The Subtle Knife

Last night I finished reading The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman. As with The Golden Compass I credit Amy with recommending it and I don’t want to write a real review yet. This is just my initial thoughts on finishing the book. These books don’t stand alone so they really should be taken as a whole. The usual spoiler warnings apply, especially if you haven’t read The Golden Compass.

I think I may have enjoyed The Subtle Knife more than The Golden Compass, although I didn’t think that I would at the beginning. I missed Lyra and Pan, but I got used to Will and his story fairly quickly. It seemed to be more tightly written to me, with less time spent on getting the story going, which is the luxury of a sequel I suppose. I enjoyed seeing Lyra start to mature though the book, although I don’t remember finding her particularly immature during The Golden Compass, she was irritating me in the first few chapters. It was character appropriate considering all that she’d just been through, but her lack of forethought, especially when compared to Will, was annoying.

It was good to spend more time with Lee Scoresby, but I was devastated when he died. Pullman did a wonderful job of writing his death scene; it was terribly sad and beautiful. I’ll miss him and Hester. I will be very upset if Lord Astriel does something evil with the knife after Grumman told Will to take it to him.

Speaking of Lord Astriel I can’t wait to see more of him. Is he good, evil, or morally ambiguous? My money is on the moral ambiguity. So many apparently good people seem to be rallying at his side, but I can’t forget that he had no qualms at killing Roger to get to the other world. I’m guessing Lyra won’t be able to forget that either.

The Specters are some of the most terrifying monsters I’ve experienced in a book. The scene when Lena Feldt went to spy on Mrs. Coulter and wound up being tortured was horrific. I’m still very interested in Mrs. Coulter and her horrible monkey. I’m pretty sure that she’ll have a hard time bringing herself to destroy Lyra, if she tries at all.

The expansion of the Dust lore was very interesting. I like the direction in which it’s going. I assume Dr. Malone will have more to do in The Amber Spyglass I want to see more about the Dark Matter / Dust theories.