Reviews

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

Only show reviews with written explanations

rudy2's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

martinelecorff's review against another edition

Go to review page

how did i end up reading an adam and eve retelling?

ruth24's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I rated The Subtle Knife 4/5 stars. Even though that's the same as I rated The Golden Compass, I didn't like it as much. I think that's common in a series, as the first book (if it was really good) builds up so much expectation that you're bound to be a bit disappointed. Even so, it was still a 4/5 star book for me, so I'm not complaining TOO much. But I will go into why I didn't like it as much as the first one.

1) The book felt like a necessary, but not as exciting, middle part of the story.

-I was reading a review of The Subtle Knife earlier and the person said they also felt like the book was just 'the middle' and didn't have a clearly defined beginning, middle and end. They had written a really scathing review of the book, before reading that a lot of people recommend seeing the three books as one long novel. After seeing things that way, he retracted his initial review and re-wrote it in a more positive light. I think I agree with this in some ways, as I am reading the books in sequence, as if they were a long novel, but at the same time plenty of other books that are in a series are capable of having a proper beginning, middle and end. So to sum up, IDK to be honest!

2) The story shifts away from Lyra.

- I really like Lyra as a character, so it's a little disappointing for me when the focus shifts to Will and to other characters in this second book. I don't think that's a fault in the writing - I'm just complaining for complaining's sake :) But I do see that Pullman is showing us that the story goes beyond Lyra, even beyond Will, as whatever is going to happen in the 3rd book is bigger than these two children.

- I guess what I really liked about the first book was the introduction to Lyra's world and there was definitely more of that in the second book. I especially liked the idea of the Specters.

What am I looking forward to in the next book?

Spoiler

-I hope Will goes into Lyra's world so he can see his daemon for the first time. And if the two grow up, then I'd like to know what form their daemons take. I 'd like to think Will's daemon would be cat-like, since he has a good relationship with cats in The Subtle Knife - his cat Moxie and the one that saves Lyra. I think Lyra's might be an ermine or something like that, as Pantalaimon seems to go into that form often. It's funny how I don't remember any of this from reading the series before. I think I only ever got as far as partway through the second book as I didn't remember anything beyond there being a boy and the two of them being in Oxford.

volkiano's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

fmun53's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sushizhan's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

So I read this book like 99.8% via audiobook and the storytelling was just so good. Philip Pullman himself narrated it! There was like a full cast which greatly enhanced my experience.

This was better than the first book IMO. Also asks more questions than it answers. The last 20% of the book went by quite fast.. Still reeling! Anyway.

Some things I appreciated while reading this:
- the wisdom of the children but also contrasting with the cruelty that they are capable of
- recurring theme of good versus evil
- Lyra and Will are like the best boy and girl duo in young adult fiction
- wish I had a friend like Lyra or Will tbh
- dark matter, MATTER, consciousness — someone pls explain how all these scifi elements are encroaching into this YA fantasy book?! Jk. It’s good tho.
- I love how this doesn’t like skirt around character death. And pair everyone off romantically. Some people just die because it’s their time, and death doesn’t care if the person is for good or bad or whatever side.
- I can understand why this is considered YA classic.