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Summary: One of the Greatest Books!
Review: This is the greatest book! You will fall in love with Lyra and the rest of the gang and hate everyone else. When my friend told me to read The Golden Compass after I finished I begged my mom to take me to the library to get The Subtle Knife. Now I just can't wait for The Amber Spyglass to come out!
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Summary: Very good book!
Review: It was very astonishing and I cant wait till he comes out with the third book!
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Summary: A fantasy within fantasies
Review: Northern Lights and The Subtle Knife are just the first two books in the trilogy His Dark Materials. They are the beginning of a literary masterpiece that will last for generations. The Subtle Knife is a gripping story following the trials and tribulations of Lyra and Will, who are on a quest to find Will's father, John Parry, an explorer who vanished 12 years ago. These books will take you back to your childhood fantasies and delights, but will also make you think about life in general. A must read for all ages.
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Summary: Pullman is the greatest author EVER!!!!!
Review: I read Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart trilogy in jr. high and thought they were the best books I had ever read. Well, they were -- until now!! I can't wait to read the third in this series!!!!!!An aside to the reviewer who said that fundamentalist Christians should read books like this to "test their faith" -- well, I'm a fundamentalist Christian, and I don't read fantasy and science-fiction to test my faith, I read it because I enjoy it!! I wholeheartedly agree that just because you read something doesn't mean you have to believe in it!!
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Summary: WOW!
Review: All of Phillip Pullman's books are amazing. I really enjoyed the Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, too. I can't wait for the next one. If you like Phillip Pullman a lot; read his other books including the Sally Lockhart trilogy: - Ruby in the Smoke - The Tiger in The Well - The Broken Bridge. I'm not sure which is the second and third... and the Tin Princess has characters from those books. ---Abbey
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Summary: Excellent, but no attempt to finish the book
Review: This book was one of the most enjoyable books that I have ever read. Our class first studied Northern Lights, and the ending, promising much, but closing the story, made me pick up the Subtle Knife. The ending of this book, though, leaves you with the story completely open. He should have made the Subtle Knife slightly longer and finished the story rather that leaving it like that. It feels like later on, when I pick up the amber spy glass, I will be reading the next chapter of the Subtle Knife. Apart from the ending, just about perfect.
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Summary: Names
Review: I doubt I have anything to say about the book that hasn't been said before. I'd like to respond to the person from New Mexico who commented on the names, though. Asriel is Israel rearranged, but the name Asriel itself also appears in the Bible (not anyone important, though), and Azrael, or Asra'il in Arabic, is the angel of death.
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Summary: I would work the publishing machine to get the next book.
Review: I am eleven and I've read lots of series and this would have to be my favorite. Pullman has the imagination of a kid and the sense of a time traveller. When you read it it seems that he witnessed it all. The kids really reach out and I feel like their world is mine. I would work the publishing machine myself to get the next book. You need to read these books or you will die from lack of adventure.
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Summary: The Subtle Knife is one of the best books I've read.
Review: Seldom is the sequel better than the original. However, in this case, I find that The Subtle Knife is infinately better than The Golden Compass. Having already introduced main characters and main ideas, Mr. Pullman can bring out ideas and philosophies that capture the imagination and spark new thoughts. The only reason I did not completely enjoy this book was because of the cliffhanger ending that left me begging for the third installment of His Dark Materials. On the whole, however, The Subtle Knife is a superbly crafted literary work suitable for almost any reader of almost any age.
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Summary: Buy the hardcover instead of the paperback.
Review: I already reviewed this book, but I forgot to say something important. Buy the His Dark Materials books, but make sure you buy them in hardcover! The cover pictures of the hardcovers, with art by Eric Rohmann, are gorgeous, and the font used on the inside is beautiful too. Philip Pullman himself said in an interview that of all the cover art of his books, the His Dark Materials hardcover ones by Eric Rohmann are by far his favorites. Meanwhile, the paperbacks have boring cover pictures with many faults. For example, on the Book 1 cover the Northern Lights don't look right; Cittagazze looks more like London; Lyra is wearing pants, has no daemon, and looks much too big compared to Iorek; and the alethiometer looks nothing like I had pictured it. The Subtle Knife paperback cover is simply hideous, and besides Will doesn't look like Will is described in the book (Eric Rohmann's depiction of him is perfect IMO), the knife looks NOTHING like it is described (the swirling colors are not at all subtle), and the golden monkey is much too ugly and doesn't look like a proper golden monkey, more like a demon (no pun intended). Besides, with the paperback editions you don't get the beautiful fonts and good quality paper. I know this is picky and trivial and all that but the His Dark Materials trilogy is so good that if you're going to buy these books you'll want to own the best copies you can. It's worth the extra money, believe me. And I still gave it five stars because it's still a good book, it's just the paperback covers I have a problem with. IMHO, Zohariel
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