world for, is discarded, with hardly a thought, for her new, and more-or-less identical, companion (I noticed that an awful lot of the characters feel copy-pasted, most of the white bears are paper-thin and all the antagonists seem to run on bile with no real convincing motive or personality). The final battle, as well as all the action, feels distant and rather mellow-dramatic, as did everything in the second book. The trilogy doesn't seem to end as much as peter out, I left this series feeling unsatisfied and slightly puzzled, to be honest I've put it in a box upstairs and will probably forget about it totally. The characters and plot were unmemorable, nobody really seemed motivated to do anything, but did it anyway (Which is roughly how I felt when I finished the book). Overall, this averages out as one of the most boring trilogies I have read.

What's the hype about? *

People aren't going to like me for not liking this series, but though I normally really love big thick books, this trilogy has more problems than I can list here, the main one being how boring it is, first one is 0k, second one takes forever and a lot of the plot points don't make a great deal of sense when you think about it, why is she explicitly attracted to murderers, for example (that's a little creepy to be honest).

First book is 0k action-wise, but highly prejudiced and ever-ready to caricature, the second and third are the same, but overlong, very slow, and very boring with little in the way of good action, to the point that I barely finished them, I'm not sure what the hype is about really, controversy couldn't make Dan Brown a good author, but he's still better than Pullman, who seems to hate rather a lot of people in a way I can only describe as xenophobic.

Mild Spoilers:

In the second book her original friend, who she travelled half way round the world for, is discarded, with hardly a thought, for her new, and more-or-less identical, companion (I noticed that an awful lot of the characters feel copy-pasted, most of the white bears are paper-thin and all the antagonists seem to run on bile with no real convincing motive or personality).

The final battle, as well as all the action, feels distant and rather mellow-dramatic, as did everything in the second book. The trilogy doesn't seem to end as much as peter out, I left this series feeling unsatisfied and slightly puzzled, to be honest I've put it in a box upstairs and will probably forget about it totally. The characters and plot were unmemorable, nobody really seemed motivated to do anything, but did it anyway (Which is roughly how I felt when I finished the book).

Overall, this averages out as one of the most boring trilogies I have read.

Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition *****
This is a review of edition only. I won't add to the critique of the story itself, except to say that it is one of my all time favorites. This edition (the 10th Anniversary Hardcover Rough Cut) is a nice one. I had the small paperbacks and they were too small. These are big and heavy and feel good in your hands. The quality is high. The deckle edges are a novelty, a throwback to the way books were made long ago. The pictures at the start of each chapter are very small, and not that great, but add a little interest to the chapters. The extra material at the end is somewhat interesting, but not enough of a motivator alone. My favorite thing is the silk page marker ribbon. This is the nicest edition I have seen of His Dark Materials, and if you are trying to decide which one to get, I feel confident recommending this one. Books 2 and 3 are similar.

Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition *****

This is a review of edition only. I won't add to the critique of the story itself, except to say that it is one of my all time favorites.

This edition (the 10th Anniversary Hardcover Rough Cut) is a nice one. I had the small paperbacks and they were too small. These are big and heavy and feel good in your hands. The quality is high. The deckle edges are a novelty, a throwback to the way books were made long ago. The pictures at the start of each chapter are very small, and not that great, but add a little interest to the chapters. The extra material at the end is somewhat interesting, but not enough of a motivator alone. My favorite thing is the silk page marker ribbon. This is the nicest edition I have seen of His Dark Materials, and if you are trying to decide which one to get, I feel confident recommending this one. Books 2 and 3 are similar.

Complex ***
I liked this book for the most part. It's extremely imaginative. Not only did the author create worlds separate from our own, but he makes them seem entirely believable. My issue is the confusion. This story is so complex at times, I have no idea what is going on. I reread passages, and hope for the best. If I have a hard time understanding (and I consider myself an educated adult), what in the world does the targets audience think? Do they just skim over the passages that are trying to explain dust, or angels, or spectors (for example). I applaud Philip Pullman for what he is trying to accomplish with this story, but it just feels like to much.

Complex ***

I liked this book for the most part. It's extremely imaginative. Not only did the author create worlds separate from our own, but he makes them seem entirely believable. My issue is the confusion. This story is so complex at times, I have no idea what is going on. I reread passages, and hope for the best. If I have a hard time understanding (and I consider myself an educated adult), what in the world does the targets audience think? Do they just skim over the passages that are trying to explain dust, or angels, or spectors (for example). I applaud Philip Pullman for what he is trying to accomplish with this story, but it just feels like to much.

What happened to Lyra? ***
After a riveting first book, this was a disappointment. We open in a different world from where Northern Lights (the Golden Compass) ended but that much is fine and almost to be expected. We long to meet our heroine from the first story, yet when she finally appears she has become a completely different character. Gone is the bravery and curiosity of before. Much of the book is contrived and doesn't quite work with the earlier volume. It's not bad, but it would have been better to have stopped before writing this and maintained the great memory of the original adventure.

What happened to Lyra? ***

After a riveting first book, this was a disappointment. We open in a different world from where Northern Lights (the Golden Compass) ended but that much is fine and almost to be expected. We long to meet our heroine from the first story, yet when she finally appears she has become a completely different character. Gone is the bravery and curiosity of before. Much of the book is contrived and doesn't quite work with the earlier volume. It's not bad, but it would have been better to have stopped before writing this and maintained the great memory of the original adventure.

The Difficult Second Book of the Trilogy... ****
The novel follows on directly from Northern Lights although the initial action is set in our own world and we are introduced to a new protagonist, Will. Pursued by mysterious men, he finds his way into a strange - and apparently deserted - city. There he meets Lyra who had crossed the bridge from here own world to this new one. Lyra is intent on investigating Dust despite the Alethiometer giving her a new mission - to find Will's father. Their story unwinds with travels between the world of the deserted city and the Oxford of our own world. There are also things afoot in the world from which Lyra comes which are of great import towards the end of the novel. Compared to the first novel, I felt this one was a little disappointing, as if Pullman had lost a little of his focus. The individual story seemed, somehow, incomplete while the arc storyline initially developed along the lines suggested by the first book before abruptly changing direction. I also felt as if the writing had lost some of the sparkle which distinguished the first book.

The Difficult Second Book of the Trilogy... ****

The novel follows on directly from Northern Lights although the initial action is set in our own world and we are introduced to a new protagonist, Will. Pursued by mysterious men, he finds his way into a strange - and apparently deserted - city. There he meets Lyra who had crossed the bridge from here own world to this new one.

Lyra is intent on investigating Dust despite the Alethiometer giving her a new mission - to find Will's father. Their story unwinds with travels between the world of the deserted city and the Oxford of our own world. There are also things afoot in the world from which Lyra comes which are of great import towards the end of the novel.

Compared to the first novel, I felt this one was a little disappointing, as if Pullman had lost a little of his focus. The individual story seemed, somehow, incomplete while the arc storyline initially developed along the lines suggested by the first book before abruptly changing direction. I also felt as if the writing had lost some of the sparkle which distinguished the first book.

Philip Pullman *****
After the Harry Potter books one needs something else. Philip Pullman filled that hole. An easy read, full of great imaginative ideas and captivating characters. All the stories tie together and makes a great read. Get them they are great!

Philip Pullman *****

After the Harry Potter books one needs something else. Philip Pullman filled that hole.
An easy read, full of great imaginative ideas and captivating characters. All the stories tie together and makes a great read.
Get them they are great!

Rather boring. *
People aren't going to like me for not liking this series, but though I normally really love big thick books, this trilogy has more problems than I can list here, the main one being how boring it is, first one is 0k, second one takes forever and a lot of the plot points don't make a great deal of sense when you think about it, why is she explicitly attracted to murderers, for example (that's a little creepy to be honest). In this book her original friend, who she travelled half way round the world for, is discarded with hardly a thought for her new, and more-or-less identical, companion (I noticed that an awful lot of the characters feel copy-pasted, most of the white bears are paper-thin and all the antagonists seem to run on bile with no convincing motive or personality). First book is 0k action-wise, but highly prejudiced and ever-ready to caricature, the second and third are the same, but overlong, very slow, and very boring with very little in the way of good action, to the point that I barely finished them, I'm not sure what the hype is about really, controversy couldn't make Dan Brown a good author, but he's still better than Pullman, who seems to hate rather a lot of people in a way I can only describe as xenophobic.

Rather boring. *

Great, slightly more adult, continuation of the series *****
The adventure continues, this is subtly slightly more adult, more SF and less straight fantasy than Northern Lights. Great stuff and I am particularly taken with the concept of daemons shared by the people of Lyra's world.

Great, slightly more adult, continuation of the series *****

The adventure continues, this is subtly slightly more adult, more SF and less straight fantasy than Northern Lights. Great stuff and I am particularly taken with the concept of daemons shared by the people of Lyra's world.

Good Job *****
I placed this oder as a birthday gift to my daughter, It took awhile, but it got rectified> Amazon responded to my email very quickly. I ended up with 2 books. So I instructed them to go ahead and charge me for the other book. Very good service and wouldn't have it any other way. My daughter is very happy.

Good Job *****

I placed this oder as a birthday gift to my daughter, It took awhile, but it got rectified> Amazon responded to my email very quickly. I ended up with 2 books. So I instructed them to go ahead and charge me for the other book. Very good service and wouldn't have it any other way. My daughter is very happy.

At times it felt like the TV show, Lost *****
I read "The Subtle Knife" soon after having seen the movie "The Golden Compass" and I couldn't have realized that the story in "The Golden Compass" was just the tip of the iceberg. "The Subtle Knife" is supposed to be teen fiction, but I found it to be one of the heaviest books I've ever read. And thus, I'll be waiting a bit to read "The Amber Spyglass", but I will be reading it. "The Subtle Knife" and Philip Pullman have made that mandatory.

At times it felt like the TV show, Lost *****

I read "The Subtle Knife" soon after having seen the movie "The Golden Compass" and I couldn't have realized that the story in "The Golden Compass" was just the tip of the iceberg. "The Subtle Knife" is supposed to be teen fiction, but I found it to be one of the heaviest books I've ever read. And thus, I'll be waiting a bit to read "The Amber Spyglass", but I will be reading it. "The Subtle Knife" and Philip Pullman have made that mandatory.

Much more focused and exciting than the first ****
If you're thinking to read this series, His Dark Materials, or were a bit put off by the first book, don't hesitate in starting the second, The Subtle Knife. This one is significantly more focused and interesting than The Golden Compass. I am thoroughly looking forward to finishing the series off now with The Amber Spyglass.

Much more focused and exciting than the first ****

If you're thinking to read this series, His Dark Materials, or were a bit put off by the first book, don't hesitate in starting the second, The Subtle Knife. This one is significantly more focused and interesting than The Golden Compass.

I am thoroughly looking forward to finishing the series off now with The Amber Spyglass.

Lyra, new adventures, another mission and more friends... ****
"The subtle knife" is the second book in Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" triology. The first book in the series is "The golden compass". If you haven't read it, don't continue reading this review because it has some spoilers. In case you have read "The golden compass", and are understandably eager to know how the story continues, I will give you some hints. Do you remember the way in which "The golden compass" ended? Lyra and her daemon, Pan, enter an alternate world, passing through a bridge between worlds created by Lord Asriel. New adventures and an entirely new mission await them, as well as another friend, Will. Will Parry is a young boy from our world who is searching for his lost father, and running from the police after commiting a murder. Strangely enough, the fact that Will is a murderer makes Lyra trust him: after all, her dear friend Iorek is a murderer too. Will and Lyra meet each other for the first time in a strange world where there are no adults, due to invisible Specters that kill them. That is the place where Will is going to find the Subtle Knife, a knife that can cut windows to other worlds, and that is capable of killing anything. Of course, that new tool will be highly useful to the children in their quest, related to the hideous crime Lord Asriel committed in order to create a bridge between worlds. Lyra and Will are not going to be alone, though: old and new friends will rush to help them. Unfortunately, they will also have to face old foes, and try to find out what some ambivalent people want from them. On the whole, I think that "The subtle knife" is an entertaining book that will please those that have already read the first book in the series. Notwhitstanding that, I don't believe it is quite up to the very high standards previously set by "The golden compass". All the same, I recommend it as good reading material that you are likely to enjoy. Belen Alcat

Lyra, new adventures, another mission and more friends... ****

"The subtle knife" is the second book in Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" triology. The first book in the series is "The golden compass". If you haven't read it, don't continue reading this review because it has some spoilers. In case you have read "The golden compass", and are understandably eager to know how the story continues, I will give you some hints.

Do you remember the way in which "The golden compass" ended? Lyra and her daemon, Pan, enter an alternate world, passing through a bridge between worlds created by Lord Asriel. New adventures and an entirely new mission await them, as well as another friend, Will. Will Parry is a young boy from our world who is searching for his lost father, and running from the police after commiting a murder. Strangely enough, the fact that Will is a murderer makes Lyra trust him: after all, her dear friend Iorek is a murderer too.

Will and Lyra meet each other for the first time in a strange world where there are no adults, due to invisible Specters that kill them. That is the place where Will is going to find the Subtle Knife, a knife that can cut windows to other worlds, and that is capable of killing anything. Of course, that new tool will be highly useful to the children in their quest, related to the hideous crime Lord Asriel committed in order to create a bridge between worlds. Lyra and Will are not going to be alone, though: old and new friends will rush to help them. Unfortunately, they will also have to face old foes, and try to find out what some ambivalent people want from them.

On the whole, I think that "The subtle knife" is an entertaining book that will please those that have already read the first book in the series. Notwhitstanding that, I don't believe it is quite up to the very high standards previously set by "The golden compass". All the same, I recommend it as good reading material that you are likely to enjoy.

Belen Alcat

Even more riveting! *****
Once again Philip Pullman pulls off a spectacular work of fiction. The second book in His Dark Materials series is a must read for anyone who enjoyed the first book. I definately think the series should be read in order so that full understanding of the plot can be accomplished. Pullman succeeds in his creation of new and unique ideas for the second book.

Even more riveting! *****

Once again Philip Pullman pulls off a spectacular work of fiction. The second book in His Dark Materials series is a must read for anyone who enjoyed the first book. I definately think the series should be read in order so that full understanding of the plot can be accomplished. Pullman succeeds in his creation of new and unique ideas for the second book.