Of Angels and Demons, and Witches, and Spirits, and Dimensions

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	• The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) Philip Pullman Laurel Leaf, 2003 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 629 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An enticing sequel

Will is a secretive boy whose mother is mentally ill and whose father went missing on an arctic expedition shortly after his birth. What he thought was his mother's delusion of men out to get her turns frighteningly real, and Will is propelled into another world where he meets Lyra Silvertongue, whom we last saw leaving her own world in pursuit of her father, Lord Asriel, at the end of "The Golden Compass." The two become allies and travel through multiple worlds on a quest to find Will's father and to help Lord Asriel in his plot to overthrow The Authority (God).

Uncertainty about the future and the adolescent's quest for answers to life's big questions are deftly woven into a very unique and thrilling fantasy in the second volume of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials." Questions about God, the Church, and religion in general abound and Pullman's personal views become more and more clear. If you love God and His Church you will want to read this carefully before you decide to let your kids read it. The prose is beautiful, the tale is everything that makes a great epic, and I came to love the characters; even the bad ones. All of this, though appears to be a vehicle to teach a lesson. Much like "The Chronicles of Narnia" teach lessons about God and Christ, "His Dark Materials" teaches lessons about a mystical, yet atheistic world.

All that said, this is a well-written book with a lot to offer in entertainment, as well as food for thought. However, I only recommend it to a discerning reader who knows what he/she believes. Parents be alert.

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Good, not outstanding (and the usual comparisons...)

Having read at this point the first two volumes, why this trilogy is seen as provocative I can certainly see. Books for children where evil comes from God and the Church are certainly not the most common ones out there. This, however, neither disturbs me (I am not religious) nor particularly excites my brain. Religious fundamentalism is just one kind of fundamentalism. Nazism, Fascism, Communism, even our "beloved" capitalism have produced countless horrors.

I can see a bit less how this trilogy can be compared to JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to the Harry Potter series. But after all, the numbers will loudly say that whatever Pullman's admirers think, LOTR and Harry Potter are in a category apart. The former is much much better written and more mature, the latter less ambitious but certainly and immensely more entertaining. Pullman is a good but not outstanding story-teller. Most things happen too quickly, and I found many characters to be so undeveloped that I really did not care about what happened to them. Perhaps what I find most missing in these books is the author's sympathy for his characters.

Overall, I am happy I read the first two books, and I will most likely read the third, but I also think I will forget this trilogy relatively quickly afterwards, and I don't think I will reach for these books again in the foreseeable future.

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Of Angels and Demons, and Witches, and Spirits, and Dimensions

Maui H.S. The Philip Pullman Dark Materials Trilogy is equal and perhaps greater than the Harry Potter experience.
Once I read the Golden Compass I truly wanted to read the trilogy. I was not disappointed. Lyra meeting Will and the adventures they have together seemed confusing and not making much sense. This is like the Harry Potter books. Sometimes it seemed like just a good story, like the Harry Potter books.
The difference between the authors I believe is that Philip Pullman is better skilled in the art of the fantasy story than J.K. Rowling. This is not taking away from Rowling, it is complimenting Philip Pullman. His action and adventure are never ending throughout the Subtle Knife. The best thing about Pullman is you can't guess what is going to happen. You do not know. Where heroes live on forever and happy endings abound is not the story style of Pullman. Your heroes may soon be killed. The bad guys may triumph. But then the story twists and you simply are not certain just who is the hero and who is the villain.
I love the connections of dimensions and worlds. I love the blending of religion and science rivalries as well as the similarities. The difference of people of the worlds in the different worlds is similar and different. The complication of the previous sentence indicates the complications of the plot. Yes, it is that good!
I am so involved in this trilogy that when I ended the second book, I was proud of myself. I had the third book ready to go. I couldn't wait another day or week to start on the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass.

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GREAT BOOK

This is a great book. I love listening to these books as they are read by Philip Pullman, and others.

excellent

I greatly enjoyed this book. The plot is exciting and engaging, the characters interesting and fun to get to know, and it is very well written. I also enjoyed the performance by Pullman and the cast. That made it a great listening experience.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted underworld?Cittàgazze, where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and wingbeats of distant angels sound against the sky. But she is not without allies: 12-year-old Will Parry, fleeing for his life after taking another?s, has also stumbled into this strange new realm.

On a perilous journey from world to world, Lyra and Will discover an object of devastating power. And with every step, they move closer to an even greater threat?and the shattering truth of their own destiny.

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