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The Subtle Knife

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The Subtle Knife
First edition cover
AuthorPhilip Pullman
Cover artistPhilip Pullman & David Scutt
LanguageEnglish
SeriesHis Dark Materials
GenreFantasy novel
PublisherScholastic Point
Publication date
1997
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages352 pp
ISBNISBN 0-590-11289-9 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded byNorthern Lights 
Followed byThe Amber Spyglass 
For the weapon mentioned in this book, see Æsahættr.

The Subtle Knife is the second novel in the His Dark Materials series, written by British novelist Philip Pullman, and published in 1997.

Pullman alludes heavily to the study of dark matter and particle physics to further establish his metaphysical saga.

Plot summary

The Subtle Knife initially follows the story of Will Parry, a twelve-year-old boy on the run from unknown men looking for letters from his long lost explorer father that had been sent to his now ailing mother. He leaves his mother with a friend and recovers the letters, killing one of his pursuers in the process, and while fleeing he accidentally stumbles across a window to another world.

He finds himself in Cittàgazze, an otherworldly city whose denizens have discovered a clean path between worlds but their reckless use of the technology has released soul-eating Spectres, rendering the world incapable of transit by post-adolescents. Here Will meets Lyra who traveled there by passing through the Aurora in The Northern Lights.

The pair team up, traveling back and forth between the two worlds as Lyra tries to uncover more about the nature of Dust and Will unravels the mystery of what happened to his father, who it turns out was also looking for a gateway between worlds. Along the way Lyra has the alethiometer stolen and is sent on a quest to steal a weapon called the Subtle Knife from Cittàgazze if she wants it back.

Will fights to take the Subtle Knife from a young man who is unable to unlock its power but uses it hold the Spectres at bay. Will becomes the new knife bearer and finds that one edge of the knife is capable of creating portals between worlds and the other edge easily cuts through any form of matter. However in the fight to take the knife Will loses some of his fingers in a wound that refuses to heal and his actions cause the death of the young man who held the knife.

Lyra and Will use the Subtle Knife to steal back the alethiometer, however upon returning to Cittàgazze they find the local children out to kill them for taking the knife. They are eventually rescued by the witches from Lyra's world and they journey on together. The witches try to heal Will's wounded fingers but ultimately fail and he continues to weaken due to blood loss.

Back in Lyra's world Lee Scoresby has been traveling the world on a quest to locate Stanislaus Grumman who he believe is important to uncovering Asriel's plans and helping Lyra. When Lee finally finds Grumman, he asks Lee to take him through the Aurora into the other world so he can guide the bearer of the Subtle Knife. Lee agrees and guides Grumman through to Cittàgazze where Lee ultimately dies at the hand of the Magisterium army while defending Grumman.

Mrs. Coulter, leading her own force through Cittàgazze tortures one of the witches traveling with Lyra and learns of the prophecy that Lyra is to be the next Eve. Mrs. Coulter decides that she will have to destroy Lyra to prevent another fall.

Will, still bleeding from his wound, meets Stanislaus Grumman, who heals his fingers and instructs him to take to the Subtle Knife to Lyra's father, Lord Asriel, to use as a weapon against The Authority. They suddenly realize that they are father and son but in that instant Will's father is murdered. Will returns to their camp to find Lyra has mysteriously vanished and two angels are waiting to take him to Lord Asriel.

See also

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

A film of The Subtle Knife will go into production if the first film, The Golden Compass, which was released December 5, 2007, is a success at the box office[1].

As the second novel of the "His Dark Materials" Trilogy the book has also formed part of a radio drama on BBC Radio 4 starring Terence Stamp as Lord Asriel and Lulu Popplewell as Lyra, and as a two-part, six-hour performance for London's Royal National Theatre in December 2003, running until March 2004, and a second run between November 2004 and April 2005.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Mcnary, Dave (4 January 2007). "New Line pulls in pic scribe: Amini to pen second part of Pullman trilogy". Variety, Los Angeles. Retrieved 2007-12-13.

References

  • Lenz, Millicent (2005). His Dark Materials Illuminated: Critical Essays on Phillip Pullman's Trilogy. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3207-2.
  • Frost, Laurie (2006). The Elements of His Dark Materials. The Fell Press.
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