The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman
(Books 2 and 3 in the His Dark Materials trilogy)
Read my review of The Golden Compass (Book 1 in the trilogy) HERE
"The Subtle Knife" is the story of Will, a heroic young boy who goes on a quest for his missing father, and discovers his destiny as the bearer of a magical knife that can create portals to other worlds.
"The Amber Spyglass" is the breathtaking conclusion to this epic saga of good versus evil. It's impossible to say more than that without revealing entirely too much.
Of the three books, I thought "The Subtle Knife" was the weakest. I didn't find it as compelling or thought-provoking as the others, but it was still quite good.
"The Amber Spyglass," however, was magnificent. All that I loved about "The Golden Compass" was evident again in this book. Pullman is a masterful storyteller, his plot crafting is astonishing, and his characters are complex and utterly believable. And even while the author is mesmerizing the reader with a compelling story, he is also challenging them to consider deep questions of theology and philosophy.
The entire series is brilliant and extremely well-written.
RATING
The Amber Spyglass
The Subtle Knife
In the His Dark Materials trilogy of books, everyone's spirit/personality is represented by a "daemon" - an animal that accompanies them everywhere. This quiz reveals what my daemon would be if we had them in this world. (Very accurate...and what a fantastic animal!)
I read The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass years ago but never got around to reading The Golden Compass! Now I really want to read it and then reread the other 2 :)
ReplyDeleteThe series is definitely worth a re-read! It's just brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThese are my favorite books! *sigh* I agree with you that The Subtle Knife is the weakest of the three, although I am irrevocably in love with Will so I appreciate that he showed up in it.
ReplyDelete"...irrevocably in love with Will" - that's adorable! :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE these books...I've never read anything so fantastical and imaginative. I even fancy a re-read now I've read this. I picked up some lovely matching scholastic copies of all three the other week. The Subtle Knife isn't the best one of the trio but as a stand alone book its still brilliant. The spectres are terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI've just finished The Subtle Knife and would have to agree that it's weaker than Northern Lights on a plot level. The peripheral characters detract from the main thread for me, although that isn't particularly strong in and of itself.
DeleteMy review: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman