Lucy
asked:
I am only on chapter 2 of the book, I picked it up in a charity shop because it looked intriguing. Only when I got home did I notice that it was part of a trilogy. In my opinion (I could be wrong about this), the book doesn't make any ties to the first I don't feel like I've missed a whole lot from a book. I just feel like I'm reading one book. So I'm guessing you have read the other two, should I read them?
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The Subtle Knife,
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Warren
You absolutely must read the first book first. As in any trilogy, the first book lays the foundation of all that is to come, and reading the second book myself, I've had to refresh my memory several times by referring to the first. I don't see that the second book can make complete sense without having read the first.
Lalinka
You do need to read the first in order to understand the bigger picture. The subtle knife goes to three worlds and everything that happens in this book, is because of things that happened in the first. Even just watching the first movie won't help understand all the plots that are happening in this one.
Patrick Jean-Jacques
His Dark Materials is an excellent trilogy Lucy. It's best to read NORTHERN LIGHTS first though because SUBTLE KNIFE will make more sense. As Warren and Beck said, it's essentially a sequel or direct follow-up. In my (humble) opinion it is the best one too because it's the shortest part, it has a good pace and a lot of significant things happen in it. AMBER SPYGLASS will need more patience to read, as I felt it is the deepest from a theological context.
Valentine
I did the same thing. Read the subtle knife first and moved on to the Amber Spyglass. Only then did I go back and read the Golden Compass. I don't feel like my experience was spoiled by not reading it in order.
Alex
Like you, I read the 2nd one first. It remains my favourite, perhaps because it was my first. Regardless, there is a real power in the trilogy as a whole, whether one simply reads it as a story, or whether one is looking to it for reflections on life in this world.
Emily
Pullman does have a way of writing so that you don't need to read the books in order but the others are so amazing, even if you finish this one and then move on to the others, I want you to experience the full His Dark Materials experience
Lilla
I can reccomend the other books too. You must read them, they're great!
Rebecca
The first is the best one in my opinion and I feel like you would get more from the three if you read the first one.
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