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

I was going to do a lengthy review of this book (the second of a trilogy) as well as of the new TV series that has come out based on the first two books in the series but decided to cut it short.The book itself (and the other two books) are well written. The story and characters are good. The world building is superb and it provides ideas that I've not seen elsewhere (external daemons, the alethiometer, etc.). If this is "YA", then its at the upper end.The theology of the book (series) is very similar to that of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale: a highly skewed exaggeration of "Christianity" that is then very easy for the story to criticize (a "straw man" fallacy). This is basically the Tower of Babel except that that the "god" and the "church" of the books isn't at all like Christianity (well, it may resemble certain aspects of *medieval* Roman Catholicism like the Inquisition but not historical Christianity as a whole) and therefore just falls apart. It almost sounds like wishful thinking on the part of the author of an otherwise entertaining set of books.

This is the 2nd book of the Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra has escaped Mrs. Coultar, she has escaped with her daemon (we would call it our spirit) intact. Her father had killed Lyra's friend Roger by cutting his daemon away from him. Now she finds a strange boy that doesn't have a daemon that she can see. His name is Will and he is running from strangers that want some letters his father has written.The two if them find that neither comes from the world they are in. So, they work together to accomplish a task that neither child understands. They fight for the life of an old man, only to find Will is now the bearer of a special knife. He is suppose to fight in a war he knows nothing about . His father is killed by a witch that is suppose to protect him and Lyra. As he approaches the camp where Lyra is suppose to be sleeping, he sees Lyra has been taken there are angels there to guide him to his destination.

In the second volume of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy, "The Subtle Knife", we are introduced to Will Parry, a young boy from our own world. Will is only 12, but he is wise beyond his years, having lost his explorer father when he was a baby, and caring for his mentally ill mother for several years already. When we meet him, Will is on the run from sinister men who have harassed his family and even broken into his house in search of letters his mysterious father wrote during his last expedition.Seeking a place to hide, Will discovers an open window to another universe, and steps through. There, in a city abandoned by adults and populated by children and Specters, he meets Lyra. The two of them recognize each other as kindred souls, even as they realize that the men chasing Will are tied to Mrs. Coulter and the people pursuing Lyra. News comes that Lord Asriel has torn asunder the barriers between worlds, and that both Lyra and Will have crucial roles to play in the coming conflict with The Church and The Authority."The Subtle Knife" is clearly a bridge book between the first and third volumes of the trilogy. There is plenty of action and much is revealed about the inner workings of the plot that propels the story. Not quite as thrillingly original as the book it follows, "The Subtle Knife" also seems to be written to favor Will a bit more than Lyra, who was headstrong but smart in "The Golden Compass" but now somewhat more stubborn and foolhardy in this volume. It remains, however, a compelling read.

I know that this series is supposed to be classic, loved by one and all, but I must be missing something. I feel very ambivalent about the series and I don't even like Lyra Silvertongue even though she's the heroine.In this book, Lyra meets Will in a world that neither of them come from. It's a world made up only of children although it's obvious that grown-ups were here not too long ago. They learn from the children that the Specters take over the adults until finally they just disappear.Will is searching for his long lost father who never came back from an expedition to the North that he joined many years ago. Lyra consults her althiometer and determines that it is her job to help Will. In the end, Will is summoned by Lord Asriel, Lyra's father.I guess the final book in the series, The Amber Spyglass, will determine whether I like this series enough to continue on to the author's next series starting with The Book of Dust. For now I'm in a wait and see mode.

Will! It's hard to believe that he wasn't even mentioned in Golden Compass. He is a perfect foil for Lyra, while his character (like hers) is far from perfect. GC was told from Lyra's POV, but her thoughts and actions seemed to come from a much older/wiser intelligence. Will's character and backstory, however, seem to arise very naturally from his backstory (and DNA). It took me a while to warm up to Lyra, but I liked Will straight away.This is the best book of the Trilogy, but you gotta read #1 to understand the plot, and your gotta read #3 to see how it all turns out.

I love the His Dark Matter Trilogy. This is a second time reading the books after many years. Well told story & the full cast audio is fantastic. But I would recommend parents who have young teens to read the series first, there is some idealogy that might not appeal to your religion. It's a fantastical plot, well written. I highly recommend the books. Good development of characters, you are pulled into the story quickly.

Here then we have the second volume of His Dark Materials trilogy, where the action and adventure continue. This opens with a new character, Will Parry, who lives very much in our own world, but with certain events happening, so he finds himself on the run and discovering a portal to a different world. Whilst exploring this other world he comes across Lyra Belacqua, who now calls herself Lyra SIlvertongue, and thus both their destinies become entwined.Whereas the first book gave us only one world, so here we actually have three, as we carry on following the adventures of Lyra, and now Will as well. Taking us back to Lyra’s world, so we see what is happening there and how others have crossed over to seek Lyra, some to assist her, and others to try and bring about her downfall. Inspired partly by Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, so there are many other elements here, including influences from William Blake’s poetry, and even Keats, along with religion, physics (especially quantum physics), metaphysics and philosophy.As we see, what is the organised religion in Lyra’s world do not want the young girl to succeed in her quest, but can she be stopped? Will is also on a quest of his own, to find his father, but with a knife, called the subtle knife coming into his possession, so he finds that his destiny is far greater than he thought. Making us ponder many things, this of course does raise the question of free will, and whether it really exists. Also this takes in loyalty, duty, friendship and respect, things that we should all know about.With a number of thrills and spills this is a great read for young and old alike, obviously with us more mature readers taking in all the nuances that this tale has. As with the first novel this does have a lot to offer any reader, and will make you think about many things, including your own place in the world. Also, this has a great ending, which leaves things up in the air for the third volume.

The Subtle Knife was one of my favourite books as a teen (although I haven't read it in well over a decade) and it still largely stands the test of time. For a children's novel, it is hugely ambitious. It raises some deep theological concepts, ranging from the nature of innocence to the problems of organised religion to the perception of reality. It should possibly be noted that, despite the accessible way in which this novel is written, a lot of the subtext is likely to go whizzing over the head of younger readers.The story has escalated rapidly from Northern Lights, as Lyra unknowingly finds herself sandwiched between two factions - the Magisterium in their crusade against Dust, and Lord Asriel who has now set his sights on destroying the being that they worship (known as the Authority). The result is deeply original, yet still felt as though it was lacking something fundamental. I think the main problem is that Pullman's ideas are far too grand for this novel. The Subtle Knife is a bit of a smorgasbord - it contains a bit of everything but its scope is so broad that it lacks finer detail. We see glimpses of the bigger picture - of Lord Asriel's fortress and Mrs Coulter's ever growing greed - but there isn't enough room in the novel to really focus on any aspect.In this, The Subtle Knife is a bit of a middle-novel. It really exists to move the key characters into the places that they need to be for The Amber Spyglass. It's not a bad novel by any means - in fact, I think it's better paced than Northern Lights - however, the perspective does jump around a lot between important parties. It's not just Lyra's story anymore. Will, Mary Malone, Lee Scoresby and Serafina Pekkala also are the focus of chapters and so the 3rd person narrative flits between them and the various worlds that they travel to. The novel also ends on a very sudden cliffhanger, leaving it feeling incomplete as a whole.Yet where The Subtle Knife really grabbed me was its characters. I cared about all of them deeply and never wanted any of them to come to any harm (which is unfortunate, as Pullman has no trouble tearing out my heart and crushing it). Although Will and Lyra often seem older than pre-teens, they are still both really likeable protagonists and showed noticeable growth and maturity throughout the story. The twists and turns in their destiny are also compelling, drawing the reader in and leaving you wondering how things can possibly turn out okay in The Amber Spyglass.All in all, this is not a perfect read but is a strong sequel to Northern Lights. I really look forward to seeing how it all wraps up in the final book.

I had already read the first book in the trilogy so naturally bought this one too. Both are brilliant, beautifully written with a captivating story. I couldn’t put the first book down and this is no different. Every sentence leaves you needing to read the next without a pause. I’m having to limit my reading, savouring it to make it last longer, like a delicious chocolate cake. Sadly I will soon be at the end with nothing else to do but buy his next book. Pullman’s ability to blend reality with fantasy is astonishing and his imaginings are equally plausible, not beyond the realms of reality at all.

I read and enjoyed 'The Golden Compass' after watching the television series, wondering how faithfully the series followed the book. I then turned to 'The Subtle Knife', hoping to find it as enthralling as the first, only to be disappointed.This series is aimed at children and (I think, as is often the case now,) read mostly by adults. I certainly wouldn't encourage children to read it. I found the second volume dark and disturbing, and towards the end I became more and more depressed by it. Pullman's writing moves into a more visionary mode, becoming less and less attached to any kind of reality, and there comes with it a loss of hope - which, together with optimism, is an essential quality for a children's book.I have heard that this series carries with it religious undertones which twist the principles of Christianity (and perhaps other religions), turning them around. I couldn't see such a theme in 'The Golden Compass', but it surfaces in 'The Subtle Knife' - perhaps less clearly if, like a child, you are not aware of it. Is this dangerous? I find it fascinating, but again, I'm not sure it's appropriate for the young reader.I worry about 'young readers' being exposed to dark literature. Their world is already peppered with a great deal of crime, (including knife crime), lack of opportunity and extreme focus on self. But this is a line of thought for another place.I could only give this book one star, and I definitely wouldn't read it again. I'm not sure, now, whether I will continue to the third book... maybe I need to read something cheerful and humorous now, to restore my equilibrium!

The Subtle Knife continues directly where Northern Lights/Golden Compass left off: a common trait in trilogies, and one I don't like. (Even in connected books, authors should make each book complete in itself.) Subtle Knife is the same. But each book in this series deals with a very different goal in a different way, which excuses the cliffhanger.When Lyra takes the "wormhole" (His Dark Materials is really sci-fi in a wizard's robe) she enters an entirely new story, and becomes a different character. Mrs Coulter is as scary as ever: perhaps the most terrifyingly sweet woman in the genre. The parallels between "their" world and "our" world aren't laboured, and as the action moves north to Svalberg the distinctions blur; after all, both universes are covered in snow. Much as Pullman's effortless prose style made us accept daemons are perfectly reasonable in part 1, we accept moving between dimensions as entirely normal in this part 2.What's more, I hate fantasy. I just hate it: full of lazy supernatural powers and magical get-out-of-jail-free cards. But I'll give any author a chance, and Pullman of course came with somewhat powerful credentials. I'm glad I took the plunge. The Subtle Knife uses the devices of the fantasy genre, but... differently. The mcGuffin (the knife itself) isn't sought reverently for its power; it falls into someone's hands, and it's a huge burden, not a benefit. A true twist that gives the series its narrative strength.So... a terrific read. But you knew that already. What I'm appealing to in this review is non-fantasy readers. If you think it's beneath you, try His Dark Materials and you might be surprised.