The second book in Philip Pullman's highly-engrossing fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials is a great big slap to most sequels, especially in literature (oh yes, not only in Hollywood do sequels exist - in books too you numbskull sequel-mongers). Continuing from the first one, Northern Lights (UK edition original title) and The Golden Compass (from the American title-changers!), The Subtle Knife is a wonderful staging for the bigger event for the last and final part of the trilogy. As The Golden Compass served as the very foundations of the story, introducing us into Lyra Belacqua's parallel Oxford world, this second one laid out the whole plot that there are other worlds aside from our own and served as an entrance to another protagonist aside from Lyra which is William Parry.

All the characters are back, but the start of the story focused on Will as he try to escape the murder he had committed in order to protect his mother. With the mystery of his father's disappearance in the Arctic as an explorer, he discovers a small opening to another world, leading him to Citagazze, a Meditteranean-esque world near the sea where the city was plagued with Spectres that haunts all the adults. He and Lyra Silvertongue met and as they formed a special bond of friendship, they also discovered and fought to get hold of this specific knife that could cut windows between worlds. With Lyra's determination to find a confidante to tell all about the dark matter, she finds Mary Malone, a scientist in our own world, and proved that there is another matter existing.

If The Golden Compass was very adventurous and had the makings of an all-time classic, The Subtle Knife is more laid-back kind of adventure as Pullman tries to introduce to us the different worlds that are important in the last and final book. The magnetic and majestic multi-layered villain Mrs Coulter is back as well, manipulating a lot of events in the book.

I've got to say that His Dark Materials is a very intelligent series. Pullman transcends into the Tolkien, Rowling, Lewis subterranean fantasy levels, and it's very evident that he deftly mixes fantasy, philosophy, theology, science-fiction and children's literature all abound together. What really haunts me was that Pullman was really brave of writing such a book that would defy a child's imagination because in fact, the plot elements are very adult such as religion and the question of faith. Great as he was, he does not want to patronise the intelligence of a child. It's very evident as well that Pullman wanted to personify that ultimate battle between good and evil. While some will ask whether he's anti-Church, he's not necessarily anti-Church, nor anti-religion, but he's more against of authoritarianism and tyranny.

Let your buckles hold you because after reading this cliff-hanger of a book, your eyes will crave for the final event, The Amber Spyglass.


Rating: A