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Editorial Review:
At the end of The Northern Lights, Lyra Silvertongue watched in fear and fascination as her father, Lord Asriel, created a bridge between worlds. Lyra and her daemon Pantalaimon are now lost in an alternate universe where they meet Will Parry, a fugitive from a third universe. Will has found a small window between Cittagazze--where children roam unchecked, but invisible Specters suck the spirit out of adults--and his Oxford, which, with its Burger Kings and cars, is frighteningly different from the Oxford Lyra knows. Will's father, an explorer, disappeared years ago, but some odd characters have started asking questions about him. Will has managed to accidentally kill one of them and is wanted by the police. Armed with the Subtle Knife, a tool that cuts any material (including that which separates universes) and Lyra's alethiometer, the children set out to find John Parry, with adults of various stripes in desperate pursuit.
Lyra's finest qualities are her courage and her quick mind. She finds she must use them constantly--not to put too fine a point on it, she must lie and steal to keep herself and Will out of danger. However, she must also know when to tell the truth and when to trust. She does not yet know--though her friends the witches do, and so does the reader--what a huge part she will have in the upcoming battle between Good and Evil. (Age 9 and over) - -Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Captivating and enchanting Having watched the film "The Golden Compass" I bought and read the first book ("His Dark Materials") which I found very enjoyable. This book continues, opening up world after world, each with its own unique character. Full of twists and revelations, beautifully written, easy to read, and delightful.
Decent performance, a few niggles Half audio book, half audio play, this 'performance' of Pullman's novel is mostly successful, the performers normally convincing and the narrator hushed but not overly emotional. Only a few niggles: the volume level or audio quality of different speakers (who _seem_ to have been recorded independently and stitched together by editors) is occasionally variable, making a consistent listen at times only possible in a quiet environment. More irritating, though, is the dreadful linking music: horribly... more info
Top notch! Like Northern Lights, I found this a bit of a slow starter, but once it gets going you suddenly realise the sheer breadth and scope of the trilogy's vision - huge! A lot more adult in tone than Northern Lights, which made for a better reading experience for me. This book also starts to deal with some very adult themes, such as death, religion and authority.
The Subtle Knife This is a brilliant book about a boy called Will who has to try and find his father, and a girl called Lyra. They both come from different worlds. Will has just murdered a man and he's on the run. He finds a window which leads to a different world where for the first time he meets Lyra. Lyra has also come from another world but not from Will's world. She has come from a world where people have deamons. Lyra and Will have to work together to find Roger, Lyra's friend, and Will's father who has mysteriously... more info
