The Subtle Knife

This is the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. I took a really loong time to complete this book. That, however, is not a reflection of the book but more of my time management skills. (I spent last evening playing Solitaire on my mobile phone till the Arien got home :D **Warning: It is quite addictive**) Not that this book is uninteresting but somehow it did not grip me like the first book did. Maybe it was because the focus was on a new character, Will, and not on headstrong Lyra. Maybe I was too involved with my Solitaire :P Anyway, by the time the story picked up speed, I was halfway through the book and was wondering if I made a mistake by purchasing the book instead of reading the PDF online.

The story begins in this world where there are no daemons. Will takes his mother to his piano teacher and requests the teacher to take care of her while he is away. The piano teacher agrees with not much hesitation. Will goes back to his empty house to pack and prepare. Late in the night, he hears people in his house searching every room. He is glad that he has moved his mom away and prepares to run when they notice him and suddenly one of them trips over a cat and dies. Worried that he will get into trouble with the authorities, he sticks to the shadows and keeps walking. He also has his father's leather writing case. He knows that the two men were searching for this case.

Suddenly, he sees a cat disappear and follows the cat, into another world. In this new world, he meets a lot of kids, and also meets Lyra. The adults in this world have had their life-force taken out of them by creatures known as the Spectres, who the kids cannot see. Then follows a series of adventures, a bitter fight in which Will realizes that he is the bearer of the Subtle Knife. The story ends with Will coming in contact with his father, John Parry, also known as Stanislaus Grumman. Yes, in the first book, Lord Asriel shows a head in a box and mentions that it is Grumman's head to the Authority. Ob. he lied. Will spends a brief moment with his father when they become aware of their relationship when the father is shot dead by a witch, Juta. He returns to his sleeping area and sees that every witch has been eaten by the Spectres and Lyra is missing.

Mrs. Coulter does not feature prominently in this book. Lord Asriel is just mentioned. This book is more about Will, Will's quest for his missing father, John Parry (aka Stanislaus Grumman), the witches, Lee Scoresby (balloonman/aeronaut), Lyra... in that order.