The Subtle Knife

"What is he? A friend, or an enemy?”…

"He is a murderer."

Will has just killed a man.

Frightened and with nowhere safe to turn, he runs.

His escape will take him far beyond his own world, to the eerie disquiet of the deserted city of Cittàgaze, and to a girl, Lyra Belacqua, who comes from a world that runs in parallel to his own.

As they learn to trust each other, Will and Lyra’s fates become intertwined and their safety dependent upon each other’s skill and bravery. For somewhere in the city is the most powerful weapon in all creation, a knife to cut through worlds. A knife that responds only to the hand intended to wield it.

‘Without stories, we wouldn’t be human beings at all.’ - Philip Pullman

‘As always, Pullman is a master at combining impeccable characterizations and seamless plotting, maintaining a crackling pace to create scene upon scene of almost unbearable tension. This glittering gem will leave readers of all ages eagerly awaiting the next instalment of Lyra’s adventures.’— Publishers Weekly

About His Dark Materials:

Published by Scholastic between 1995 and 2000, the His Dark Materials trilogy is widely regarded as a modern classic and is probably the series Waterstones’ booksellers most frequently cite as their favourite.

Its heroine, Lyra Belacqua, frequently tops polls as an all-time favourite character, appearing in the Top 10 Favourite Heroes on World Book Day 2016. The New Statesman wrote of the trilogy: “Once in a lifetime a children’s author emerges who is so extraordinary that the imagination of generations is altered… The most ambitious work since The Lord of the Rings, [His Dark Materials] is as intellectually thrilling as it is magnificently written.”

Individually, the three books of His Dark Materials – Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass – have won several literary prizes, counting amongst them the Carnegie Medal (1996) and Carnegie of Carnegies (2007) and the Costa Award (2001).

The books have been adapted for stage and screen countless times, including Nicholas Wright’s acclaimed 2004 stage adaptation of His Dark Materials, directed by Nicholas Hytner at the National Theatre. His Dark Materials will appear once again in a BBC One adaptation in 2018, adapted by Jack Thorne and produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema. The BBC called the upcoming adaptation “a drama event for young and old - a real family treat that shows [the BBC’s] commitment to original and ambitious storytelling.”