In Book Two, Lyra and Pan journey from her world across the stars to Cittagazza, a city in another world overrun by Spectres which prey on adults and drive them from the cities. Here Lyra meets Will, a young boy from our own World, who is hiding from men who wish to know about his father, who disappeared when Will was a baby.
When the Aleithiometre tells Lyra she must help Will to find his father, the two of them find a strange tower in the city, where Will becomes the owner of the Subtle Knife, a unitensil used to create windows between worlds. They journey with witches from Lyra's world to find Will's father.
They do indeed find Will's father, who had been stuck in Lyra's world, but he is murdered before the two get a chance to talk. When Will returns to where he left Lyra, he finds that she has been kidnapped by Mrs Coulter.
Will is an incredibly original character, and it is impossible to dislike him as you follow the beginning of his journey in this book. Once again readers are awed at the brilliance of Philip's storytelling, and once again there are parts that make you weep into the pages.

June 2009 Review by DragonYielder

Blurb

The second book in the "Dark Materials" trilogy. Will is 12 years old and he's just killed a man. Determined to discover the truth about his father's disappearance, he steps through a window into another world. There, he meets a girl called Lyra who, like himself, is on a mission.

Details

Published:  1997
Pages: 341
Age: 12+