The Subtle Knife – Reviewing Classics
Laurel Leaf, 1997
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN-10: 0375846727
304 pages
Synopsis
At the end of the previous book, The Golden Compass, Lyra and Pan step into the new world they can see through the Aurora Borealis over the bridge that Lord Asriel created. A new and equally commanding character to Lyra Silvertongue is introduced. Will Parry, a 12-year-old boy from our own world has grown up having to take care of his mother who has problems with her mind, believing that she is being chased by creatures no one else can see, and is often taken to spells of extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, Will is also on a mission to discover anything about his missing father who disappeared during an exploration to the Arctic. During his flight to Oxford to help protect his mother, Will happens upon a small window into another world and steps into it.
This new world is ruled by children, and adult have fled in order to escape a similar creature that Will’s mother was threatened by. These are entirely real, entirely visible, and incredibly dangerous, as they will suck the soul out of anyone older than 13 to 14. This is the world in which Lyra has landed, and soon the two meet up, embarking on greater adventure into the heart of greater peril.
Critique
All three of these books are a fun read, and each story is able to stand on its own as unique and interesting apart from the others, even though it’s one story spread over three novels. There is definitely some obvious anti-Judeo-Christian themes, but if you really drill down to what Pullman is communicating through them, they work more as a satire intended to be a mirror to people who hold onto self-righteous and bigoted beliefs that isolate and abuse others. Ultimately, though these are fun stories born out of a creative mind that was able to construct an entirely original fantasy that critiques our own culture. It’s a rare gem, blending both an imaginative fantasy with a pointed social commentary. I recommend this series to all readers 9+ and I also recommend rereading them as you get older, because alike books such as Wrinkle in Time, and The Narnia series, the layered conflicts, references, and commentaries will grow with you as a reader.
The other books in this series are The Golden Compass (book 1), The Amber Spyglass (book 3), and Lyra’s Oxford and Once Upon a Time in the North as companion novels.
Rating Rubric
Enjoyable Read: Original Fantasy: Original Plot: Language: 
Asthetics: Depth In Characters: Depth In Story: Social Commentary: Layers/Complexity: Classroom Text: 
Overall Rating:
For the Classroom
These books aren’t relevant to any classroom subject, per se, but so many elements regarding religion, historical/social structures, and inventive sciences are rife throughout that they could serve as interesting companion materials for any of the above subject or a general English course, especially considering the amount of essays and study books have been written about them just in the past 10 years.
Here is a short list of some of the companion books seeking to study and deconstruct elements of the trilogy in order to expound on some of Pullman’s ideas:
