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The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials) [Paperback]

Philip Pullman
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)

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Paperback, 16 Oct 1998 --  
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Scholastic Point; New edition edition (16 Oct 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0590112899
  • ISBN-13: 978-0590112895
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 2.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Philip Pullman
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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

At the end of The Northern Lights, Lyra Silvertongue watched in fear and fascination as her father, Lord Asriel, created a bridge between worlds. Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, are now lost in an alternate universe where they meet Will Parry, a fugitive from a third universe. Will has found a small window between Cittagazze (a place where children roam unchecked but invisible Specters suck the spirit out of adults) and his Oxford, which, with its Burger Kings and cars, is frighteningly different from the Oxford Lyra knows.

Will's father, an explorer, disappeared years ago, but recently some odd characters have started asking questions about him, and now, having accidentally killed one of them, Will is wanted by the police. Armed with the Subtle Knife, a tool that cuts any material (including that which separates universes) and Lyra's alethiometer, the children set out to find John Parry, with adults of various stripes in desperate pursuit.

Lyra's finest qualities, her courage and quick mind, are stretched to the limit as she has to lie, cheat and steal to keep herself and Will out of danger. However, she must also learn when to tell the truth and when to trust, for, though she does not yet know it, she has a huge part to play in the upcoming battle between Good and Evil.

Review

'The most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings... as intellectually thrilling as it is magnificently written' - New Statesman 'Quite outstanding' - The Scotsman --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Customer Reviews

199 Reviews
5 star:
 (159)
4 star:
 (23)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (6)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (199 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb read, 14 Feb 2007
This review is from: The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials) (Paperback)
I can say without any doubt, that Northern Lights, together with the other two books in the trilogy (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass)are the best books I have ever read. (And I have read quite a lot!)

Each day, I couldn't wait to get on the tube and read the continuing adventure of Lyra et al.

It is enchanting from start to finish. And for my mind makes anything else you read afterwards seem highly inferior.

You are taken completely out of yourself. Yet you are also able to ponder the wider meanings of it all. And with so many twists and turns, Pullman as a writer is always several steps ahead of where you think things are going.

From the moment I finished the last page of the last book in the trilogy, (yesterday) I wanted to pick up Northern lights and read them all again. I cannot imagine anyone not liking these books. Even for those who have not read fantasy novels before. They are original, profound, gripping and simply breathtaking in places.

Frankly I envy anyone reading this trilogy for the first time!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars by a mile, 7 Dec 2005
By 
I. D. Miller "ian_miller6" (Solihull) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'm normally reluctant to give 5 stars as overusage makes truly classic books difficult to differentiate, particularly when the book is part of an all-too-common trilogy. However I had no qualms about doing it here.
The Subtle Knife develops the main character Lyra from her adventures and early path to maturity in the Northern Lights and introduces her key comrade Will, as they battle together against and with forces they do not understand.

The story line is tight, well structured and flows at a remarkable pace. The way in which Pullman brings modern theories of Physics into an adventure story is quite an achievement.

A wonderful read.

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86 of 92 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than Harry Potter? Yes!, 9 Jun 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials) (Paperback)
Let's just get this clear - I will read anything. I am never not in the middle of reading a book. Whenever I know I'm nearly at the end of one book, I go out and buy another. I can't stand not having a book to read. Let's get another thing clear - I'm only thirteen, so adults reading this might not want to read my opinion - that's fine by me. Ok.

I have all the Harry Potter books, and my friend recommended Northern Lights to me because she said it was like a girl power equivalent to Harry Potter. I thought that sounded pretty cool, so I gave it a go. I realised that it is nothing like Harry Potter at all! Harry Potter is a *normal* boy in *our* world doing *normal* stuff with a twist of magic. The "His Dark Materials" trilogy is set mainly in *fantasy* worlds, but I suppose that you could say Lyra is kind of normal. Apart from the fact that she has a little Daemon called Pantalaimon. In fact, to her a daemon is normal - apparently seeing somebody without a daemon is like seeing somebody without a head - that's the kind of thing that makes this trilogy good.

This particular book is better than Northern Lights, in my opinion. There's a boy and a girl (Lyra and Will). They both come from different worlds - but they're kind of like parallel universes - there is an Oxford in Lyra's world, but it has certain features that are different, such as the aforementioned daemons and a certain Jordan College, which is not at the *real* Oxford Uni. Then there's ANOTHER world which is totally different. Things called spectres haunt and drown the souls of the adults, but the kids are unaffected. How creepy? And you can hear angels - and there are witches... It's all very creepy, which is v. cool.

I would recommend this to anybody who enjoyed Harry Potter, but thinks they are growing out of him. There are some really clever twists, and it deals with emotions and tragedy a lot more than Harry Potter does. I don't know why Philip Pullman isn't getting the coverage that J. K. Rowling is. In my opinion he's a much much better writer. It amazes me how he can know exactly how a little girl actually feels - and the books are so imaginative, you'd think he comes from Lyra's world!

And one more thing - look out for some seriously wicked names - Lyra Belacqua (or Silvertongue as she has now been christened) is a lot more exciting than Harry Potter, or Cornelius Fudge.

Ok, I hope you read it, cos I can't begin to tell you how good it is - you really need to see it to believe it!

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