Recent Reads: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
Series: His Dark Materials #2
Publisher: Knoph
Publication Date: November 13, 2001  

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/ My Home Library -TBR Jar for January 2015


Rating:



Goodreads Synopsis: 

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.

 Review: 
It has been a long time since I read the first book in this series, The Golden Compass, so it took me a few chapters to really remember everything that was going on - after that I was pulled right back into the story. This book does a good job re-setting the stage from the first book and adds a lot more to the tale.

From what I gather, a lot of people were upset that this book follows Will, a new addition to the tale, versus Lyra the strong young girl; but I loved that aspect. This could be because it took me a while to get to it, but I think he added a lot to the plot-line and the overall story to come.

Will is a young boy who happens upon a world that is not his and by chance meets Lyra, the main character from the last book. Together they learn about dark matter and the bigger picture of what is happening in their universes, including why they can pass through to other worlds. I really enjoyed the interaction between Lyra and Will and how well they work together to discover what is happening. It was good to also see this softer side of Lyra since she has been on the run and battling so much so far (the first book).

This installment was a really good lead up to the finale of the Dark Materials trilogy - new characters come in, some old ones die off (sadface!!!), new instruments needed by both sides of the war, and who will get them??? The ending was a cliffhanger - which was the only thing I didn't like, but I am amped up to read the last book, because with the cliffhanger also came a HUGE development about Lyra's involvement...

I really enjoy this series so far and will definitely be reading the final book sooner or later.