A short while ago, I read “The Subtle Knife,” by Philip Pullman, the second book in the His Dark Materials series. Unlike the previous book, this book began with a completely new character, in our world — Will. After he kills some men who invade his house, he discovers a window to another world, Cittagaze. There, he meets Lyra, who entered Cittagaze through a similar window created by Lord Asriel. They team up and return to Will’s world, where Lyra meets Dr. Malone, who is studying “Dust,” a substance the scholars in her world believe is original sin. Meanwhile, Will tries to find out what happened to his father, John Parry, who disappeared on an Arctic expedition. Unfortunately, Lyra’s alethiometer is stolen, and Sir Charles, who admits to stealing it, asks for a knife in return. Lyra and Will agree, but after they get the knife, which they discover can create windows to other worlds, they are told not to by the knife’s previous true owner, and instead, they steal the alethiometer back. Lyra and Will continue learning about Dust and searching for Will’s father throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading this book, as the real plot of the series begins to be explained as Lyra and Will travel. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, or elaborate plots and rate it 9.8/10.
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