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The Subtle Knife

2015 | Children

Will has just killed a man. He's on the run. His escape will take him far beyond his own world, to the eerie disquiet of a deserted city, and to a girl, Lyra. Her fate is strangely linked to his own, and together they must find the most powerful weapon in all the worlds...

Philip Pullman (Author)

Published by

Scholastic

Edition	Unknown
ISBN	9781407130231
Language	English

Edition	Audiobook
ASIN	9780739350355
Language	English

Edition	Hardcover
ISBN	9780679879251
Language	English

Edition	Unknown
ISBN	9780440238140
Language	English

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The Subtle Knife Reviews & Ratings (18)

9-10			16.7% (3)
7-8			61.1% (11)
5-6			11.1% (2)
3-4			5.6% (1)
1-2			5.6% (1)

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Amy Christmas (171 KP) rated

Jan 18, 2019 (Updated Jan 19, 2019)

Well paced (2 more)

Information is introduced quickly and effectively

Lyra having no idea how to function in our world

Lee scoresby (if you've read it you know why) (1 more)

A lack of Iorek Byrnison

Short so sweet and informative

Contains spoilers, click to show

For a conventional middle filler book this is beautiful, just as good as the first and possibly better?
It was extremely well paced for being only 15 chapters the shortest of all three books while still managing to introduce a myriad of new concepts and information without it being overwhelming for the reader.
At the start of the book we are introduced to will (AKA Roger 2.0 in my opinion) I loved will, his character and his back story. Will is a boy coming into his own being thrust into duties he doesn't want but duties he accepts and carries the burden of. We learn that will's father went missing on an exploration when he was a baby and it becomes clear that he didn't just die and no body was recovered, but something else.

Pullman beautifully builds on the religious background of Lyras world into the wider context of the universe with the introduction of angels and The Authority as he is primarily called.

Lyra's character doesn't unfortunately do much growing in this book as Will takes the focus, which I think was a good decision as it allows for each character to have their moment per sé.

But Lee scoresby, I loved Lee, our favourite drunken aeronaut, and we had to say farewell.

Going onto the third and final installment however, promises some more Iorek after his absence for all but one part of this book, more witches, angels and Mrs Coulter and her dreaded monkey.

I can't wait to see Will grow further as well as Lyra, nor can I wait for that crescendo that is a final battle.

Kudos (1)

Sarah (7800 KP) rated

Nov 14, 2017 (Updated Nov 14, 2017)

An interesting take on religion and theology

In The Subtle Knife, you finally find out what Lord Asriel's plan is that is never explained in the first book, Northern Lights. I won't go into detail for anyone who hasn't read the book, but it's a little bit bonkers. I'd be intrigued to hear a review from someone religious, as this book expands further on the anti-religion, atheistic themes.

I'm an atheist, so for me I found this book really interesting. It's a fantasy take on Paradise Lost, and it's such an intriguing and well written story. I missed a few characters in this, namely Iorek and the Gyptians, but it was good to see Lyra develop and become more mature. I like Will as a new character, he's very much the sensible one to Lyra's rash character.

In all, the story is quite a bit bonkers but still a very satisfying and well written read. Can't wait to read the last one.

Kudos (1)

John Cameron Mitchell recommended (curated)

"Read in the house I’d built with a man who told me he couldn’t love me as much as I loved him. (I don’t know what it taught me but I cried like a boy.) Age 45, Vieques, Puerto Rico."

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Aasiyah Sidat (34 KP) rated

Jul 5, 2018

A Window into Another World

For me, the second book in a series is always the best. The author has already introduced the characters and has set the scene for the adventure in the first book. The second book gets into the meat of the story and gives the reader pages of pure action and adventure, which is exactly what I got with this book.

The Subtle Knife is the sequel to 'Northern Lights' and introduces the character of Will Parry who is on a mission to find his father. Along the way, he meets our heroine from the first book, Lyra and together they set off on an adventure to 'fix the world'.

Continue reading my review at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119324.The_Subtle_Knife?ac=1&from_search=true