The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Keeping this short – overall review of His Dark Materials after all the hoopla is over
This is book 2 of the His Dark Materials trilogy and it does read like a second book, a connecting book.
Overall, this is book is not quite as strong as The Golden Compass. It think the beginning of the book is what set it back. Honestly, after spending so much time with Lyra and her world, the beginning of this turns that around and nearly ignores it. I took a little time to get into this. It really picked up though. And overall the themes that develop are exponentially greater than the ones in The Golden Compass.
I think Philip Pullman truly is an exceptional writer. The plot, characters, symbolism and imagination are staggering.
I am looking forward to The Amber Spyglass and the conclusion. (note – started Amber Spyglass already and Pullman is “all in” with it. The writing and narrative structure are superb.)