The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2)

by Philip Pullman

HIS DARK MATERIALS IS NOW AN HBO ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING DAFNE KEEN, RUTH WILSON, JAMES McAVOY, AND LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA!

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

Reviewed by thepunktheory on

4 of 5 stars

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After being absolutely fascinate by part one, I was super excited to read The Subtle Knife.
However, my first thought on this book was: irritating. Especially when Pullman starts the story in our world. Yes, that's right. No deamons, nothing fancy. Will is an ordinary kid, living in our world. It took quite a few pages to take that and I was rather startled by it.

Well, I got used to it after some time and when I really allowed myself to sink into the story, I appreciated it more. Pullman is a great writer, he paints the most marvellous pictures with his words. But - there always has to be a but - The Subtle Knife got nowhere near the first part, Northern Lights.

While the first installment was fascinating and full of a subtle sort of magic, this book just can't keep up. Especially the chapters set in our world are for a huge part only weird. For example those parts with Dr. Malone. Those of you who read the book will understand what I'm talking about.

So, from time to time the story does pick up some really interesting aspects and you want to find out more. But unfortunately it never took long Pullman to return to a point where it just felt like dragging on.

I have to say, my feelings are rather mixed about this one. It is a decent book, but definitely not worthy of the first installment in the series. I had expected so much more and ende

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 June, 2016: Finished reading
  • 4 June, 2016: Reviewed