His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)

By Philip Pullman

The spellbinding sequel to The Golden Compass, the modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top 100 Book of All Time," continues the epic adventure, catapulting readers between worlds, and toward a devastating discovery.

Lost in a new world, Lyra finds Will—a boy on the run, a murderer—a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.

Each is searching—Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father—but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power. And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together...until they are split apart.

A #1 New York Times Bestseller
Published in 40 Countries

“Just as quick-moving and unputdownable as The Golden Compass. . . . The mysteries deepen and the wonders grow even more extravagant.” —The Washington Post

“Pullman’s imagination soars . . . A literary rollercoaster ride you won’t want to miss.”—The Boston Globe

“The story gallops with ferocious momentum . . . Devilishly inventive.” —The New York Times Book Review

Don't miss Philip Pullman's epic new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials!
** THE BOOK OF DUST **
La Belle Sauvage
The Secret Commonwealth

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 13, 2001
• ISBN: 9780440418610

Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman (b. 1946) is one of the world’s most acclaimed children’s authors, his bold, brilliant books having set new parameters for what children’s writing can say and do. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy, installments of which have won the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. In 2003, the trilogy came third in the BBC’s Big Read competition to find the nation’s favorite book, and in 2005 he was awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, an international prize for children’s literature. In 2007, Northern Lights became a major Hollywood film, The Golden Compass, starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Pullman has published nearly twenty books, and when he’s not writing he likes to play the piano (badly), draw, and make things out of wood.

Reviews for His Dark Materials

[marse_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second part of His Dark Materials introduces multiple universes, and Will, a boy from our world. He enters an alternate universe by accident and meets Lyra, and on the run from various enemies, they discover that their fates are intertwined. Here, Pullman's inspiration "Paradise Lost" becomes more obvious as the worlds are preparing for a war either for or against 'The Authority'. It has lots of action and deaths of important characters. Looking forward to the final book to see how it is all resolved.

[fluffyblue_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think for me, this book was the best of the trilogy. It was more involved than the first part, which really was scene-setting, and introduced the characters of Will and Mary.This part of the story was fairly easy to follow, but I would imagine for a young adult it presented some fairly challenging reading at times. The writing was clear and concise and flowed nicely from the first part.

[lisamorr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, The Subtle Knife starts off on our world, with Will trying to find a place to keep his mother safe. Eventually Will meets up with Lyra, and learns that his destiny is linked with hers. They travel back and forth between his world and another parallel world, running from enemies everywhere. It ends in a cliffhanger, and I'm definitely interested in what happens to Will and Lyra. Knowing this has been marketed to a YA audience, I was a bit surprised with some of the disturbing imagery and plot turns.

[expatscot-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I suffered my way through this trilogy as it was "The greatest thing" and concluded that it was only deemed such as the Literati never deign to read Sci-Fi and so thought he dreamt up all the stuff he just re-hashed.

[xiaomarlo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really like these! Especially, of course, the abundance of animals/daemons (Will and his love of cats! So adorable!). Can't wait to read the third one. Wish I had known about these when they came out; I would've loved them when I was in my teens.

I hear the movie of the first book sucks, so I won't be seeing it, but I think these books would make a really excellent Hayao Miyazaki anime. It's got the strong female protagonist, lots of cute animals, and just... the feel of a lot of his stories. Compare these books to, say, Nausicaa or Princess Mononoke.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In The Golden Compass Pullman introduced his readers to the possibility of more than one universe. He hinted there were actually three - the one we were in currently, a completely different universe and a third being a combination of the two. In The Subtle Knife we experience those different worlds first hand as Lyra and her new friend, Will Parry, move between them to escape their enemies. In The Golden Compass readers were also introduced to daemons. Now, we learn that people without daemons are without free will. They lack fear and imagination so they make perfect soldiers for the evil Mrs. Coulter. In addition to Mrs. Coulter, the otherworld of Cittagazze hides other enemies. Soul-eating Specters haunt the streets while children run wild without daemons or parents and rule Lord-of-the-Flies style. As Lyra and Will travel from world to world they discover the Subtle Knife, a blade that can cut through anything. It's power has yet to be fully understood

[thewasp_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In book 2 His Dark Materials we meet 12 yr old Will who cares for his unwell mother and whose father,who was an explorer, disappeared when he was a baby. Now someone was after them, and when Will fears he may have killed the intruder he leaves his mother in the care of his teacher and goes in search of his father. While fleeing he stumbles across an opening into another universe and it is here he finds Lyra and is granted the gift of the subtle knife. Together they go looking for Wills father and Lyra's father Lord Asrial . They find they have a common link in the search for the meaning of Dust. More adventures while trying to stay away from people who are trying to harm them. Good reading.

[daniel.malcor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised how Kassie kept interested. She thinks the knife itself is cool.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm rereading this amazing series and enjoying it more the second time around. Like the title, there are some subtle themes running through this series -- religion, good vs. evil and free choice. The audiobook is especially well done and very fun. Although there are so many amazing YA fantasy series, this one is special and should not be missed. Definitely one that will also appeal to adults.

[edensteffey · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not as good as he 1st one.

[jamiebh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Still love this series!

[hopeevey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Volume 2 of this series is a pleasant read. The writing is good, although the characters are a bit stilted and predictable. This volume, especially towards the ends, may begin to merit the claim that it's anti-Christian. I say "may" as it's still a fantasy novel, set in a fantasy universe, with some connection to a universe that may be our world. We'll have to see what happens in the final volume to really say.

I'm very glad I'm listening to this, instead of reading it. I don't think it would really hold me attention if I couldn't do something else with my hands.

The series is like a mirror twin of the Chronicles of Narnia, although I seem to recall Mr. Lewis's writing was a bit more engaging. I am interesting in the world building Mr. Pullman's done here, and exactly what he may end up saying about humanity and religion.

And is it just me, or does Lee Scoresby seem a lot like Quincey Morris, from Dracula?

[greeniezona · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I finally decided that if I were going to read the rest of the trilogy, I should really do so before I forgot everything about the first book. (I am normally very resistant to series.) Only to be dropped right into a new world with new rules. It was a little frustrating for a bit, wanting a continuation of the first story, having nearly all the trappings of the first book stripped away and needing time to invest in the new characters and stories. For a while I didn't like this book nearly as much as the first one, but over time it won me over. I enjoyed getting to read more about the witches, and about Lee. The knife itself is fascinating.I think if I were rating this book as a stand-alone, the rating would be much lower, but it maintained enough momentum to plunge me right into the next one, which I did.

[arseny_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

All promises of the 1st book are ruined in the 2nd. The author have fallen for same flaws he thought of being fighting.

[haridasi_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Easy to read.

[arkhamreviews · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[narilka · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Strange men have been harassing Will Parry's mother for years about his missing father, even going so far as to break into their house searching for documents! Will knows he must keep his mother safe entrusts her care with a friend. Then Will flees from the men and begins a frantic quest to find his father. Just as he's getting started Will stumbles through an unseen window and into another world inhabited only by wild children telling stories of "specters" that have chased away all the adults. It is here that Will meets a young girl named Lyra Silvertongue. Quickly it becomes apparent that her and Will's meeting is no accident and that both their fates will be tied to something called the Subtle Knife.The Subtle Knife is the second in Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It felt a little like starting over with a whole new protagonist and the story being told primarily from Will's point of view. Lyra and Pan are definitely important and have some great moments. This is just more Will's story than Lyra's. Similar to the first book it wasn't until about half way through again that I felt really engaged in their adventure.I ended up liking Will & Lyra as a team. Their introduction was funny and awkward, just as it should be. Once they grow to trust each other Will provides a good balance to Lyra and helps her character grow into a more mature direction. I found it interesting when Pan takes it upon himself to comfort Will in his time of need because will didn't have his own daemon even though this is something strictly not done. Makes me wish I had my own daemon even more.The religious overtones are starting to show and it sticks out badly from what is otherwise fast paced, if a bit dark, adventure. I'm still not sure I have made the correct connection between Dust, the specters and consciousness. Maybe I'm overthinking it? Hopefully it becomes clearer in the third book. It also felt kind of weird to suddenly throw angels into the mix along with the Adam/Eve myth and what appears to be a literal attack on The Authority (aka God). I'm definitely getting an idea as to why this series caused so much controversy. The book ends on quite a cliff hanger that is obviously a set up for the final book. I feel invested enough at this point that I want to see how it all ends.

[oscarwilde87_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second installment in the His Dark Materials series, The Subtle Knife follows protagonist Lyra Silvertongue on her way to find out the truth about dust, a mysterious substance that seems to control many aspects of life in Lyra's world. Will Parry, a boy from another world, sets out to find his father. Then their paths cross and they discover that there are multiple worlds. Both know their way around Oxford, for example, but their versions of Oxford are somewhat different. To travel between the worlds, one has to find almost invisible doors in the air that serve as portals. In their quest, Lyra's alethiometer, a dust-powered instrument that tells her the truth about everything, is stolen. Confronting the thief, Lyra and Will are offered a deal to bring him the subtle knife, a knife that can cut through every material known to man. What is more, this knife can also be used to open doors into other worlds and the bearer of this knife has control over opening and closing those portals. In the meantime, Lord Asriel gathers troops to fight the authority. In the end, several plotlines converge and leave the reader with an outlook on what could happen in the third novel of the series.I liked The Subtle Knife better than The Golden Compass as it was more fast-paced and seemed to be more mature than the first novel in the series. I kept turning pages in order to see what would eventually happen to Lyra and her world, but in the end I was a little disappointed by the open ending that leaves the most interesting questions unanswered. On the whole, 3.5 stars.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoy the continuation where the scale gets grander and the rhetoric is ramped up (maybe a little heavy at times).

[aliceunderskies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this as a child and was completely caught up by the magic of it. I have fond memories of playing elaborately constructed games set in Pullman's universe with my friends--we had such fun inventing daemons for ourselves! Any book that inspires excellent childhood games is automatically excellent. I've tried to reread it as a grownup and cannot bear: the underlying antireligious didactics are at constant danger of destroying aforementioned fond memories. Even when I sort of agree with Pullman in theory I just can't stand all of the real-world drama and controversy; I just want fierce, fantastic Lyra and dear Will with their marvelous adventures immaculate forever in my memory.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good fantasy - what the genre should be. Mind-expanding and a journey.

[amaraduende · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great read! Entertaining and strange. The strongest attraction here is the characters. Finally finished this 2/9. I had put off reading the last chapter simply because I had enjoyed reading it so much and didn't want to be over. This book was by no means perfect - various things about it bothered me... but even so, it was so enjoyable. Will reread.

[lani9rose · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first book starts of a bit slow, but it speeds up until I found I couldn't put it down. There are fascinating concepts that guaranteed you wouldn't have heard of before that really make you think even once you've put the book down. As a few people have already said, strongly religious people might object to it. I've read all three books twice and it is definitely one of my favourite series!

[dazzyj_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Compelling, heartbreaking and dealing with themes fundamental to our humanity. One of the greatest works of the imagination ever set in print.

[vwatson12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I totally enjoyed this trilogy. Wish that hollywood would have made the sequals no matter the controversary. Throughout the books, since i had seen ths Golden Compass, I compltetely saw Kidman in the femme fatale role. So convincing she was in the film that I could not have envisioned anyone else doing a better job.

[mbg0312 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not a bad take on epic fantasy, and he at least puts some real thought and ideas into the world he creates, but it ended up feeling highly overrated to me. Characterization was a bit weaker than I think his boosters acknowledge.

[dillytanty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A great trilogy, would have been better if more viciously edited. The hell/purgatory sequences added almost nothing except a layer of misery

[boes0106 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this series so much i read it in four weeks. The blend of fantasy with science fiction was interesting. I think my favorite book of the series was the golden compass. That's because narration was a single voice. Towards the end i got fed up with each characters interruptions. Pullman's work can also be read on a number of different levels. It is rich with symbolism and commentary on modern science and religion. It also intertwines simple themes like growing up and good vs evil with more complex ones such as the role and nature of theology.I also enjoyed putting together the mysteries of what certain ideas/objects/deamons in Lyra's world equated to in ours own.If i could change one thing it would be the ending. I don't know if i will want to read Lyra's Oxford or not. I intend to pick up a book interpreting Pullman's work. I give this book a B+

[aramissciant · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great adventure, although I definitely liked best the first two books -before he got too much into the whole anti-religion rant-. Read the books before seeing the movie adaptation of 'The Golden Compass'.

[quantum_flapdoodle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As someone who has never favored fantasy as a genre, I was pleasantly surprised at this trilogy, which is imaginative, entertaining, and does a lot mroe to get the science right (or at least rational) than most other books of this ilk. The heroine is a feisty young girl who is rendered more likeable by her lack of perfection and her stubborn nature. The twisting of the plot and the shifting of the characters until you can't tell who is the good guy, who is the bad guy, keeps you guessing all the time...much as in life. The depiction of the Catholic Church (the Magesterium) is delicious.