Rating: 
Summary: Exciting Story from a Child's View
Review: The Subtle Knife, the second book to Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials Triology, is a wonderful story about two young children in a strange and unknown world. The book takes off when Will, a young boy from our world finds a portal into a strange new world. However, this world is very different than ours. Children are running around town with no parents and strange shape-shifting animals that seem to follow them wherever they go. Soon he meets a young girl named Lyra who teaches him about other worlds. Then Will becomes the bearer of the Subtle Knife. This strange knife opens all kinds of different openings into different worlds in which Lyra and Will must search to bring their journeys to an end. The children, each looking for something different set off together in hopes they can help one another. This book is filled with great description, and is a must read for people of all ages. The Subtle Knife is filled with twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the third book.
Rating:
Summary: Top of the List - From a Children's Book Enthusiast
Review: I have been collecting and treasuring children's books since the moment I realized I wasn't a child anymore, so I've been around the block with authors that target a young adult audience. I stumbled across The Golden Compass when a friend of a friend pushed it at me one day saying "You really and truly will not be able to put it down." She was right.
Pullman will probably appeal to a young audience because of the spirit of adventure and richness of characters, but I believe that adults will get the most out of these books. The theory behind his ideas are amazing, and his villains are terrifying in their similarities to real-life human traits. Mrs. Coulter is probably one of the most interesting characters ever created and could have fit in well in Roald Dahl's The Witches. Her cunning, changeability, charm, and ability to turn on her own daughter make her kind of evil one we don't usually see.
The introduction of Will and "our" Oxford make this book probably the most interesting, albeit shortest, in the trilogy. The interplay between Will and Lyra is fascinating and allows us to see our heroine from another perspective. Their personalities complement each other so well, you'll be so engrossed by their cooperative endeavors that you'll forget they're not real people in your life.
After having read so many books for youngsters, both classic and contemporary, it's easy to sort the lasting from the flashes in the pan. The His Dark Materials trilogy reads like Dahl, Barrie, and C.S. Lewis (although it certainly doesn't emphasize fun and subtle humor the way the former two tended to do) in that it is never cheesy, never condescending, and chock full of beautiful, well thought-out details. It's not Harry Potter and it doesn't have to be. Both are completely enjoyable in different ways.
One important note on the edition you buy: You will have a better reading experience with the Knopf edition (preferably hardback). This is especially true with The Amber Spyglass, the third book in the trilogy.
Rating:
Summary: Joint Review of His Dark Materials
Review: The point of departure for this truly creative fantasy/parallel worlds trilogy is an inversion of Milton's Paradise Lost. In the latter, Milton presented a poetic account and justification of the divine plan for the Universe. In Pullman's books, the Miltonic version is a distorted view of real events. In the Universe created by Pullman, a powerful angelic force, the Authority, claimed power over the previously created Universe and has been abusing this power for millennia to keep humanity (and other sentient species) in a form of bondage. This bondage ramifies throughout an virtually infinite number of parallel worlds. This trilogy describes a revolt against the Authority and its overthrow. The principle characters are 2 children, one from our world and one from a closely related parallel world with mixed features of the 20th century and Victorian Europe. The initial plot strand concerns efforts to understand a mysterious component of the Universe called Dust or Dark Energy. The following complicated plot is essentially a coming of age story as the two children encounter many exotic features of their and related worlds. The plot incorporates elements of Paradise Lost and the Garden of Eden myth.
The quality of writing in these books is superb. A host of interesting characters and high quality prose. Pullman's imagination is remarkable. He has essentially developed a whole new mythology incorporating elements of modern science, religious allegory, and modern history. Perhaps the only flaw is that he may have packed too much into the final and concluding book of the trilogy, which is an interesting compound of Armageddon, Ragnorak, and the Garden of Eden story.
These books have produced some controversy as some feel that they are anti-religious, even specifically anti-Christian. Pullman has denied this interpretation and suggested that the books are an allegorical attack on all forms of dogmatism and authoritarianism. This disclaimer seems disingenuous. One thing that Pullman very clearly attacks is the idea that there is a separate soul distinct from the body. An important and at times poetically presented component of these books is the idea that humans are an intrinsic, not separate component, of the natural world. Pullman actually presents a pantheistic view of the world with consciousness an immanent and emergent part of the natural world and humans (and other sentients) as particular extensions of this aspect of the natural world. He also allegorically criticizes human attempts to overwhelmingly control the natural world. Whatever he states, these views are a trenchant criticism of any world view resting on the idea of separate and eternal souls.
Rating:
Summary: Great Reading for Any Age
Review: I picked up the first book in this series (in the children's department) after reading a Vanity Fair article which basically stated "Harry Potter, you have nothing on Phillip Pullman." They were right. I liked Harry Potter, but this was something much better! It's a book I highly recommend!
Rating: 
Summary: Big Ideas and Magic
Review: This is the second of a trilogy by Philip Pullman known as HIS DARK MATERIALS. The trilogy title has become so popular that different friends are handing me the novels and the London National Theatre production is completely sold out and reported to be magnificent. I find books and theatre reassuring after the tedium of LORD OF THE RINGS movie mania.
I'm not a fan of fantasy novels or of children's books. Nonetheless, I am enthralled with this fantastic tale of humans whose souls appear in the form of daemons, and the girl Lyra who wanders the world in a quest for "Dust," for an answer (the question is epic) and for her father. The true test is when I start to believe in this life where good and evil are in conflict in another dimension which includes angels, human souls that appear as separate creatures, bears that speak and wear armour, just a few examples among many wonders; I am convinced of the truthfulness of the alethioemeter and of Lyra's heroic future. This author is extraordinarily dextrous and persuasive.
The Subtle Knife takes us to young Will's world, his longing for his father, his sorrowful love of his mother and his unwitting usurping of the subtle knife. In this universe centred in Oxford we learn that there are many worlds, in different times and changing dangers, that can be entered by cutting small windows with the knife. Lyra and Will move, at their peril, from world to world in desperate attempts to retrieve Lyra's precious alethioemeter which has been stolen by an evil friend of her evil mother. Will and Lyra have that chemistry between them which means not only are they on the verge of adolescence but on the brink of love, unbeknownst to themselves. So much magic is happening, maybe this will be different too.
Many big ideas play into this story: the preparations for a war against the "Authority" (that is, God), and the discovery that Lyra is not only a very special girl but that she is to be Eve, the first woman, among them. I can join the ranks of readers who express amazement that these books are written for young adults, especially when Will loses several fingers in the knife fight and literally bleeds through the rest of the story.
Rating:
Summary: definitely worth reading
Review: In some ways, the subtle knife is much better than golden compass. the first book was a thrilling adventure story, where the background forces of destiny and religion gave way to the exciting trek around the Arctic. However, this book portrays the philosophical issues prominently and elegantly. What I really admired was the way Pullman never clarifies which side exactly is good or bad. Witches protect Lyra, but then betray her greatest secret. Lord Asriel seemed evil at the end of 'compass' but now seems to be on the side of good. The reader is kept guessing about the war that is going on. I greatly admire the skill with which Pullman has pulled off something this complicated. Pullman also pulls back no punches. If you found the tragedy at the end of 'compass' gut-wrenching, you will be in tears by the end of this. Although it has its light moments, subtle knife, is also very dark, and at times, sadistic. The amazing part is that Pullman makes this work for the story, by showing that this will be no easy flowers-in-the-sun war, which was sort of the feeling in 'compass'. The biggest fault (which cost this book a 5-star rating) is that the main characters are far too young for the tasks they are assigned. I can understand having child protagonists to bring out sympathy and admiration but the awesome tasks two innocent 12-year olds must perform is really too unrealistic. For comparison, take LOTR, where Frodo is the perfect balance between childish innocence and determination and adult-like strength and courage. However, taking into account all its faults, subtle knife is still a fascinating read for the pure mental thrill.
Rating:
Summary: Witches and daemons and specters, oh my!
Review: *sigh* It's just so darn good. So well written. So unaccountably flawless that you want to take Philip Pullman by the lapels and demand that he show you how he did it. In this second book of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, Pullman deftly continues the story of Lyra Belacqua and her adventures. Added to the mix is young Will Parry. A boy from our world, he and Lyra pair up to find his father. Along the way they find new enemies (like the soul-sucking Specters) and allies (angels, as luck would have it). What makes Pullman so adept is his readiness to shift between a myriad of different worlds with relative ease. This author can have five different plots going on and the reader not only is able to keep track of them all, but also feels a great obligation to read every single one. The creation of the Specters in this book is a particularly interesting one. Similar, in some ways, to the Dementors of the Harry Potter stories, these creatures leave the body alive and wasted after doing their dirty work. But best of all is Mr. Pullman's ability to make you really care about what is happening. I've rarely felt so invested in the well-being of my protagonists. Lyra is smart and clever without becoming precocious. Will is serious and strong without bowling you over with his manliness. The result is a classic book that will be well regarded for years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Great follow-up
Review: The Subtle Knife is a little slow to really get going but peservere and the story really takes off. Will, like Lyra, is believable and likeable, and the two make a great pair as they travel between worlds and try to make sense of what is going on. Once again, Pullman's imagination is on top form, with lots of spooky Spectres, the Subtle Knife itself and more of the horrid Mrs. Coulter. The only let-down is the "Adam & Eve" element and the explinations about Dust and dark matter.
Rating:
Summary: Subtle, incisive fantasy
Review: This second volume in Pullman's epic trilogy is closer in tone to JRR Tolkien than JK Rowling, but religion and philosophy take center stage early on. This battle of Good versus Evil has Pullman update Milton and Blake by questioning a LOT of assumptions. With the Catholic Church scandal revealing painful new developments every day, Pullman's work becomes ever more timely. Are institutions created to teach morality capable of staying moral? Can moral authorities resist authoritarianism? Which is more important, the integrity of the institution or protecting our most vulnerable citizens? All these issues come to fore, and in _The Subtle Knife_, the question of whether religion elevates or crushes the soul is never far from one's mind. The previous novel introduced Lyra Silvertongue, who lived in an alternate Oxford (UK) where everyone has a animal-daemon who stays close at hand. This volume introduces Will Parry, from our own Oxford, dealing with his incompetent mother and the disappearance of his explorer father. Will travels to a dangerous Mediterranean world where soul-sucking wraiths only kill adults, meets Lyra, and the two join forces. When Will discovers the Subtle Knife's power to cut portals between worlds, he and Lyra learn this is not only a method of escape, but an unstable force that could destroy many worlds. Pullman clearly detests the evil done in the name of religion. He is not necessarily anti-Catholic or anti-Christian but anti-authoritarian. Anyone who has studied European history will recognize the characterization of a corrupt and overly powerful Church (denomination never specified). Lyra and Will are bringing The Enlightenment to several worlds who are as politically forward as pre-Reformation Europe, and must defeat powerful forces who have no interest in yielding. The book and its companion volumes work both as a springboard to the Big Questions and as an allegory for growing up and finding one's own way. Literate, informed, evocative, and conceptually brilliant, this supposed Young Adult release will captivate adults as well.
Rating:
Summary: BETTER THAN POTTER?
Review: After reading the second I cannot wait to get to the last. I did not think he could out do the first in the series but to my pleasant suprise he did. This book along with the first evokes such a staggering felling of wonder that at points during reading I could barly contain the swelling of my heart. I would recommend this to anyone that loves to feel powerful emotions while reading; in my oppinion the greatest test of a book. I cannot wait for the third.
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