The Subtle Knife (Mini-Review)

The Subtle Knife is the second installment in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. In it Lyra Silvertongue and Will Parry eventually find their lives intertwined. Lord Asriel continues to build an army to fight the Authority while Mrs. Coulter gathers forces to defend the Authority.

Usually if there is a book, movie, or television show where one of the plot points is to fight God I'd be excited. Because, yes, the Authority is one of the words for God in this series. But...Lord Asriel is the leader on the side that wishes to destroy God and that man is not good. In the previous book he killed Roger so that he would have a bridge between worlds.

And I can't get behind Mrs. Coulter even though I don't like Lord Asriel. In the previous book it was revealed she was perfectly okay with separating children from their daemons so that they wouldn't be full of sin. Remember, she thinks of Dust being the same as sin. So I can't side with someone like that.

This book also separates belief in higher powers and organized religion such as the Church. At one point in the book there is a discussion where at least one character blames all the evil in the world to organizations that try to control things they don't understand. The titular Subtle Knife was created out of greed and basically ruined the world it was created in. There's also the fact that doing things like separating daemons from people is used as a means to control others. You can also read some parts of the book as how some people use religion to their own ends without believing what they're preaching.

Lyra Silvertongue and Will Parry both have their own strengths and weaknesses that compliment the other. Lyra is clever but doesn't always think things through. Will has a calmer mind but isn't as familiar with the war he's supposed to be a part of.

I would recommend The Subtle Knife to those that liked the first book in the series. I would also recommend this book to those who like science fiction fantasy.