His Dark Materials: The Subtle Knife (Book 2)

His Dark Materials, Book 2

By: Philip Pullman

Narrated by: Philip Pullman, full cast

Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Coming soon! A new HBO series, His Dark Materials, based on Pullman’s books.

The spellbinding sequel to The Golden Compass, the modern fantasy classic that Entertainment Weekly named an "All-Time Greatest Novel" and Newsweek hailed as a "Top 100 Book of All Time", continues the epic adventure, catapulting listeners between worlds and toward a devastating discovery.

Lost in a new world, Lyra finds Will - a boy on the run, a murderer - a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.

Each is searching - Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father - but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power. And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together...until they are split apart.

A number one New York Times best seller.

Published in 40 countries.

“Just as quick-moving and unputdownable as The Golden Compass.... The mysteries deepen and the wonders grow even more extravagant.” (The Washington Post)

“Pullman’s imagination soars.... A literary rollercoaster ride you won’t want to miss.” (The Boston Globe)

“The story gallops with ferocious momentum.... Devilishly inventive.” (The New York Times Book Review)

Listen to the rest of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series.

©1997 Philip Pullman

Critic reviews

"The superb production of this fascinating fantasy epic makes it a heart-thumping listening adventure." (AudioFile)

"More than fulfilling the promise of The Golden Compass, this second volume starts off at a heart-thumping pace and never slows down." (Publishers Weekly)

"A resoundingly successful sequel." (Booklist)

Enjoyed as much as the first

Great second book. I love the narration in these books. Each character has it's own voice. The books really come alive.

Full Cast, upsides and downsides.

Phillip Pullman has created a rich and engaging multiverse with the "His Dark Materials" series. It's an epic trilogy with characters you can love, worry for, and rejoice with. In these full-cast recordings of the trilogy you get the added aspect of an ensemble cast of voice performers bringing many different backgrounds and talents together to create a richer world. Sometimes described as "An Atheist Narnia," the series stands out in its approach to fantasy that moves in an exciting adventure with a solid three-book arc. And Pullman himself, as the narrator, has a deep, soft narrator's voice, putting one in mind of a grandfather reading them a story. I might draw a vague parallel to a British Garrison Keillor.

However, it has its drawbacks. I recommend listening to the book first before reading these so you can enjoy it more without being on the lookout for them:

Pullman is a talented writer, but he does write as though he's being paid by the word. There are stretches of dialogue and description added that don't benefit the story and tend to slow it down. Some might argue that he gets a bit preachy and didactic (if I'm using that word correctly). The book, like too many fantasy series somewhat lacks a sense of whimsey, taking itself a bit too seriously for what it is. As an intermediate-level read, that can be forgiven, but one would hope for some joviality, especially in a universe (multiverse?) with talking animals. I'm not saying they all need to be voiced by Eddie Murphy, but please lighten up a bit.

As for the full cast, while I can't express enough how much it enhanced the story, it too had its drawbacks. Some of the actors went into total maudlin melodrama overdrive in their performances that made repeat listens a bit of a chore. Some find the main character of Lyra a bit annoying to begin with, but when you actually hear her whine instead of modulating it with your mind's ear, it gets a bit more trying.

All in all, three or four stars depending on your mood and age. I recommend the series at least once. Worth your credits.

The Golden Compass

My family loved this book so much that we had to get the next book in the series

Did not like the read; LOVED the recording!

For me, the series was way overhyped, but this dramatic production is incredible. Really awesome listen!

My last book in the series.

The second book in the series kept me entertained. The plot is interesting, but, in general, the characters are rather bland. Also, I think I prefer only one narrator rather than the "full cast" reading of the story. I think a talented narrator could have done just as well. I liked the story well enough, but now that I see the third book is two credits, I'll skip the last book. Maybe some day I'll pick up the paper version and find out the end of the series. It can't be a very long book if the audio version is under 15 hours.

The between chapters music is cheesy and jarring.

enjoyed the story and didn't fully mind the actors reading all the parts, but the music between chapters is AWFUL. it sounds terrible and it's not normalized to the rest of the audio so it's loud and jarring. if there's another newer version of this audiobook, I'd recommend that one.

Great story but audible error

Audible has the chapters wrong . Overall this is a great story. I very much enjoy the cast of characters in the story

chapter transitions

Great narration voices again, but the electric organ transitions between chapters was a little jarring.

Amazing

It was great! I wish there was more dramatization. Phenomenal narrative none the less! Hopefully the next one is just as good!

Captivating epic saga

A master class in layering big concepts in smart narratives with understandable, lovable characters at its heart