His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)

His Dark Materials, Book 2

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Philip Pullman, full cast

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)

an earful

The second part of the trilogy is wonderfully compelling. The musical interludes between chapters are terrible -- ear piercing interrruptions to an otherwise great dramatization.

A solid reading of a fine story

Overall this is both an enjoyable adventure and a very well done audiobook.

Production:

Philip Pullman does a fantastic job as the narrator, and with a few minor exceptions the rest of cast of thousands does a first rate job too.

On the other hand this audiobook is overproduced as if they are trying to compete with television (Pullman reads the narration, a huge cast of BBC folks reads all the dialog, and overbearing musical segues punctuate the beginning and end of as each chapter).

While it's good to see that American audiobooks aren't the only ones to suffer from being overproduced, someone needs to give these audiobook folks the message that there's no need to try to produce these things as if they were cheesy television shows.

Plot:

I'm a little disappointed that Pullman twists theistic themes and elements ("authority," angels, Hades, Adam and Eve, original sin) around a central plot that castigates "the church" as all evil, stifling, and oppressive.

Couldn't pull it out of my ear

I adored this second book. It introduced a new character which added more flavor and dimensions to the already inviting plot. It made me want more. The similarities to Bible stories was a little nervy and might be disturbing for younger readers,in my opinion. Still, an excellent and involving story that appealed to this adult reader tremendously. I reccomend that parents read it first if concerned about Biblical aspects.

beautiful story with universal themes of today

Lovely book with many things that are enduring throughout human history and should be examined in today's context with the rise of the church and conservative powers in our society.

very interesting sequel.

looking forward to the next book. interesting characters. perfect mix of joy and sadness with mystery mixed in

Exceptional

Well written, brilliant cast, and voice acting.
The story is magical, puzzling, and dark.
Easy listen, but hard to stop.
Would definitely recommend.

Love it but

Loved everything but the terrible music between chapters. Startling and Broke my concentration every time.

this book went so many cool places

lots of fun and buying the whole serise such s fun novel. well worth the time and money on to book 3!!!!

Not quite as good as the first...

.... but still an excellent book. The full cast is perfect for the characters. A little scarier than THE GOLDEN COMPASS, but, again, great for young adults.

Great book

The actress who played Lyra was a bit annoying at times, but overall it was great.