This is the second book in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. I read the first, Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass in the US) in August last year and thought it was okay. I was interested to see where this book went after the first as I’d heard that the trilogy simply gets darker as it goes on. Having now read the second book, I think most of what I’ve heard must occur in the third book which sits on my shelf. We shall see.

Subtle Knife doesn’t pick up directly where the first book leaves off. The first book stayed entirely in Lyra’s world. But as the boundary between that world and the hundreds of others was rent at the end of the book, this book begins in one of those other worlds. It happens to be ours.

And a new character is introduced who become Lyra’s partner in arms as they both battle their way through the mystery that their lives have become and realise that they share a destiny that will, undoubtedly, be realised in book 3.

The book is written in the same style as the first which suits teens more than any other age group. Not really my thing but if you’re into Potter you’d like it.

The story is a little less gripping than that of the first book. This is a typical weakness of a trilogy so I kind of expected that. There are a couple of interesting twists and one fairly gruesome bit which made me feel a bit queasy so Pullman can spin a yarn and engage his readers.

What about his views on Christianity? Well, first let me say that I am a supporter of Christ, I’m not such a big fan of the church. So, I take on board and consider valid, Pullman’s message that the church as an institution is in the business of protecting itself. This is the truth and does the cause of Christ no service.

However, where Pullman misleads is in equating God with his church. It seems a fundamentally naive view to compare any human institution with a form of diviniity as if one could ever be a worthy representation of the intents and purposes of the other.

And a bit more naivety comes in as the plot seems to be developing toward an assassination attempt on God himself. Yawn…. where did Pullman get that idea from? The Gospels perhaps? As we know from history, you can’t keep a God-man down. ( )

Drifted into a used bookstore in Tallahassee.* Walked out with three paperback for the flight home. This was one of them.*My Favorite Books (in Market Square). Most well-organized used bookstore I've ever had the pleasure of browsing!UPDATE: Very glad I picked this up. I was a bit disappointed by [b:The Golden Compass|119322|The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1)|Philip Pullman|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510AEGjZ9yL._SL75_.jpg|1536771], but this was a wonderful sequel. Really felt the human-daemon connection with Lee & Hester towards the end. I love that the scary, life-sucking, ghosty things (dementors, anyone?) are called the Specters of Indifference. ( )

After reading this sequel to the Golden Compass (AKA Northern Lights) I can say that the His Dark Material Series has now grown immensely in scale and evolved to an adventure that puts the fate of life as a whole in the balance.

The story follows a new protagonist by the name of Will Parry, who is a boy around Lyra's age- albeit more mature- and his quest to find his father (John Parry) who disappeared when he was just a boy. From the very get go we are exposed the the child's maturity as he not only has the presence of mind to make sure his mentally ill mother is well taken care of. But he also does well in covering his tracks after accidentally murdering a man who was pursuing him and his family. Eventually Will meets up with the original protagonist Lyra Belaquia and the two soon realize that their fates are intertwined in a goal that maybe so important that all of mankind depends on it. Now I am deliberately being vague about the plot because one of the best things about the book is finding out just how large the conflict has become. Spanning not only Lyra's world where people walk around with daemon companions, but our own human world in the present and also the world of Citagazze where adults are plagued by the treacherous Specters of Indifference where only pre-adolescents remain safe. Furthermore as there are countless worlds throughout the universe, one can only gather that everything in existence is at stake.

Now one thing I like about this sequel is that it moves away from Lyra, at many segments of the book the narrative focuses on other characters. Besides Will Parry- Wielder of the Subtle Knife- we have an expanded perspective of some old faces- namely the century old witch Serafina Pekkala, the Texan Aeronaut Lee Scoresby, along with some new characters such as the Physicist Mary Malone and the Shaman Dr. Stannislus Gruuman- all of which have some great purpose in the overall plot. I especially love the fact that we get more incite into the characters' motives, beliefs and pasts and in some cases their relationship with their daemons- especially Lee Scoresby. I also like the way Lyra realises that she's getting older, that she can no longer take foolish risks and hope to lie her way out of them like she did in her world. This is also reinforced by the fact that her daemon is becoming more stable and pretty soon she'd be an adult. Whether Will's presence sparked this change or not remains to be seen but it is a great transition from her careless ways of the past.

And the ideas in this book are thrice as impressive as the first.Aside from daemons we are introduced to the existence of many different worlds including our very own, and how they are all similar in some way. And also the item known as the Subtle Knife which can cut through any substance even the fabric of space itself. Along with the Specters of Indifference, the true nature of Dust and the nefarious goal of the ambitious Lord Asriel who dares to do what mere humans would've never done before.

I can go on and on about this novel but I probably would end up making one myself. The writing is top notch as always, with the style changing according to the situation. With a darker mood surrounding the plot, where death is rampant and children are exposed to horrors, violence and real danger. And the themes are so wide now that it changes the entire scope the first one had.

All in all I am tempted- o so tempted to read the Amber Spyglass- but I have other books on my list to check out sadly. But it was an excellent read.

4 1/2 stars. ( )

Part two of a trilogy is a crucial time - look at Star Wars (the originals), Back to the Future, The Lord of The Rings...

'The Subtle Knife' is the best possible book for the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy - it moves the plot forward, makes you excited about reading the concluding part, and is just dark and menacing enough to move you emotionally. This, honestly, is 'The Empire Strikes Back' for the end of the twentieth century. ( )

A solid, if unspectacular sequel to the amazing Golden Compass. So much is lost in this second installment, that the third has sat on my shelf unread for years. ( )