The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2)

by Philip Pullman

"Here is the highly anticipated second installment of Philip Pullman's epic fantasy trilogy, begun with the critically acclaimed The Golden Compass. Lyra and Will, her newfound friend, tumble separately into the strange tropical otherworld of Cittàgazze, "the city of magpies," where adults are curiously absent and children run wild. Here their lives become inextricably entwined when Lyra's alethiometer gives her a simple command: find Will's father. Their search is plagued with obstacles - some familiar and some horribly new and unfathomable - but it eventually brings them closer to Will's father and to the Subtle Knife, a deadly, magical, ancient tool that cuts windows between worlds. Through it all, Will and Lyra find themselves hurtling toward the center of a fierce battle against a force so awesome that leagues of mortals, witches, beasts, and spirits from every world are uniting in fear and anger against it. This breathtaking sequel will leave readers eager for the third and final volume of His Dark Materials."

The adventures of young Lyra continue, and now she's with Will, a 12-year-old boy from our world. I really loved this book when I first read it and I still love it now. I'm sad because the movie based on the first book wasn't what I expected and they didn't make the seconde after that. At least I have in my mind the world and the characters.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials #1)

by Philip Pullman

"Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved."

 

This is another book from my childhood that I just love. It’s just amazing!

Alternate universes, strong female heroes and anti-heroes, graphic death scenes, talking polar bears, religious controversy... What's not to like about this book?

This book was turned into a film several years ago with some Hollywood big stars but honestly I didn’t like very much the final result because I had the book really present on my mind and it was different, so if you want to read the book “just don't see the film if you want to keep your faith in Hollywood”.