The Subtle Knife

Forced into a maturity well beyond his 12 years, Will Parry finds himself in an unforgiving world. Effectively the adult of the household as his father has gone missing and his mother is often unable to cope, Will ends up responsible for the death of a man who has been harassing them. This, the second book in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, is set not only in our own world, but also in the universe of Northern Lights, and a new 'joined-on' world, into which Will disappears only to find himself in the company of Lyra Silvertongue. While the two get to know each other in the balmy atmosphere of an adult-free world, the adults back in Lyra's world are deeply concerned about the girl's whereabouts. As sides are taken and the witches pit their courage against Mrs Coulter and the Magisterium, it is clearer than ever that Lyra has a crucial role to play in the great and terrible events that are about to unfold. No detail is too small for Pullman, from the observations of little human rituals to his description of the faded grandeur of the world of Cittagazze, to the fear and shock felt by Lyra when she first comes to the Oxford of Will's world. There she finds an unlikely ally in Dr Malone, whose main worry is that she's going to lose the funding into her work on Dark Matter. Recognizing this as the Dust that's such a bone of contention in her world, Lyra begins to delve deeper to find the truth about herself and the worlds she now knows. This is a marvellous fantasy, easily as absorbing as its precursor, which will leave adults and children alike impatient to get cracking on the final instalment, The Amber Spyglass. (Kirkus UK)