The Subtle Knife is the second installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy. As an individual novel it is good, though in some places wanting. As a sequel to the magnificent Northern Lights it is excellent - not only does it embellish the ongoing story and maintain the quality of the first, it does so in a remarkably refreshing manner.
The problem with a great many sequels is their reliance on the momentum of the first novel. Perhaps it is for this reason that many writers regard the intermediate volume of a trilogy to be the tricky one. This is a fairly weak excuse for writing a sub-standard book, particularly in cases of epic fantasy (George R R Martin for example). What is truly excellent about this particular book is the way it draws the reader in as a work in its own right. The book opens not with "the continuing adventures of Lyra Silvertongue" but with a completely new character, Will, who has a mysterious past of his own that is steadily unveiled for the reader in the first couple of chapters. At once, the book has pace and is instantly captivating. Naturally, Lyra is encountered shortly into the book, but from Will's perspective - making her character both familiar but adding another dimension to her. It never occurred to me in the first book that Lyra was quite a pampered child until her liason with Will, for example. Later on, the story begins to be told from Lyra's point of view, and also from the perspectives of others such as Lee Scorsby. The whole effect is like viewing the same scene through a number of different camera angles, as Pullman tells the same story in several different worlds.
The central story, concerning Dust, angels, the Church and the various factions is not a disappointment either. Sub atomic particle theory (for kids) is placed side-by-side with the pseudo-theology of the first book, and it works. The whole war-in-heaven plot is quite obvious, but it is the vehicle which Pullamn uses to tell the story rather than the elements of plot themselves which are so appealing. Nor does Pullman rely on the weird tones of the first to pad out his work in his sequel - there are completely new and different worlds here, including the world of Citagazze where Spectres feed of adults but leave children unharmed. These worlds are new facets to the story, yet consistent with the cosmology and, more importantly, explainable as such - which is a credit to Pullman when so many authors will throw in inexplicable weirdness for pure sensationalism.
The novel is not without flaws, however. The constant telling and retelling of the same story from different characters' viewpoints is necessary for realism, but tiresome for reading. It's almost as if Pullman forgets that he has made the reader omniscient by providing such a wide angle on the storyline. The plot is rather thin under analysis too, an inevitable consequence of the dispersion of the book over multiple universes, all with very active characters in them. Nevertheless, the characters do not disappoint in terms of depth and human character, and the whole is vibrant with the promise of the first book. Recommended.
