The fantastical, and fantastic, 'His Dark Materials' continues in this volume....

from Amazon.com...
'With The Golden Compass Philip Pullman garnered every accolade under the sun. Critics lobbed around such superlatives as "elegant," "awe-inspiring," "grand," and "glittering," and used "magnificent" with gay abandon. Each reader had a favorite chapter--or, more likely, several--from the opening tour de force to Lyra's close call at Bolvangar to the great armored-bear battle. And Pullman was no less profligate when it came to intellectual firepower or singular characters. The dæmons alone grant him a place in world literature. Could the second installment of his trilogy keep up this pitch, or had his heroine and her too, too sullied parents consumed him? And what of the belief system that pervaded his alternate universe, not to mention the mystery of Dust? More revelations and an equal number of wonders and new players were definitely in order.
The Subtle Knife offers everything we could have wished for, and more. For a start, there's a young hero--from our world--who is a match for Lyra Silvertongue and whose destiny is every bit as shattering. Like Lyra, Will Parry has spent his childhood playing games. Unlike hers, though, his have been deadly serious. This 12-year-old long ago learned the art of invisibility: if he could erase himself, no one would discover his mother's increasing instability and separate them.

As the novel opens, Will's enemies will do anything for information about his missing father, a soldier and Arctic explorer who has been very much airbrushed from the official picture. Now Will must get his mother into safe seclusion and make his way toward Oxford, which may hold the key to John Parry's disappearance. But en route and on the lam from both the police and his family's tormentors, he comes upon a cat with more than a mouse on her mind: "She reached out a paw to pat something in the air in front of her, something quite invisible to Will." What seems to him a patch of everyday Oxford conceals far more: "The cat stepped forward and vanished." Will, too, scrambles through and into another oddly deserted landscape--one in which children rule and adults (and felines) are very much at risk. Here in this deathly silent city by the sea, he will soon have a dustup with a fierce, flinty little girl: "Her expression was a mixture of the very young--when she first tasted the cola--and a kind of deep, sad wariness." Soon Will and Lyra (and, of course, her dæmon, Pantalaimon) uneasily embark on a great adventure and head into greater tragedy.

Throughout, Pullman is in absolute control of his several worlds, his plot and pace equal to his inspiration. Any number of astonishing scenes--small- and large-scale--will have readers on edge, and many are cause for tears. "You think things have to be possible," Will demands. "Things have to be true!" It is Philip Pullman's gift to turn what quotidian minds would term the impossible into a reality that is both heartbreaking and beautiful.'

Arrived safe and sound today.

Having just read the review above, I think it goes a bit overboard. On the other hand I did read the book in one sitting.

I think my problem with the book is that I'm finding it difficult to keep track of everyone and their motivations. The intrigues that are lying beneath it all are not quite clear to me.

That said, I was quite fascinated by Dr Malone and the interplay between her and Lyra. Certainly some interesting philosophical thinking here.

Pullman is also quite good with dialogue. Each character sounds distinctive and I like that. I also very much enjoyed the addition of Will. It's nice to have a character equally strong as Lyra.

Still, he's got a lot of explaining to do before the end of the next book.

Posted off today.

Arrived today , thanks Calissa, will journal again when read.

Read this in one day , absolutely loved it, couldn't put it down. If anything, I became more engrossed in the story than I did during the reading of The Golden Compass.

Got it. Thanks, BellaMack.

It's very interesting & Pullman's control of his world's is excellent but the story just isn't pulling me in. I like Will & I'm liking Lyra more & I have to finish the series now. I'm not sure what it is that's giving me a slight distaste for the story, perhaps there's just too much happening all at once. Perhaps this is just the Book 2 Blues & I'll feel better about it when I start the 3rd.

Thanks, lmn60.

Posted to DrCris this morning.

I found this in my PO box today. Thanks lmn60 and catsalive!

I think this book does suffer a little from middle book syndrome. It seemed that everything fell into place a bit too easily, and everyone met who they were meant to and everything was fine. I found it improved greatly after they get into the mountains, when things start to happen in a slightly more unpredictable way. The other issue I had with this book to begin with is that it paints Lyra ina really unflattering light - you kept being told how dirty she is and how her clothes are rags and stuff. I know it is the new description of how these new people see her, but it was a bit disconcerting after I got to like her so much during the previous book.

I liked the relationship with Dr Malone, too, and I hope that continues into book 3. I also liked the edge that Will started to develop towards the end - obviously he is a tough kid who has been through a lot, but the trials in this book made him a little less like a shadow and more like someone who cared.

My husband made the comment that the cover of this book has a picture of Will holding a whopping big knife - he thought it was not at all subtle, and quite funny.....

Added to the Quick Turnaround bookbag.

Removed from the Quick Turnaround Book Bag. Thanks lmn60 and DrCris.
I have someone in mind who I'm sure will enjoy this series. I may have to twist an arm or two in order to get a journal entry though . . . so stay tuned.

Given as a RABCK to nevalate4lunch a few months ago. No journal entry forthcoming (as sorta expected); but then who am I to point the finger as I forgot to journal them then too!!