The Subtle Knife

Pullman, Philip. The Subtle Knife. Book 2 of His Dark Materials trilogy. 1997. 326p. ISBN 9780679879251. Available at FIC PUL on the library shelves.

Will has been protecting his mother for years now. Still a young teen, he’s shouldered the responsibility years ago when he noticed that the games of hide and seek his mother played with him were not games, but rather something in her mother’s head. This chase, however, doesn’t make it any less real.

So when men begin showing up at the house, looking for secrets his missing father left behind, Will realizes that he must hide his mother in a safe location before he himself goes in search of his father. Unfortunately, while searching his own home the two men return. During a confrontation, Will accidentally kills one of the men but he manages to escape and begins to roam the streets of Oxford.

Coming upon a cat, he sees the cat go through a dimensional door to another place. Seeing safety at last, Will goes through and appears in another world, a safe place where his pursuers will not chase him. He comes face to face with Lyra and her daemon, and she is shocked to see he does not have a daemon yet he still is able to function. A truce of sorts associates the two of them, and Lyra becomes fascinated by Will’s Oxford.

Crossing over several times, Lyra and Will are ambushed by an old enemy and put to a task. They must retrieve the Subtle Knife from its rightful guardian or risk losing everything. With Lyra’s mother. Mrs. Coulter not far behind and with Lord Asrael moving forward with his plan to bring the fight to God, both children are about to find themselves pawns in a holy war.

The story concludes in The Amber Spyglass.