The Subtle Knife » Review

In the sequel to The Golden Compass, Phillip Pullman shows how a book can be totally different from its predecessor while still holding true to the style and heart of the original.

At the end of His Dark Materials' first installment, Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon, stepped through a rift in the universe and into a parallel world.  Needless to say, I was anxious to see how Lyra was faring and where she went.  Masterfully, however, Pullman draws out the suspense by introducing us to a new protagonist, Will Parry, who lives in a place readers are quite familiar with.

After becoming immersed in the alternate Britain of the first book, it was somewhat jarring to encounter our own, modern world.  I thought it was pretty genius, however, making His Dark Materials into a more complex fantasy.  The interplay between the worlds was fantastic, as we soon see, for early in the book, Will stumbles into a parallel universe himself and bumps right into Lyra Silvertongue.

The chemistry between Will and Lyra was fantastic, but not in a romantic sense.  Their interactions were dynamic because they're such fundamentally different people.  Will is very much an adult before his years, solid and responsible, while Lyra is like the spirit of childhood, clever and minxish.  The two were at delicious odds when they first meet. However, what Will and Lyra both are is resourceful, and pretty soon, they've created an intriguing plot for readers to follow.

Our slew of villainous adults from book one are back in The Subtle Knife, with even more adversaries thrown into the mix for good measure.  We have Mrs. Coulter, beautiful, charismatic, and charming, with her true nature revealed by her infernal monkey daemon.  Then there is Lord Asriel, seemingly a force for good but willing to do incredibly evil things.  The fact that Coulter and Asriel are Lyra's true parents, well, it makes matters even more complex.  Such intriguing questions emerge. Do Coulter and Asriel have love for their daughter inside their hearts, at all?  And how much of her parents' characters is made manifest in Lyra?

The Subtle Knife was an outstanding book, straddling the line between middle grade and young adult.  In the end though, the book is ageless.

The Golden Compass » Review

When I was a kid, I was homeschooled, and ran with a very religious crowd. Lutherans, Methodists, Mennonites, Baptists, Southern Baptists... All of my friends had different belief systems, which had subtle differences despite being all 'Christian.' My family, however, was Catholic, and we were a minority in the universally Christian homeschooling community. On the kids' part, we ignored our families' differences when we got together to learn or play. Sparks flew amongst the parents though, and the kids picked up on it. From my mother, me and my siblings learned words like 'Heretic', 'Protestant,' 'Anti-Catholic,' 'Sola Scriptura' and 'Scott Hahn.' A climate of bias against, and downright hatred towards, other Christian religions was the norm of my youth. In high school, I attended a Protestant cottage school. Okay, I guess it was Southern Baptist technically, but wow the principal loathed Catholics. (This woman was also cruelty incarnate.) She knew my family and I were Catholic and would glare at me when ranting about the extravagances of the Vatican and the morally corrupt popes like I, personally, spoke for the Magisterium. She loved Pullman's His Dark Materials. Loved it with a special kind of passion. Why? Mostly because, besides writing really bomb books, Pullman lobs those bombs at Catholicism. Pullman's main antagonistic force in his series is the "Authority." This oligarchical organization rules through the power religious belief and wealth, and has enough power and sway to influence world politics. Sound familiar??? In book one of the trilogy, The Golden Compass, we see the Authority give power to an off-shoot organization, which, in turn, kidnaps and mutilates the souls of children. This is subtle stuff for kids, but a glaringly obvious motive to an adult reader. Now, I don't have a problem with Pullman putting a controversial message into a children's books. Virtually every children's book has a motive, some more intense than others. Furthermore, speaking as a (non-practicing) Catholic, I understand that nothing,nothing is above criticism. To get all worked up over someone else's questioning of your beliefs is the mark of extremism. I love Pullman's writing. It's classic, lyrical, and vastly imaginative. I also like his powerful and gutsy message. Unfortunately, I will always associate this amazing book with one of the pettiest, most mean-spirited adults I've ever encountered... But it all works out though. Because all I have to do is imagine my former teacher's head on top of Mrs. Coulter's wretched monkey daemon, and everything is perfect.