• His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)

  • His Dark Materials, Book 2
  • By: Philip Pullman
  • Narrated by: Philip Pullman, full cast
  • Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (13,678 ratings)

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His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)  By  cover art

His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)

By: Philip Pullman
Narrated by: Philip Pullman, full cast
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Publisher's summary

The spellbinding sequel to The Golden Compass, the modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top 100 Book of All Time," continues the epic adventure, catapulting listeners between worlds, and toward a devastating discovery.

Lost in a new world, Lyra finds Will—a boy on the run, a murderer—a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.

Each is searching—Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father—but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power. And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together...until they are split apart.

A #1
New York Times Bestseller
Published in 40 Countries


“Just as quick-moving and unputdownable as The Golden Compass. . . . The mysteries deepen and the wonders grow even more extravagant.” —The Washington Post

“Pullman’s imagination soars . . . A literary rollercoaster ride you won’t want to miss.”—The Boston Globe

“The story gallops with ferocious momentum . . . Devilishly inventive.” —The New York Times Book Review

Don't miss Philip Pullman's epic new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials!
** THE BOOK OF DUST **
La Belle Sauvage
The Secret Commonwealth

Listen to the rest of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.
©1997 Philip Pullman

Critic reviews

"The superb production of this fascinating fantasy epic makes it a heart-thumping listening adventure." (AudioFile)

"More than fulfilling the promise of The Golden Compass, this second volume starts off at a heart-thumping pace and never slows down." (Publishers Weekly)

"A resoundingly successful sequel." (Booklist)

Featured Article: The top 100 series of all time


The feeling of discovering that your favorite new listen is actually the start of a series is euphoric. That you can immediately hit play and re-enter a beloved new world, or love story, or era from history is a gift to the devoted listener. But how to pick just 100 of these unique and immersive listening journeys? We defined a series as having a minimum of three books, and—after some debate—we decided the titles had to be anchored in fiction. From YA to horror to historical fiction, from fresh voices to seminal tales, hours of discovery await.

What listeners say about His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    9,705
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    2,852
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    7,463
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    579
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

great story

it is a great story. loved the addition of a new character and seeing Lyra's character grow.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent fantasy series

Bill Pullman and cast perform the story beautifully.
I highly recommend the series for kids and adults.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • A
  • 04-14-19

Grand & growing story but loses some cohesion

This is a good sequel to the first book (which is amazing), it expands on the story at the expense of world building (which I guess was the purpose of the first story), but does a good job at expanding on the storyline and experiences of the wide cast of characters (although there is no appearance of the armoured bear - which is always a loss!).

The second book does less to explain, and does more to advance the plot - but at the end of this book I instantly bought more credits so I could continue with the third and last chapter of the series.

Enjoying the ride and the wide cast (voice acting is as great as the first) - I can't wait to see how this all sorts itself out

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Story But...

I absolutely love the story but I really disliked the music in between chapters – – terrible.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

The Subtle Knife...

Love how the thrill of the drama plays out. Thumbs up to the performance. Looking forward to the next book

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

This was amazing. it's like watching a movie in your head. All the characters played their parts perfectly. The story is so thought provoking and addicting!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Enjoyable

As a scifi person I was kind of embarrassed that I had not read this classic series, listened to it while road tripping... I get why it's a classic and maybe if I had read it as a kid I'd have loved it more. That said, I wasn't IN LOVE with it. Glad I read it once, the ideas are interesting, probably won't read it again... well listen... but same thing

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Great performance!

the music between the chapters is a bit harsh, but the reading is phenomenal.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, great audiobook

I loved this series in high school, years ago, and it stood the test of time. It's quite dark for a young adult novel, full or dark themes, war, death, betrayal, deep theological philosophies. But the story telling is outstanding, and the cast does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Second Entry!

Just as its predecessor, The Northern Lights (Golden Compass), it is beautifully written. Once the story grabs you, it doesn’t let go. This story is a page tur...binge listen(?). The cast was fantastic and Philip Pullman (the author) brought all of his words to life. Fantastic production that never feels like a book. Feels like a movie being sent through your ears straight to your mind (if that makes any sense at all). So excited to start part 3!

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