The Subtle Knife

Brandi Meineke, Collection Development Specialist

9/6/2011 4:13:47 PM
The second installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman introduces readers to many wondrous worlds. Though the reader is traveling through these miraculous landscapes, it quickly becomes apparent that all worlds share similar problems. Lyra must continue to find her own way, spending much of the novel lost between worlds. Soon she makes a new ally who eventually becomes her closest friend, Will Parry.

Will is unlike any human Lyra has ever met. He has no daemon! Will is a boy from our world, where the part of the soul known as a daemon is kept internally. Lyra and Will are no strangers to trouble. Those who have read The Golden Compass know of Lyra's many adventures. Readers who have not enjoyed this first book will be very lost if trying to read The Subtle Knife.

Will's troubles arose when he accidentally killed a man who broke into his and his mother’s house. After asking a neighbor to care for his mentally unstable mother, Will made a run for it. When he observed a cat disappearing right before his eyes, he investigated. The cat had not disappeared, but walked through a portal and into another world. Will follows the cat into this world and begins exploring. That is when he meets Lyra. They have a rocky start, but soon trust and rely on each other. Will is amazed that Lyra is not from his world, or from the world they are currently in. Lyra promises that she will show him all the wonders of her home if they ever make it back there.

Will eventually obtains what is known as the Subtle Knife, which allows the user to carve windows into other worlds. As Will and Lyra explore these lands, many times they are perilously close to dying. There is one world where Lyra actually meets her own death, which is an external personification of a fraction of her, much like her daemon, Pan. In one world entirely populated by savage children they are almost stoned to death. Even Lyra’s own parents seem to be working towards her demise. Her mother, Mrs. Coulter, discovers a prophecy made about Lyra—that she will bring an end to destiny but commit a great betrayal. It is much debated by many different sides what exactly this means. The most powerful force wishes to kill Lyra rather than let her fulfill this vague prediction.

This book is a great sequel to The Golden Compass. Many fantastic worlds are explored here and this continues in the next installment, The Amber Spyglass. Fantasy-lovers will enjoy getting lost in these different realities. Like the first book, authority and society are often brought into a critical light. Many times religion is portrayed as a negative force. The main religious officials in the story even send an assassin after the children. However, this series is a great one to keep available for independent reading, as it does greatly inspire critical thinking and the questioning of one’s own moral beliefs. I would highly recommend it for middle and high school classrooms.