The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials Series #2)

Sally Visick

The Subtle Knifeis a fantasy adventure on the grand scale.
— Times Literary Supplement

Rachel Pastan

In 1995, Philip Pullman published The Golden Compass, the first volume of a trilogy of fantasy novels called His Dark Materials, ostensibly written for young adults. I had never heard of Pullman until this summer when a children's bookseller told me he was the best fantasy writer since Tolkien. The book drew me in so immediately and deeply that I actually looked forward to getting up at 3 a.m. to nurse the baby so I could read a few more chapters. When I finished the novel, my only consolation was the discovery that the second volume, The Subtle Knife, was about to come out.

Nearly as good as its predecessor, The Subtle Knife chronicles a determined, unhappy boy named Will, son of a long-vanished arctic explorer, who finds a window from Oxford, England, into another world. There he meets a girl named Lyra and her dæmon -- a kind of animal manifestation of her inner self. Lyra, the feisty, mischievous protagonist of The Golden Compass, has come to the city in search of a mysterious substance called Dust, but she abandons her own mission to help Will find his father.

One reason fantasy books can be so captivating is that everything in them is new, a mystery to be explored: Why is this new world inhabited only by children? What are the Specters and why are they invisible? What exactly is a dæmon, and what happens if you don't have one? On the other hand, the invented world must maintain some of the essential qualities of our own -- it must be internally consistent, for example, and human nature must remain more or less as we know it. Many fantasy writers fail to appeal to a more general audience because they get so caught up in invention that they neglect to create compelling and complicated characters. Pullman strikes an excellent balance between imagination and verisimilitude, and his major characters are as interesting and human as anyone we would meet in a decent realistic novel.

Like many fantasy books, The Subtle Knife is about a cosmic battle between good and evil and the search for an object of power. The Golden Compass has a more original structure than this book does, but Pullman is a skillful writer who doesn't rely on stock elements to do his work for him, using them instead in creative and unexpected ways. Indeed the overarching moral and religious pattern, once revealed, is so shockingly subversive that I was amazed -- and intrigued -- to find it in a mainstream novel for children.

And now that I know what the trilogy is "about," I'm more anxious than ever for Pullman to publish the final installment. How can I wait two years to learn whether the rebel angels will triumph over the Authority, and at what price? -- Salon

Publishers Weekly

More than fulfilling the promise of The Golden Compass, this second volume in the His Dark Materials trilogy starts off at a heart-thumping pace and never slows down. On the run after inadvertently killing one of the sinister men who have been stalking his emotionally disturbed mother, Will, 12, hitchhikes to Oxford to seek information about his father, an explorer who vanished in the Arctic over a decade ago. As Will searches for a place to sleep, he stumbles upon Cittgazzea deserted city in another worldaccessible via a sort of magic gateway located (in one of the story's many witty mixes of the banal and the unearthly) near an ordinary traffic circle. Crossing into this peculiar place, Will encounters Lyra (heroine of the previous book), who has left her own world to find out what she can about the mysterious substance called Dust. Will and Lyra (and Lyra's daemon) join forces and travel between worlds, performing a mind-boggling multidimensional burglary, uncovering the ugly secrets of Cittgazze and gaining hold of an ancient and powerful weapon (the "subtle knife" of the title). Adding to the suspense are subplots involving Lyra's former companion, the Texan balloonist Lee Scoresby; the evil but beautiful Mrs. Coulter; the fierce Northern witch clans; and the mysterious Dr. Stanislaus Grumman. As in Golden Compass, the Arctic settings prove a strikingly original fantasy terrain. And where the first book hinted at a defective cosmology, this work develops that theme in terms of Judeo-Christian theology. Squeamish readers should beware: the narrative touches on such grisly topics as trepanning and genital mutilation. Nevertheless, the grandly exuberant storytelling is sure to enthrall. Ages 10-up. (July)

Publishers Weekly

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy now appears in sophisticated trade paperback editions, each title embossed within a runic emblem of antiqued gold. The backdrop of The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials, Book I sports a midnight blue map of the cosmos with the zodiacal ram at its center. The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass carry similarly intriguing cover art, and all three titles offer details not seen in the originals: in Compass and Knife, for example, Pullman's stamp-size b&w art introduces each chapter; Spyglass chapters open with literary quotes from Blake, the Bible, Dickinson and more. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

In a starred review, PW said, "More than fulfilling the promise of The Golden Compass, this second volume in the His Dark Materials trilogy starts off at a heart-thumping pace and never slows down." Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

VOYA

In The Golden Compass, Pullman gave us a breathtakingly rich vision of a world shades removed from and more mystical than ours, infused with magic and informed by reason, where everyone has a personal daemon in animal form that is the perfect complement of their personality, and to which they are bound with their whole soul. We met Lyra, the impudent, shrewd daughter of the powerful scholar, Lord Asriel. Left to her own wild devices under the benevolent care of elderly professors, she finds her joy running wild with the Oxford street children. When Lyra foils an attempt to assassinate her dangerous father, events are set in motion that destroy her innocent childhood. A photograph of an alternate world, rumors of mysterious Dust, and the increasing disappearances of children all serve to move Lyra down the path of a terrible destiny. With Lord Asriel imprisoned, the glamorous Mrs. Coulter and her menacing daemon come to take Lyra from her home. Lyra receives a curious instrument-an alethiometer-which always tells the truth, if one is able to discern the layered meanings of its pictograms. Frightened when she discovers Mrs. Coulter is not only her mother, but also the leader of the Oblation board-those behind the abductions, performing unspeakable experiments, severing children from their daemons-Lyra escapes, determined to rescue her father and a missing friend. She begins a journey to the far North, making strange allies along the way, from the King of the Gyptians to Iorek Byrnison, leader of the great white armored bears. The conclusion is aching, haunting, and epically beautiful. In The Subtle Knife, Pullman continues Lyra's story, as tensions escalate. Will, a boy from a parallel Oxford, is on a quest to find his own father, who had vanished on a Northern expedition. Fleeing after killing one of the mysterious men who question his mother, Will finds a hole from his modern England into the world of Cittigazze, where adults are prey to soul-eating Spectres, and where people's daemons are on the outsides. There, he meets Lyra, out to revenge the death of her friend and find out more about the elusive Dust. The two join forces and form an uneasy, fierce friendship. Victor in a bloody fight, Will learns that he is destined to be the bearer of the subtle knife, a blade able to cut holes into other worlds. As the skies of Cittigazze fill with the massive movements of angels heading to join Lord Asriel in his epic battle against the Authority, and the evil Mrs. Coulter gets nearer and nearer to Lyra, Will and Lyra are pulled into a growing maelstrom of great struggles and betrayals. These first two volumes of His Dark Materials trilogy are, simply, magnificent. Pullman has the power of a master fantasist. He imbues an age-old classical struggle with a new mythic vision, the depth and realization of which are staggering. His style is tight, compelling, and nearly flawless. Characters quickly become friends, so layered and immediate are they, inspiring the reader to tears of loss or wonder. These two titles stand in equal company with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. Note: This review was written and published to address two titles: The Golden Compass, and The Subtle Knife. [Editor's Note: Slight comfort for readers dying for the sequel-during a speech presented at the National Council of Teachers of English conference in Detroit in November 1997, Pullman forecast the release of his trilogy's concluding volume in 1998. As of this late March writing, his Knopf publicist reports that he has not yet completed it. VOYA Codes: 5Q 5P M J S (Hard to imagine it being better written, Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

KLIATT

To quote KLIATT's Sept. 2000 review of the Listening Library audiobook: The Harry Potter series has attracted a huge audience for British fantasies, many of which are more literate and demanding than the Potter books. This is true of Pullman's highly acclaimed work, which is filled with action, fascinating creatures, time travel, alternate worlds, and sophisticated philosophical concepts. This second part of the trilogy introduces 12-year-old Will Parry, who lives in modern-day Oxford, England. Will is searching for his lost father, and trying to protect his vulnerable mother, and his search takes him through a window to another world where he meets Lyra...The two young people's adventures as they unite to fight against the evil forces determined to destroy them literally fill up this book, taking us to the promise of the final battle...demanding vocabulary and concepts. (His Dark Materials, Book II) KLIATT Codes: J*—Exceptional book, recommended for junior high school students. 1997, Random House, Dell Yearling, 338p., $5.99. Ages 13 to 15. Reviewer: Claire Rosser; KLIATT , July 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 4)

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-A direct continuation of the epic fantasy begun in The Golden Compass (Knopf, 1996). Will Parry must find his father, who disappeared while exploring the far North. Mysterious strangers are hounding his mother for information about him. After Will accidentally kills one of them, he runs away, right through a window into another world. There he meets Lyra Silvertongue and her daemon, Pantalaimon, as well as travelers from yet another world. Lyra and her truth-telling alethiometer are soon enlisted in Will's quest, even as Lyra continues to seek the true nature of the mysterious Dust that is causing upheavals in her world. A desperate battle with inhabitants of the intermediate world brings Will the subtle knife, a magical totem of his own, which will protect Will and Lyra while bringing them closer to the end of this part of their quest. The action takes place in Will's world (which is also our own), as well as on Lyra's and the intermediate world. As in the first book, the stakes are high and the action is rapid and occasionally violent. The philosophical nature of the quest becomes clearer as various characters explain the possible relationships among Dust, the bridges between worlds, angels, supreme beings, and cosmic forces. This may be treading on dangerous ground for traditional religious thinkers--the essential nature of the supreme being is not necessarily positive--but high-fantasy enthusiasts will find much to follow and reflect on here. The Subtle Knife ends with even more of a cliff-hanger than The Golden Compass, and fans will eagerly await book three for the final resolution.Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-As he did in The Golden Compass (Knopf, 1996), the first volume of his trilogy, His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman winds the story of this second installment (Ballantine, 1998) very tightly and lets it rip. Following the accidental death of an ominous stranger making inquiries of his father who mysteriously vanished years earlier, 12-year-old Will Parry sets off on a quest to find his explorer father. In doing so, he slips through a gap into the hauntingly beautiful and silent world of Cittagazze where he meets The Golden Compass heroine, Lyra Silvertongue, and her ever shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimon, who is in pursuit of her own mission to ascertain the nature of the arcane Dust with her wondrous truth-telling golden compass. As Will and Lyra join together, their journeys and fates become inextricably linked, subjecting them to marvelous subplots involving witches, soul-gorging zombies called Specters, nefarious agents from other worlds, and the grail-like subtle knife of the title. All of this unfolds against a looming cataclysmic religious/humanistic tilt between the Magisterium and Lord Asriel and his legions of Angels culminating, of course, with the obligatory cliff-hanging ending. Bruce Coville's excellent Words Take Wing company again provides the beautifully rich and textured 20-odd voices to support Pullman's Anthony Hopkins-like narration. This stunning achievement weds the best in contemporary fantasy with impeccable technical production values. A mandatory acquisition for all libraries.-Barry X. Miller, Austin Public Library, TX Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Midwest Book Review

Philip Pullman's Subtle Knife presents Book Two of "His Dark Materials,", with a full cast narrative style adding even more vigor and excitement to the story of Lyra, who finds herself in a haunted world packed with dangers. Both are involving audio presentations.

Gregory Maguire

His Dark Materials, by the English novelist Philip Pullman, is the latest trilogy to step up the pulse of kids and adults alike....Though this second volume almost succumbs to middle book syndrome, Pullman,...avoids it, adroitly, by force of theme....J.R.R. Tolkien asserted that that the best fantasy writing is marked by "arresting strangeness." Phillip Pullman measures up; his work is devilishly inventive....Put Philip Pullman on the shelf with Ursula K. LeGuin, Susan Cooper, Lloyd Alexander.... -- New York Times Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

The powerful second installment in the His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy, which began with The Golden Compass (1996), continues the chronicling of Lyra Silvertongue's quest to find the origins of Dust—the very stuff of the universe.

The first chapter is vintage Pullman: gorgeous imagery, pulse-pounding action, the baiting of readers' affections as they meet Will, 12, who is trying to protect his emotionally fragile mother and to locate his lost father, an explorer who vanished years before. Instead, Will finds a window into another world, where Lyra and her daemon have also tumbled. That world holds the talisman of the subtle knife, which can cut through anything, even the space between worlds. It wounds Will, but he is bound to it by a destiny neither he nor Lyra (nor readers) yet understand. The witches of Lyra's world, the scientists of Will's, the passionately evil Mrs. Coulter (Lyra's mother), and Lyra's champion Lee Scoresby seek the source of the disorder in the worlds and shimmering spaces that connect them. Angels that bless and Specters that eat the wills of adults appear; tantalizing glimpses of the past and future abound; the whole is presented in a rush of sensuous detail that moves and entrances. Pullman has so intricately woven the textures of the two books that the outlines of the first are clearly recapitulated in the second, making it possible to read this one alone. But as it, too, ends in a tremendous cliffhanger, most readers will seek out the first volume while they eagerly await the third.