The Subtle Knife is the second novel in Philip Pullman's acclaimed His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy. Following the events of Northern Lights, the protagonist, Lyra Belacqua, enters a parallel world through a rip in the fabric of the universe. There, she meets Will Parry, a boy from our world who is searching for his own missing father and who becomes the bearer of the Subtle Knife, a dangerous, magical object capable of cutting windows between parallel universes. The novel expands the scope of the war between the Magisterium and freedom, deepening the complex philosophical and theological themes of the series.
