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A review by sauvageloup
The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
[2014]
middle school read
[22/01/21]
This was good, but not as amazing as the first book.
pros:
(- I had forgotten a good deal of this one, so at least there were more surprises about where things were going and the plot twists).
- the writing was good, as always, and the plot led neatly on from TNL and developed it further. Characters linked across, with Boreal, Scornsby, the witches, etc.
- I do like Will as a character, he's set up as someone who's absolutely a warrior from the start and that's continued and developed throughout. He also shows a different side of Lyra - what she's like when she's confronted and treated like an equal rather than semi-worshiped as she was by the kids in TNL.
- I love the idea of the subtle knife and how it works, it's rather clever.
- It was good to see more of the witches.
- I liked some of the world-building of Cittagazze, with the specters and all.
- I did like the character of Dr Malone very much and was hooked during when Lyra was meeting her.
- the plot twist of Grumman being Will's father was clever, I liked how that clue has been building since TNL and all the foreshadowing was there but I didn't spot it.
- the ending was pretty dramatic with Lyra getting taken and all, so that definitely made me want to read on.
cons:
- i just didn't love this book as much. It didn't enchant me like TNL. Partly it was that it wasn't set in Lyra's world anymore, which i loved so much with the daemons, gyptians, witches, etc. We saw some of that, but mostly it was the somewhat 2D world of Cittagazze, or our world.
- I also didn't like Lyra as much. It was good to see a different her next to Will, but she's also kind of unlikeable and she's much less proactive. She follows around either Will or aetheiometer. She's not leading anymore. The start of romance between her and Will also felt shoehorned in there.
- while i loved Dr Malone, I didn't much like her whole conversation with Dust. It took the magic out of the aetheiometer entirely. Part of the beauty of the thing was that only certain people could read it, but now it can just have straight-forward conversations like a robot? Nope.
- I wish Lee Scornsby hadn't died. Why didn't he call Pekkala earlier? Obviously, he seems not to have thought of it, but it felt pointless. And John Perry dying without even getting to speak a word to his son over some witch feeling entitled to his love... that was so anticlimactic after Will spent so long chasing him.
- Also... the whole religion thing. I liked in TNL that the Church was a big part of the story but it wasn't The Story. Here, they're literally going to wage war on God. It just takes me too much out of the fantasy of the story and I get that Pullman is probably making a point but it didn't make me like the book all that much.
okay that's all for now. It was okay, but i get why i don't remember reading it. I hope TAS is better.
middle school read
[22/01/21]
This was good, but not as amazing as the first book.
pros:
(- I had forgotten a good deal of this one, so at least there were more surprises about where things were going and the plot twists).
- the writing was good, as always, and the plot led neatly on from TNL and developed it further. Characters linked across, with Boreal, Scornsby, the witches, etc.
- I do like Will as a character, he's set up as someone who's absolutely a warrior from the start and that's continued and developed throughout. He also shows a different side of Lyra - what she's like when she's confronted and treated like an equal rather than semi-worshiped as she was by the kids in TNL.
- I love the idea of the subtle knife and how it works, it's rather clever.
- It was good to see more of the witches.
- I liked some of the world-building of Cittagazze, with the specters and all.
- I did like the character of Dr Malone very much and was hooked during when Lyra was meeting her.
- the ending was pretty dramatic with Lyra getting taken and all, so that definitely made me want to read on.
cons:
- i just didn't love this book as much. It didn't enchant me like TNL. Partly it was that it wasn't set in Lyra's world anymore, which i loved so much with the daemons, gyptians, witches, etc. We saw some of that, but mostly it was the somewhat 2D world of Cittagazze, or our world.
- I also didn't like Lyra as much. It was good to see a different her next to Will, but she's also kind of unlikeable and she's much less proactive. She follows around either Will or aetheiometer. She's not leading anymore.
- while i loved Dr Malone, I didn't much like her whole conversation with Dust. It took the magic out of the aetheiometer entirely. Part of the beauty of the thing was that only certain people could read it, but now it can just have straight-forward conversations like a robot? Nope.
- I wish Lee Scornsby hadn't died. Why didn't he call Pekkala earlier? Obviously, he seems not to have thought of it, but it felt pointless. And John Perry dying without even getting to speak a word to his son over some witch feeling entitled to his love... that was so anticlimactic after Will spent so long chasing him.
- Also... the whole religion thing. I liked in TNL that the Church was a big part of the story but it wasn't The Story. Here, they're literally going to wage war on God. It just takes me too much out of the fantasy of the story and I get that Pullman is probably making a point but it didn't make me like the book all that much.
okay that's all for now. It was okay, but i get why i don't remember reading it. I hope TAS is better.