THE SUBTLE KNIFE
Philip Pullman
Del Rey 1998
PB 288pgs
ISBN# 0-345-41336-9

Second entry in the, "His Dark Materials" series, in which our young heroine, Lyra, passes from her own world into, Cittagazze, a realm where children run amok and adults are sucked dry of life by Specters that roam the landscape.  Here she meets Will, a refugee from "our" world who, is on the run in fear of the law and an undetermined criminal element.  Together the two form a potent team, travelling back and forth between Cittagazze and Will's world, in moments being assisted by witches and angels, all the while ducking and thwarting the "bad guys", who have a great interest in the pair and the tools they carry: Lyra's "alethiometer" and the titled knife of Will's.  Can Lyra and Will stay one step ahead of the bad guys?  Will their allies be able to help them in time and allow them to meet their prophesized destiny? 

This is a great, fun and fast moving story.  As noted in the review of the series' previous entry, The Golden Compass, author Pullman manages to write a story wholly accessible for both YA readers and adults alike, by keeping the pace fast, the story elements simple, the plot unpredictable and telling it all in an intelligent, non-didactic fashion.  I look forward to book three.