The Subtle Knife
Pullman, Philip. 2003. The Subtle Knife. Laurel Leaf.
Rating:
10
Summary:
Another excellent book in an excellent series
This is the second book in the ‘His Dark Materials’ series. The book picks up, to some degree, where the first one left off – Lord Asriel has just opened a gateway into a different, parallel dimension. Lyra, in her rage at what her father has done (killing her friend Roger), has chosen to follow him through.
But the book actually begins with the introduction of an additional major character – Will. Will is the son of a famous explorer that died in the arctic while he was still a boy. His mother is suffering from periodic mental breakdowns and he is actually doing more to care for her than she is to care for him. When government agents begin paying frequent visits to his home looking for some documents his father sent to his mother, Will finally decides he has to get her away from the house. He leaves her with his former piano teacher, grabs the documents, and runs.
As he is making his getaway, he happens to see a cat disappear through a one of the inter-dimensional portals. Realizing this will help him hide from the agents searching for the documents, he goes through the portal and finds himself in another world. Exhausted by his adventures and burdened with the weight of what he has done, he eventually meets up with Lyra, who has taken up a brief residence in one of the abandoned houses in the town near the portal, and after a brief encounter, they begin a friendship that eventually grows to remarkable proportions (in book 3).
Lyra, who is still using her alethiometer, decides she needs to go to Will’s world to learn more about dust, the sub-atomic particles that make intelligent life possible. Making her way back to Oxford, Lyra makes the acquaintance of Mary Malone who is doing research on dark matter (dust). Lyra reveals a bit too much about herself and starts Mary on the path towards discovering what the matter really is. But Lyra also sets in motion trouble for both her and Will when she meets a man named Charles who turns out to be from her own world.
Charles eventually steals the alethiometer and demands the children, Will and Lyra, find The Subtle Knife, which is in the world in which they now reside, and bring it to him in exchange for the alethiometer. They do find it, but in the process Will becomes the wielder of the knife. As the knife chooses its wielder and the children realize what it can do – cut portals between the different parallel dimensions – they realize they don’t want this to fall into the wrong hands. They use it to get back Lyra’s alethiometer, then decide they want to find Will’s father.
Lyra uses the alethiometer to point them in the right direction. As it turns out, Will’s father is Grumman, an explorer/shaman/scientist mentioned in the first book. When he vanished, he actually vanished through an open portal into a different world and ultimately ended up in Lyra’s world. Now he realizes he has a mission to accomplish and he needs to find his son to do so. Enlisting the aid of Lee Scoresby, the aviator from the first book, Grumman eventually makes his way to Lyra and Will where he imparts to Will some knowledge and encourages them both to join Lord Asriel’s side in the pending battle before he is killed.
Review:
I couldn’t put this book down. The forethought that went into this series is truly remarkable. Characters are fluidly mentioned in one book then become important in the next. It’s convincing and almost flawlessly executed and is just one hint of how well-written this series is.
There are several plot points that are clarified in this second book that I didn’t mention in the summary. The biggest, of course, is that Lyra’s father intends to dethrone and ultimately destroy God. This becomes clearer in this book as Lyra and Will interact with the other characters, who all seem to know more than Lyra and Will do about their involvement in this battle. But since the majority of the story is from Lyra and Will’s perspective, the reader seldom knows much more than they do. As this is marketed as a children’s book, potential readers should be aware that it deals with religion and is highly critical of it. Though Pullman’s critiques of religion are more prevalent in the third book, his criticism increases in this book beyond that found in the first. (I should note I find his perspective refreshing and agree with it, which may play a part in why I enjoyed the books so much).
The character development in this second book is more detailed and nuanced than the first book. Every important character receives substantial treatment and it quickly becomes apparent how complex the characters are. This is nowhere more apparent than in Will’s fixation on his mother, whom he feels continues to need him despite the fact that he is becoming a vital part of the battle against God.
The only problem with this book is that it ends rather abruptly. Of course, there is a sequel, but I would suggest you have the sequel on hand to begin reading immediately, otherwise you’ll have to wait far too long to see how the story finally ends. I should also note that this isn’t a series where you can pick up just any book in the series and understand what is going on. Though there is some effort to clarify the backstory, you really need to read these in order to understand them.
The pacing of the novel is also remarkable. Even though Pullman’s descriptions are clear and eloquent, he does not get lost in them to the point the story is forgotten. He is really interested in telling a story and keeping the reader’s attention and he stays on track throughout the series.
The third book is by far my favorite in the series (even though it has the biggest flaws), in large part because of the conclusion and the continued critique of religion, but this book sets the stage for the final confrontation and is therefore a must read in the series.