The Subtle Knife
First edition
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| Author | Philip Pullman |
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| Cover artist | Philip Pullman & David Scutt |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | His Dark Materials |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Scholastic Point |
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Publication date
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1997 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 341 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 44058512 |
| Preceded by | Northern Lights (The Golden Compass) |
| Followed by | The Amber Spyglass |
The Subtle Knife, the second book in the His Dark Materials series, is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Philip Pullman and published in 1997. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua as she investigates the mysterious Dust phenomenon and searches for her father. Will Parry is introduced as a companion to Lyra, and together they explore the new realms to which they have both been introduced.
Twelve-year-old Will Parry cares for his mentally ill mother in Oxford. When he accidentally kills an intruder, he runs away and discovers a portal to a parallel universe. In the seemingly deserted city of Cittàgazze, he encounters 12-year-old Lyra Silvertongue and her dæmon Pantalaimon, who arrived via a bridge in the sky created by her father, Lord Asriel.
The witch Serafina Pekkala overhears Mrs. Coulter's torturing a witch to discover the prophecy that concerns Lyra. Concerned for Lyra's safety, Serafina and a troop of witches attempt to find Lyra, while aeronaut Lee Scoresby searches for Stanislaus Grumman, who is rumoured to have knowledge of a powerful object which gives protection for those who hold it, with which Scoresby intends to protect Lyra.
Returning to his own world through the portal, Will eventually finds information on his missing father, who went missing on an expedition. Lyra searches through Will's Oxford, and meets Dr. Mary Malone, who is in possession of a machine that detects dark matter, which Lyra suspects to be Dust. Malone is attempting to communicate with it, though the next day police question Lyra and her knowledge of Will, and she accidentally gives him away. After accepting a lift from a gentleman introducing himself as Sir Charles Latrom, Lyra discovers that he has stolen her alethiometer. Sir Charles forces Will and Lyra into retrieving a mysterious knife from Cittàgazze for the alethiometer's return. There, they retrieve the knife, in which Giacomo Paradisi, the previous owner of the knife, reveals the true power of the knife: the ability to cut into other worlds, and cut through any material.
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