The Subtle Knife, written by Philip Pullman, is the sequel to The Golden Compass. Not having read The Golden compass, I was a little worried about not being able to "get it". As we all know sometimes reading a sequel first, can feel a little like walking in on the middle of a movie but without the ability to ask our friends "What happened? What did I miss?"

My fears were quickly put to rest as Pullman makes this story stand alone right from the start. The story revolves around Lyra and Will. Two children thrown together in a world that belongs to neither. Will comes from a world like ours while Lyra comes from a world where witches and demons are common place and neither are in the least bit evil.
I enjoyed this book very much and I plan to find the first and last book of this series as soon as possible. The one thing I didn't like was the way Pullman ended the book. I almost got the feeling he was trying to force sales of the last book in the trilogy. He leaves wondering what the........???? I suppose if this IS a marketing ploy it worked because I will be buying the final book in the series.
In short I recommend this book for a quick read that will keep you interested throughout.



Recommended: Yes