The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2)

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 151,912 ratings · 3,731 reviews

Will is twelve years old and he's just killed a man. Now he's on his own, on the run, determined to discover the truth about his father disappearance.

Then Will steps through a window in the air into another world, and finds himself with a companion - a strange, savage little girl called Lyra. Like Will, she has a mission which she intends to carry out at all costs.

But the...more

Paperback, 341 pages

Published October 16th 1998 by Scholastic Point (first published July 22nd 1997)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Young Adult fiction by UK authors

23rd out of 222 books — 250 voters

Once Upon Another Time by Rosary McQuestion

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Best Unknown Books

208th out of 1,287 books — 1,037 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 18, 2012 Tanu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-lit, coming-off-age, really-good, favorite-protagonist, social-issues, supernatural-fantasy

Two very strange things happened last week. I gave I Am Half Sick Of Shadows: A Flavia De Luce Novel two stars and am now giving this book five star. It is strange because the former book’s protagonist, my dear Flavia De Luce is my favorite obstinate pre teen. On the contrary, Lyra, another stubborn, precocious, pre-teen absolutely annoyed me in the previous book. Right now though, I can not for the life of me imagine why I did not like the first novel and Lyra. Well, at least I adore her right...more

14 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2008 Dan rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

The second entry in a trilogy is often, in my opinion, the best. The author doesn't have to introduce the universe or the characters, as they did in the first installment, but they don't need to worry about wrapping up all the plot points either. Instead, the focus can be on 'the good stuff': elaborating on the story, teasing us more, giving action, chopping off Luke's hand and so on. Instead of the good stuff, in The Subtle Knife I feel as though we've had a bait and switch pulled on us.

In The ...more The second entry in a trilogy is often, in my opinion, the best. The author doesn't have to introduce the universe or the characters, as they did in the first installment, but they don't need to worry about wrapping up all the plot points either. Instead, the focus can be on 'the good stuff': elaborating on the story, teasing us more, giving action, chopping off Luke's hand and so on. Instead of the good stuff, in The Subtle Knife I feel as though we've had a bait and switch pulled on us.

In The Golden Compass, we were treated to a rich alternate universe that had elements that were similar to our own, like some of the geopolitical structure, and elements that were entirely fantastical, like armored polar bears and witches. The Subtle Knife, however decides that most of this is insignificant and takes place almost entirely in different universes. It seems like Philip Pullman wanted to reel us in with fantasy before he could preach at us.

Some of these elements are expanded upon in The Amber Spyglass, which I'm currently reading, so forgive me if they don't all apply. I had heard before I started the series that they were 'about killing God.' This seemed highly unlikely, and was probably a knee-jerk reaction from people who heard it from other people who read a synopsis of the book, etc. But... no. Some of the main characters have decided to wage war on 'The Authority.'

Herein lies my main concern with the series as a whole: it's not (excuse the pun) subtle. I'm an agnostic, so these complaints don't come from someone insulted by the material, they come from someone unhappy by their handling. I love plots that put a spin on traditional religion (Waiting for the Galactic Bus, for example), but it seems like Pullman came up with a story involving a culture's religion and then decided to make it fit with the Judeo-Christian framework no matter how hard he had to push.

The concept of Dust is interesting. Adapting it to fit with concepts of physics in our world works because it uses something we only know a little about. Once you try to toss in angels and consciousness and so on (which is insulting in a children's book, as he's claiming that children are entirely self involved until puberty), though, it seems contrived and silly.

I may have been more willing to swallow his philosophy, such as it is, if there hadn't been a complete lack of the elements I liked in The Golden Compass: there were no Gyptians, there were no panserbjörne... they seem to make a reappearance in the final book of the series, but why spend so much time on their culture in the first book if you aren't going to include them in the second? (I know that the panserbjörne's culture is basically that of any warrior society, but they're still armored polar bears and the ten year old in me think that's awesome)

It's not so much that the book is bad, per se, though I do think it becomes too dark for the age group I initially thought it was written for. I just don't think Pullman is writing for the same reason I want to read: he wants to write religious commentary while I want to read fantasy.(less)

34 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2008 Lucy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am not a fan of forwarded emails. They frustrate me, because they usually come from the same group of people, people I like a great deal but who never send me a normal "hey, how's it going?" message. Just "Support our Troops" or "Tell every woman you know she's special" or "Microsoft is running a test and if you send this you could get a check for $1,000!" When I see the letters FWD in the subject line, I usually simply delete it.

I lost track of the number of emails I received telling me about...more
I am not a fan of forwarded emails. They frustrate me, because they usually come from the same group of people, people I like a great deal but who never send me a normal "hey, how's it going?" message. Just "Support our Troops" or "Tell every woman you know she's special" or "Microsoft is running a test and if you send this you could get a check for $1,000!" When I see the letters FWD in the subject line, I usually simply delete it.

I lost track of the number of emails I received telling me about the Anti-God movie The Golden Compass and the need to boycott the movies and the books. It was well over ten. Ten people wanted me to send that email on to everyone I know, telling them the same thing. Don't see this movie! Don't read these books! Alert! Alert! Alert!

Nothing like calling attention to something like a planned boycott. I haven't seen the movie, because I'm cheap and it's not something I'd take my kids to or something I'd be prone to see anyway, but as I had already read the first book in the series, enjoyed it and hadn't found it to be Anti-God, I was curious to read the next to see what the fuss was all about.

I don't know if the emails worked and I read with a bias, but I did not enjoy this second book. Not because it is Anti-God...which it really isn't, but more anti organized religion and organized religion's version of god, but because the writing is bad.

Dialogue - choppy.

Descriptions - cliched. (how do I get that little accent marking over the e?)

Storyline - totally falters.

I felt enormously disappointed in the direction of this book. Lyra, the young female protagonist in search of dust and her father, all but disappears in this second story. She still plays a part, but now as the sidekick to Will, a new character who is a giant "young adult fiction" stereotype (in search of the father he never knew while protecting his mother from bad guys and seems to be gifted in the combat department). I don't remember the writing being bad in the first book. I thought it descriptive and unique and thoughtful. Not so, in The Subtle Knife. Pullman changes gears and loses focus. There is a lot more going on and none of it is developed well. I stopped caring about the characters and their goals.

I think these books had great potential. There could be a lot to discuss with adolescents (not young children...at all). The nature of the soul, the natural man, the costs and benefits of religions. All appropriate things to discuss with youth ready to question and discover on their own.

Pullman takes that conversation away with his lack of metaphor. It becomes impossible to argue, "I think the dust means this." or "what do you think The Authority is for Pullman?" when he throws his opinion at you with real life Christian beliefs. It's inappropriate and unfair. Write a fantasy or a satire or a parable if you want to. Other authors have done it...and done it well.

Pullman didn't.

I won't be reading the third book.(less)

18 likes · like · see review

May 29, 2008 Candace Wynell McHann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Way back at the end of November/beginning of December of good ol' 2007, I read Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass. Why? Well, because there was all that talk about how it got made into a movie. I read the book, and found it very thought provoking. As for the movie it's a watered down version of Pullman's work, but not bad for the most part. I mean, I don't think it would go over too well with audiences who haven't read to book to know that Lyra's friend Roger is killed by Lord Asreil and that...more

20 likes · like · see review

Oct 06, 2010 notgettingenough rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

Later...

It is so surprising to me that the thing I found vastly irritating right at page one of the first of this series - the daemon - so quickly captivated me. You have this daemon in you, all of us, just as the story goes. And as a child it is anything, it has the fantastical vision that children have, there is nothing to stop it. But then we mostly grow up and we mostly lose the idea that we can do anything, we lose imagination, we lose the unconscious bravery of our childhood, we lose the i...more

11 likes · like · see review

Jun 10, 2010 C. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, i-wish-i-own, to-be-re-read

When I first read this book I was young enough to still pronounce the 'b' in 'subtle', and now I can't look at this book without doing it again. I still think it sounds better that way - it gives the word a sort of dull power that I think depicts the mysterious magic of the knife much better than the silly, flippant 'suttle'. Saying 'sub-tle' opens up previously-unimagined worlds which extend indefinitely into the distance.

And this is what is good about this series. I've come up with a list of...more

13 likes · like · see review

Jan 23, 2008 Hunter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2008 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I found myself much more riveted to this book than to The Golden Compass. I was eager to find out about Will's mysterious father, and how he and Lyra would react to each other's worlds. The plot involving Dust is shaping up to be quite interesting (it's sentient, it communicates, it has kind of a smart-ass attitude that I found funny.) Some people have complained that Lyra seems weaker in this book, with Will always bossing her around, but it makes sense to me. Most of the story takes place in o...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2008 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: high school and above

Not happy with the ending otherwise it would have gotten 5 stars. Well written, kept me hanging on the edge of my seat.
I have the third one downloaded on my Sony e-book and will start soon.

One thing I can say about Pullman is that he is a master at detail, at character, at setting. His imagination is immense.

I don't like revealing plots in a review so I won't tell what happens but I am impressed.

I can see where some might feel challenged regarding this book. It throws a lot of church dichotomy...more

7 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2009 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I tend not to be terribly engaged with the second book of a trilogy (too much effort without much in the way of a pay-off, given that nothing is ever concluded in book #2), so I wasn't expecting great things from this. On the whole, though, it was a diverting way to spend a weekend. The novel's premise - having the fantasy world of *The Golden Compass* collide with the "real" world - was really quite cleverly executed. I found Lyra's move from main character to a supporting role for Will's perso...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 16, 2012 Richard Howson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The imaginative parallels of the 'real world' of the reader and the 'olde world' of the tale's espoused geographical and demographic referential similarities outlined by Philip Pullman in the first installment of 'His Dark Materials' (entitled 'Northern Lights') are proven, from the outset of the Subtle Knife's exciting continuum to be merely one small aspect of the universe Pullman has created to capture our full attention.

From the outset the reader is swerved into thinking the second book is...more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Lina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alternate-reality, classic-lit, children-books, children-fantasy, sequel-bait-ending, wanted-to-love-but-didn-t

For a moment, just imagine that after reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone you were so enthralled by the protagonist (even if you weren't bare with me), his friends and the entire world that has been established. It has moral undertones, but at it's heart it is a fun fantasy novel. Then you pick up Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and suddenly Harry has been downgraded as a protagonist in favor of Dan, our brand new second main character. He's super awesome and whatnot and sort o...more

7 likes · like · see review

Aug 02, 2012 Jennifer Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, listened-to, young-adult, big-and-deep

Um, what?

I said that a couple times out loud while listening to book 2 of the His Dark Materials trilogy, "The Subtle Knife."
I would re-listen and sometimes still say "um, what?"

The second book finds Lyra in another world, a crossroads world, where she bumps into Will, also from another world. Together they journey together to find Wills father, a great in explorer lost many years ago.

The book starts where the first left off. And I loved that that there wasn't a lot of recap of the first novel,...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 15, 2011 Lady Eilonwy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish, disappointing, fantasy

I apologize to Mr. Pullman, for as much as I adore The Golden Compass, I cannot bring myself to finish The Subtle Knife, or the rest of His Dark Materials, for that matter.

Before I begin explaining why I stopped, let me put it out there that I am not a religious person and that I was not attracted to HDM for the controversy. In fact, I decided to read it because it was recommended as a similar read to Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines. And have no doubts, it was, and I enjoyed The Golden Compass imm...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2011 Maciek rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-in-paperback, fantasy, read-in-2011, owned-books, reviewed, the-ya-shelf, journeys-and-quests

The Subtle Knife which is the second volume in His Dark Materials trilogy fails to live up to the first installment.

In Nothern Lights (or The Golden Compass, as it was titled in the US) readers were treated to a rich alternative universe. It was clear that the Philip Pullman had an active imagination and was good at constructing his worlds just as any good fantasy author.

That's one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy this volume as much as the first one. As it was stated that the books will take p...more

3 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2010 e.c.h.a rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: milik-sendiri, philip-pullman, fantasi, fiksi-ilmiah, sedang-dipinjam

Di banding buku pertama, saya jauh lebih suka yang pertama. Petualangan Lyra di buku ini tidak menggemparkan di banding di Kompas Emas. Terasa biasa. Tapi yang pasti kesamaan dari buku ini dengan sebelumnya adalah sukses membuat saya tambah pusing tujuh keliling. Cukup 3 bintang untuk itu Pullman.

Lyra, yang tanpa sengaja bertemu dengan Will di dunia persimpangan Citagazze mengalami pengalaman yang mengharuskan Lyra menentukan pilihan. Menemukan Debu atau membantu Will menemukan ayahnya yang hila...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 18, 2009 JayeL rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, william

We tackled and conquered the second in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials series, The Subtle Knife. This one, unlike The Golden Compass, starts with a wild chase and a death, which got The Child's attention right away. We see the after effects of Lord Asriel ripping open the sky and familiar characters such as Serafina Pekkala and Lee Scoresby provide encore performances. It put him to sleep after a few pages, so it took us some time to get through.

I think the The Subtle Knife suffers from the The...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 11, 2008 Adam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Adam by: Neligh

This is a wonderful chapter in a great adventure story. More than that, though, if I were a young adult, I think it would be mind blowing.

If you're just beginning to explore your religious beliefs, the roots of Christianity and it's place in American society, and attempting to reconcile that done in the name of religion with the religion itself, this book would be a an eye-opening experience. It is a great starting point from which to do your own reconnoitering.

As I'm a bit older and more detac...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 13, 2008 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fantasy fans

This book was far more engaging than its predecessor, most likely because Pullman decided to tone down the amount of page time that Lyra got and instead developed Will's character. Will is by far the better protagonist, and we can only hope that Lyra will benefit from being near him and that some of his maturity will rub off on her. As with the first in the trilogy, the writing was a joy to read in this book. If the third is better than this one, I'm in for a real treat.

My only main criticism is...more This book was far more engaging than its predecessor, most likely because Pullman decided to tone down the amount of page time that Lyra got and instead developed Will's character. Will is by far the better protagonist, and we can only hope that Lyra will benefit from being near him and that some of his maturity will rub off on her. As with the first in the trilogy, the writing was a joy to read in this book. If the third is better than this one, I'm in for a real treat.

My only main criticism is that the whole rebel angel/Eve/next fall from grace stuff was incorporated into the plot a bit clumsily. There was foreshadowing about Lyra being "special," and of course we already knew that the church was evil, but the revelation of this quest towards the end of the book didn't really seem to fit with the tone of the story so far. The atmosphere up to this point was very other-worldly and fantastic, and suddenly it was like Pullman was abruptly writing from a very realistic political point of view that didn't seem to fit with his created universe. It's like he was having fun writing a very engrossing fantasy story, and then decided to start awkwardly and heavy-handedly inserting atheism (or at least anti-religiosity) into the plot. The only reason I wasn't taken aback more by this development is that I had heard conservatives complaining about the series and its god-killing. But even though I wasn't shocked to read about this upcoming battle against the "Authority," it still seemed a bit tacked on at the end of the book and not given a very good context or rationale.

I'm also a little wary about Lord Asriel's next appearance -- he seems to me to be evil and calculating through and through, and I don't really like the way Pullman was trying to set him up as one of the "good guys" (or at least as "not one of the bad guys") at the end of this book. I'm all for fantasy novels including characters who inhabit a moral gray area, but in my opinion, Lord Asriel is just as power-hungry and opportunistic and ruthless as the church he's fighting, and I really hope Will and Lyra don't get conned into joining him.

I assume (hope) Pullman will take everything firmly in hand for the last book in the trilogy, because otherwise this mystical battle against religion will seem just plain silly and faux-epic. One thing that routinely turns me off of fantasy is the entirely too trumped-up and over-dramatic "epic-ness" that so many fantasy novels aspire to. It usually comes off as very cliche and over-serious, and I'm really hoping this series doesn't fall into that trap.(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2008 Paul rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As I said in my review of Golden Compass, I'd once before read the first book of this trilogy, but stumbled on the second. On this second try I made it through this book, and for my efforts didn't find much reward.

It starts out by introducing Will, wholly absent from the 1st book, and from our own world. This jarring beginning is what made me put the book down on my original reading, but this time (forewarned) I found enough to keep me going. I wasn't exactly skipping though. More like trudging...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 28, 2007 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The adventures of young Lyra continue, and now she's with Will Parry, a 12-year-old boy from our world. The two meet when Will, trying to escape trouble in his home city of Oxford, England, slips through an invisible window (kind of like a sheet of air inside air) into a third world, Cittagazze, where he bumps into Lyra. They piece together their stories and deduce that there are many worlds, all "hooked on" to each other, coexisting, and only those who have discovered the windows can travel amo...more

5 likes · like · see review

May 01, 2008 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, juv, young-adult

Another fabulous installment in the trilogy. Plenty of adventure but also a real depth to the characters that makes them so compelling. Like The Golden Compass, this one has an abrupt ending that only reminds you how much the three volumes are really one big story.

Since I listened to this one (great audio version) I couldn't mark a specific passage, but there was one towards the end in which Will's father presents a dichotomy of humility and using your brain (that's simplifying it, but the basi...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 30, 2008 Annalisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Annalisa by: Ryan

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, middle-grade

What I did like about this book is that it starts with Lyra, a girl we have become acquainted with from another world, meeting Will, a boy from our world. Bringing the fantasy into our own reality was surreal and interesting. But only for a minute and then it became a bore. The story was slow and at some points stopped altogether to allow Pullman his theological preachings of anti-church and anti-god. If the story had been metaphorical I would have enjoyed it more, but it became less fiction and...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jan 07, 2008 Michael Glavin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This book doesn't end, so much as stop. Nothing is resolved in The Subtle Knife and you are left with a cliff hanger. So, if you read this book, plan on reading book three immediately afterwards.

In general the author is not a good writer. More like a philosopher trying to write fiction. The descriptions are poor, it's plot heavy and not very emotional. That all being said, as a lover of philosophy, I have enjoyed books I and II in the trilogy and I will go on to read book III.

The author does hav...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 29, 2008 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

His Dark Materials is what a true trilogy should be - each successive book deepens the power of the story and builds an intricate crescendo of events and twists. In "The Subtle Knife," the attack on free will and knowledge continues, and the revelation of how far its reach has extended is astounding. Though we face that attack day-to-day in our world, Pullman's mastery is that he forces readers to reject their apathy about this and realize the horror of this attack, not just in this world but in...more

4 likes · like · see review

Jun 12, 2012 Jo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, hometown-ya

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that, after those last 4 chapters or so, I will never be happy again.*

*OK, may be a slight exaggeration. Damn Pullman, you're worse than Ness.

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 23, 2013 Donna Macalino rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My experience with the first two books in this trilogy was somewhat disappointing. Is it only me, or do the stories only pick up in the last quarter of the book? I found myself trudging slowly from the beginning to the so-called rising action (which didn't really raise much excitement from me). In fairness, the premise is good and the characters are mature in the literary sense, but it's the pacing and the way the events are woven together that I really have an issue with. Somehow it lacks oomph...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 31, 2009 Diana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-to-read-again

This book takes the story of Lyra a step further on her destined heroic journey; she shares the journey in this book with Will Parry, who embarks on his own journey. What I love about this series is the fact that we have a pair of heroes. I've read a few of the other reviews here that expressed some disappointment that Lyra seems to "take a back seat" to Will in this story, but I have to disagree. Because it's a trilogy, we now get to see Will's journey, his story so we can get invested in his c...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 15, 2009 Juliana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I *love* this series! The characters are believable, and even the Fantastic parts are/can be explained in terms of modern science, along with mythic or religious explanations.

It continues the story of Lyra, and adds the character Will. But there is a lot more going on, and it's all tied together to the basic narrative which is of truly epic proportions. The books could easily be enjoyed by the young adult (high school) audience, but I think adults in many stages of life could enjoy reading it....more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 11, 2009 Jaemi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, ya-fiction, favorite-series

I originally started re-reading this series when I first saw The Golden Compass preview on TV. Since it has come to annoy me, as having recently read the book again, I can tell they've altered the story. Unfortunately, I put down The Subtle Knife for a long time while concentrating on school books and other reads. Surprisingly, picking it up again after a long span of time, I was able to jump right back in, and it was every bit as compelling. But it does make reviewing it a little harder.

We pick...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Devlin's Advocate...: The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials 2) by Philip Pullman	1	15	Feb 29, 2012 04:35am

combine
Other Editions (134)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

1,199 users

Young Adult

876 users

Childrens

348 users

Science Fiction

297 users

Science Fiction > Steampunk

283 users

Science Fiction Fantasy

280 users

Adventure

271 users

Fantasy > Magic

182 users

Young Adult > Teen

163 users

Religion

146 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Lirael
by Garth Nix
Firesong
by William Nicholson
The Lives of Christopher Chant
by Diana Wynne Jones
The Golem's Eye
by Jonathan Stroud
Predator's Gold
by Philip Reeve

About Philip Pullman

from his official website:

"I was born in Norwich in 1946, and educated in England, Zimbabwe, and Australia, before my family settled in North Wales. I received my secondary education at the excellent Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, and then went to Exeter College, Oxford, to read English, though I never learned to read it very well.

"I found my way into the teaching profession at the age of 25, and taught...more

More about Philip Pullman...

Books by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3)

His Dark Materials (His Dark Materials #1-3)

The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart, #1)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Subtle Knife

21 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Subtle Knife

“Every little increase in human freedom has been fought over ferociously between those who want us to know more and be wiser and stronger, and those who want us to obey and be humble and submit.” — 92 people liked it

“I know whom we must fight...it is the Church. For all its history, it's tried to suppress and control every natural impulse.That is what the Church does, and every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling.” — 26 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Subtle Knife
avg rating	preview: The Subtle Knife Goodreads rating: 4.07 (151912 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70948.The_Subtle_Knife?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327191015l/70948.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70948.The_Subtle_Knife?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman[/url]

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website