The Subtle Knife: The Graphic Novel

His Dark Materials: The Graphic Novels #2

by Stéphane Melchior-Durand (Adapter), Thomas Gilbert (Illustrator), Philip Pullman

This graphic novel adaptation of The Subtle Knife is a great entry point for readers new to the remarkable world of His Dark Materials and an exciting new look at the classic from Philip Pullman.

The stunning full-color art in this graphic novel offers both new and returning readers a chance to experience the story of Lyra, an ordinary girl with an extraordinary role to play in the fates of multiple worlds, in an entirely new way.

In The Subtle Knife, Lyra steps into a new world and meets Will--a boy on the run, a murderer--a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.

Each is searching--Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father--but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power. And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together...until they are split apart.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

272 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2022

About the author

Stéphane Melchior, né le 1er septembre 1965 à Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), est un écrivain et scénariste français de dessin animé et de bande dessinée.

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Golden Compass was a revelation, with its alternate world building, daemons, armored bears - everything, really. That said, The Subtle Knife was my favorite of the whole "Dark Materials" trilogy, (all three of which were far better than Pullman's on-going "Book of Dust" follow-up). That said, however, I just wasn't a huge fan of the artist's style here, and I would have been WAY confused - actually way MORE confused - if I didn't already know the story so well from the original book and Season Two of the excellent HBO series. Also, as the TV series was my most recent revisit to this tale, I had forgotten how blatantly anti-religion Pullman is (much removed by HBO to encourage a larger audience); and - even though he's not physically in this book at all - what an overall asshole the abusive and murderous Lord Asriel is.

Still, despite my philosophical disagreements with Pullman he is one hell of a writer, and so at this point I should just knuckle down and reread the original books again, ("DM" only; definitely not "BoD"). Accept no substitutes!

[amelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man this was so cool!!!!!! The artist really captured the whole world of Cittigazze really well, and those specters... MMM THE DESIGN IS SO COOL. Will wasn't how I pictured him but I actually really liked the take on his character design. This is a different illustrator from first book graphic novel, but the artist still managed to be consistent with the other artist's style. I think Ms. Coulter's design in this one is way better though, much more menacing. Now. Where the hell is the amber spyglass graphic novel???? That's the one I'm really curious about because that whole book is just a mindfuck of craziness. I want to see how the artist decides to design the wacky creatures.

[audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars

[Victoria Nika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations bring the storage of life!

[Kate Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a passionate advocate for these French drawn graphic novel adaptations of His Dark Materials! I hope they make an Amber Spyglass. This book is brilliantly drawn, great character design, and most importantly, mind blowing color. Highly recommend this book and the Golden Compass to folks who either have read and love the books and want to relive the story or those who haven’t read the books and want to experience these stories in a beautiful graphic format.

[day · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of His Dark Materials series, and this graphic novel was a surprisingly accurate rendition. Almost all major scenes were included, and the art was wonderful; however, certain characters weren’t pictured as described by Philip Pullman. The transitions between scenes also felt a bit confusing/hard to keep up with because of how continuous it read. If you haven’t read the series, this might be a little hard to follow, as to be expected with how intricately woven the storylines are. Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel of The Subtle Knife and was delighted to see it in another form of media.

Thank you to Random House Children and Netgalley for an advanced copy of The Subtle Knife graphic novel in exchange for an honest review!

[Ikayuro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, somehow that felt even worse off than the graphic novel adaptation of The Golden Compass. The art, while similar, seems to have even less soul overall, and for most of the book all of the characters except for the witches look absolutely psychotic and pissed off.

Misses some HUGE pieces of important dialog and dumbs down a lot of the book, down-playing some of the more important and emotional parts.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the graphic novel and its lay out got me slightly confused, though the story was compelling. I switched from venue to venue, very quickly and without notice, I think perhaps it’s best to read the book before the graphic novel.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you a fan of His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman? Well, did you know that there's a graphic novel adaptation of the series in the works? I certainly didn't! It wasn't until I spotted The Subtle Knife on NetGalley that I realized this fantastic creation existed.

The Subtle Knife is the second novel in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, which is also the second novel in the adaptation set. I was a bit surprised to see that the adaptations are one-to-one. Given the density of the source material, I wouldn't have been surprised if it took several volumes to get the story out.

So I'm going to have to give major credit to Stephanie Melchoir. Not only did she tackle a pretty daunting task (adapting Pullman's works), but she was able to effortlessly streamline the series. Yet it never felt like anything was cut. Likely because many of the details turned into visual elements – always a delight if you ask me.

I'm always excited to see an adaptation when it occurs, even if they don't always live up to my hopes. I am happy to say that The Subtle Knife's graphic novel doesn't disappoint – every key scene made its way onto the pages, including several of my favorites!

However, I'll confess that not all characters looked how I pictured them in my mind. Perhaps that is because it has been so long? I should have re-read the novels first. That would have given me a better baseline here.

Overall, I was very pleased with Thomas Gilbert's artwork. It was stunning at times and a perfect fit for the tone of the series. I hope he is the artist for the other adaptations as well.
Long story short, if you love adaptations, want a visual retelling of The Subtle Knife, or simply need a refresher on the series, please do consider giving the graphic novel adaptations a read.

Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

This is a graphic novel adaptation of Phillip Pullman's second novel in the His Dark Materials series. The story is easy to follow and you do not need to have read the first book to understand what is happening. There is a small introduction that tells you the story thus far. At the same time, you'll appreciate the characters better if you do read the first book before this one.

Story: Lyra has escaped into a new world. Betrayed by her mother, abandoned by her father, and reeling at the loss of her friend Roger, Lyra is searching for more information on Dust. Will, on the other hand, is a boy from our world devastated by the lapsing mental health of his mother and disappearance of his explorer father. Their destinies will collide as they meet in the new world - one ravaged by strange specters who steal the lives of the adults but leave the children unharmed. The two band together to each accomplish their goals - find out more about dust in Will's world and to help Will find his father with the Alethiometer. At the same time, the witches and Lee Scoresby also set out to find and help Lyra.

From what I understand, Will is a new character in the story, introduced with this book. There are several allusions to Will being very much like Lyra's father Lord Asriel in terms of bravery and Will is featured in the prophies. Together, the two will traverse several worlds in order to each find out more about their objectives. Little does either know that their destines are more intertwined than they could have imagined.

I was not a fan of the illustration work - it felt better suited to a horror novel and really took the fantasy aspect out of this book. As well, nearly all the 'steampunk' leanings were jettisoned, giving the story a much more raw and less elegant feel. It was as if Munch drew the work with a lot of loose lines and emoting.

I have not read the original so cannot attest to the adaptation. The story did flow decently enough and I wasn't lost too often. But I also didn't get a strong feel for the atmosphere of the book, either. Some interactions were mystifying and likely were clearer in the original book.

In all, it is something that can be read whether you have read the original novel or its predecessor. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the summer reading club challenge is to read a book with magic Philip Pullman’s classic series of daemons and dust is an easy choice and an even easier win. It’s also about time that I got back into this series, since the latest installment is set to be published soon and pre-Autumn is a perfect time to dive back into Lyra’s adventures across worlds. In this second installment we see Lyra make her first journey through the thinned veil to meet Will and begin their true journey to defeating the Magisterium and discovering the mysteries behind the dust that has guided Lyra far from her home in Jordan College. We had already experienced a world that was just a step away from our own with Lyra’s light magic version of Oxford, but with this tale we get even closer to bringing magic into our reality; in Will’s world science plays a stronger role in their quest, and their companion in this part of the story turns out to be a researcher who uses computers and the i Ching to commune with the dust in her attempt to discover the mysteries of the universe. Of course, little can be simple in Lyra’s tale, and Pullman begins to really build the complexities that underpin the trilogy - setting Will’s father up as a shaman and Lyra’s as a war general, bringing Mrs. Coulter across worlds and into new conspiracies, introducing angelic beings, and being far more forthright about the anti-religious themes that were only a hinted undertone in the first novel. I’m still far less a fan of these graphic novel versions of the tale than I am of the original books (it’s almost impossible to match the perfect narration and style of Pullman’s writing across mediums), but it was interesting to see an artist’s interpretations of the unique visuals that Pullman brings to play on the page. Adapting the angels to physical form, seeing the witches fly, and exploring the abandoned city is a veritable challenge, and while the art style could have gone completely high-brow and fantastical (which I would have loved, honestly, as an adult reader) seeing Lyra’s adventures play out over the pages was still a very fun experience.

[Meggies Fussnoten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyra stößt auf Will, der eigentlich in einer Parallelwelt lebt. Beide verbindet jedoch die Suche nach der Antwort auf die Frage, woher der Staub kommt und welche Auswirkungen er hat. Während Lyra dieses Phänomen genauer untersucht und im Oxford aus Wills Welt bei Doktor Malone Antworten erhält, sucht Will eher nach seinem Vater, der spurlos verschwunden ist.
Kurze Zeit später wird Lyras Alethiometer gestohlen. Der Übeltäter ist gleich gestellt, doch beharrt er darauf, das Alethiometer erst zurückzugeben, wenn Will und Lyra ihm in Gegenzug ein Messer besorgen. Das Messer ist in einem Turm verborgen und wird bewacht. Nur weiß keiner, von was.

Schon im ersten Band war ich begeistert von der Aufmachung des Buches. Diese Faszination hat sich jetzt nicht gelegt. Die komplexe Geschichte forderte jedoch meine ganze Aufmerksamkeit und so ist die Graphic Novel nicht so schnell durchgelesen.

Die minimalistisch anmutenden Panels aus dem ersten Band werden wir weitergeführt. Und doch hatte ich das Gefühl, dass der Zeichner versucht hat, noch mehr Informationen in die Bilder einzubringen.

Manchmal wirken die Figuren sehr grob. Vor allem Lyra hat ein feuriges Temperament und bringt sich mit ihrem kleinen "Aggressionsproblem" in manche Notlage. Sie erscheint oft zornig, deswegen ist ihr Gesicht verzerrt oder "unheimlich" dargestellt.
Will dagegen ist der ruhigere Part. Er kann zwar auch, wenn er will, wirkt aber insgesamt besonnener und ausgeglichener. Oftmals sogar sehr traurig.

Die Beziehung zu Lyras Daemon Pan ist sehr liebevoll ausgeprägt. Sobald sie sich eine bestimmte Distanz voneinander entfernen, spürt Lyra Schmerzen und so führen die beiden eine innige vertrauensvolle Freundschaft.

Die Story an sich ist - wie schon oben erwähnt - sehr komplex. Oft wird der Schauplatz gewechselt, ohne dass dies irgendwie angekündigt wird. Sogar innerhalb einer Seite. Deswegen hatte ich teilweise etwas Mühe, herauszufinden, wo wir uns gerade befinden. Zwischendurch musste ich die Graphic Novel auch mal weglegen, weil einfach zu viel Information auf mich eingeprasselt ist.

Die Charaktere sind sehr gut ausgearbeitet. Ebenso wird bei spannenden Szenen viel mit der Helligkeit gespielt. Wird es dunkel, wird die Spannung dargestellt, bei hellen Farben kommt mehr das Hoffnungsvolle durch.

Wieder geht von mir eine Empfehlung ab 12 Jahren aus. Die Geschichte ist nicht leicht zu verfolgen, manche Panels sind sehr düster gehalten. Es gibt einiges an Input. Man muss also am Ball bleiben, um alles zu verstehen.

Die Graphic Novel ist eine perfekte Ergänzung zu den Büchern und ich freue mich auf den dritten Teil in gezeichneter Form.

Meggies Fussnote:
Fantasy und Realität - zwei Welten vermischen sich langsam.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got the opportunity to test read a digital copy of The Subtle Knife: The Graphic Novel courtesy of NetGalley. While I wasn't enthused with having to try to read a literary novel in graphic novel form, I was surprised that even though nearly all scenes were included, it was still a relatively quick read. Now, mind you, this is still a very long graphic novel, so it'll take a little while to get through.

The rendered size of the comic was generally easy to read on a mobile phone, but there were times I needed to zoom in to read the dialogue. If you read this on a tablet, I doubt there would be much of an issue. The hardest part was that there were not chapter headings, so scene changes can be a little jarring. Sometimes you can tell when you're transitioning due to a change in prominent coloring or shading, but other times you have to read a couple panels before you realize where you are.

While some of the characters have altered slightly from Pullman's description, I generally enjoyed the artist's depiction of the characters and creatures of the novel. There were subtle nuances that were particularly good, such as including the Orthodox cross in the flag of Muscovy, that helped demonstrate some of underlying context of the scene. Also, the scene where Mrs. Coulter tricks Sir Charles into revealing his plan was put into more of a seduction, which I did not notice in the novel form, but certainly explains that scene better.

All in all, this is a great rendition of the Pullman's second His Dark Materials novel. If you choose to pick this one up, I'd suggest reading the first graphic novel version (or the literary version) before hand. And, if you're reading a digital copy, a tablet will be much easier to use than a phone.

[Ayre · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2nd book in the His Dark Materials Series follows Lyra as she travels through a rift into a new world. She comes across a young man named Will (from our world) and teams up with him to complete both their destinies.

I'm going to talk about this in two parts, the story and the artwork.

First off the story. The story was fine, an interesting look at multi dimensional travel. I also think the ideas of souls being represented as animals through the daemons is a very interesting concept. My only real problem with it is its SUPER religious, but not how you'd think. Philip Pullman is obviously very anti-Christianity. The ultimate goal of the characters in this series is to kill God. I don't personally like book that focus this much on religion, even though this is against the religion it focuses on. Provided you're not heavily into Christianity I think this is a good series to give to your pre-teen.

I was no a fan of the artwork in this graphic novel. The characters were all drawn with an intense look, especially around the eyes, that didn't always suit the situation they were in. There was a sense of insanity in the characters depictions that I don't think are accurate to the story.

I received this book from Netgalley for review. I was no required to leave this review.

[Michael Lee My ComicBook World · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a spoiler free review.

The Subtle Knife Graphic novel is ok but not great. I had trouble reading this iteration of His Dark Materials. The story is there and this is a great companion to HBO’s His Dark Materials show but was just not for me. I was hoping for more from this graphic novel.

The Subtle Knife Graphic Novel is a great story and stays true to the original books but the artwork is lacking. I was drawn to the art on the cover of this graphic novel but the illustrations inside the book are not great. I was really bothered by the art. I was hoping for beautiful illustrations to compliment such a rich, fun, detailed story.

If another His Dark Materials graphic novel is published, the artwork needs to be different and the same tone of the story. The artwork needs to compliment the story and help draw the reader further into the world of His Dark Materials. I wonder if water color illustrations would enhance the fantasy aspects of this terrific series.

I recommend The Subtle Knife Graphic Novel to fans of HBO’s His Dark Materials show but I think this graphic novel could be so much better.

Stay awesome and keep reading!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will Parry, a twelve year old boy tries to keep his mentally unstable mother from two men who come and harass her about information on her husband who traveled to the artic but has disappeared. Will ends up fleeing when he accidentally kills one of the thieves that came. He runs into a door that has him in another world. In this world, He meets Lyra with her daemon in this alternative world. Will finds refuge and Lyra is looking for answers about the Dust. Will she find her answers? Will is willing to help her find the answers. Many of Lycra’s friends are looking for her as they wish to help her. This is just a brief introduction to this book. There is so much more to the story.

This is the second book in the author’s series “His Dark Material.s” I enjoyed reading this graphic novel with beautifully illustrated pictures perfect for this novel. The action and adventure of Will and Lyra held my attention especially with the twists and turns in the story. It’s a fantastic read!

Disclaimer: I received an arc from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel version of the second book in Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy follows Lyra Belacqua and Pantalaimon as they enter a new world to learn more about ‘dust.’ There in Cittàgazze they encounter Will Parry, who has escaped from the world of his Oxford, fleeing from men who torment him and his mother about his wayward father. Will helps Lyra go back and forth between this new world and his Oxford, and Lyra helps Will in his quest to learn about his father, and to eventually come to terms with the subtle knife.

This adaptation faithfully follows the trajectory of Pullman’s original, although some details have, by necessity, been omitted. The exquisite fine lined graphic art is a stunning interpretation of the imagery, and meshes nicely with the art in the previous volume by another artist. I appreciate the brief synopsis of The Golden Compass at the beginning, although I think it would be hard to completely grasp what drives Lyra without having read that first book.

A graphic version is often an opportunity to diversify the characters of the original; here, all but peripheral bad guys are white.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel adaptation of The Subtle Knife is a 2,5 for me. While I love the way the daemons are portrayed and the link between them and their human companions, I became increasingly frustrated by the lack of transition from one setting to the next. Readers are hurled from a scene with Lyra and Will to one with the witches and Serafina to one with Lee Scoresby, which can make it hard to follow. Having read the book(s) in their original form, I was able to gather my thoughts and make sense of it all, but for someone new to the books, that would be unlikely. The storyline and characters would have been better served with some chapter headings or images breaking up all of these moving pieces. The book does capture the intensity and wonder of the original work, but I didn't care for how Lyra and Will were drawn. Something about their eyes, faces, and posture just agitated me and turned me off. There is rich material to mine here, and I appreciate the illustrator's faithful adherence to the story, but I'd recommend organizing the book differently so that readers have a chance to breathe and think between sections.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recieved this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's been years since I've read this series, so my knowledge of it right now is based off the TV show. I definitely thought this was the first book when I requested it, but quickly realized it was the second. However, starting with the second book, and having slim knowledge of the world, I thought this was easy to follow.

The characters that I could recall from reading the books were all present, so I don't feel like there was anything that was missing. I don't remember there being so much bloodshed, but it may have been skimmed over or it was just me forgetting about it. Maybe if I had read the books more recently, I would've felt differently about missing characters or extra violence.

I wasn't sure if I liked the art style at first, but it grew on me. I think the gruesome scenes wouldn't have felt as gruesome if the lineart was cleaner.

It definitely makes me want to re-read the series to see how things play out because it's a bit hard to give a review for something mid-plot.

[Lucy-Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first experience of a graphic novel - I was challenged to try something from that genre so I thought I'd stretch myself with a book that is a different style but a more familiar story (though I don't actually remember reading this book, but I definitely know Golden Compass ...)

The illustrations are very detailed & there is an attempt at differentiating between different "worlds" with different colours/styles but there wasn't clear transition at times & that made it somewhat harder to follow. I don't think some of the characters were quite right for me & thus I struggled to identify who they were in the beginning.

I assumed that a graphic novel would be a quick read but I actually found it really hard to pick the storyline out of the pictures as there are a number of interwoven elements happening - I guess for me I can conjure pictures from words or audio, but I can't conjure words from pictures!

Not an ideal book for me, but I think it will really appeal to others!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, it’s been a long time since I read the book (which I remember fondly but I rarely reread…) and I’m caught up on the tv show. Overall, I think I remember the plot and characters quite solidly. I thought the graphic novel did a fine job with covering the plot of the story. It did a fine job with the characters. I wasn’t wild about the art style though. The art dropped it down to a well, that was fine if you’d rather read this that the whole book. Your mileage on the art could well vary! I’m sure there’s going to be reviewers that like the art. It was kind of a sloppy looking style and I felt like for a fantasy story it didn’t quite work. Felt more like it should either be for a literary story where they wanted to be a tad bit pretentious or a horror story that didn’t want to be too gory. It wasn’t that the art was terrible it was just meh.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Saw this randomly in an airport bookstore, and I loved The Subtle Knife (by far the best of the trilogy) so gave it a shot. It’s been years since I read the books so the details were a bit fuzzy, but this graphic novel was enough to jog my memory for the most part. The art style was…interesting. I can see why bad guys and such would be drawn so sinister looking, but even the kids (Lyra and Will) looked “crazy” for lack of a better word. And the knife creating the seams in the novel is literally the best part and I feel like they spent zero time on it in this version, and that made me sad.
Not for folks who haven’t read the original trilogy - you’d have no clue what was going on with all the jumping around story lines.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

We in this house bought the first volume of this graphic adaptation of His Dark Dark Materials and liked it very much, so we now have all read this and liked it very much. We own all the books related to this series, including the spin-offs such as Lyra's Oxford. We own the audiobooks that we have listened to all the way through, we have watched the tv series, and the one film made of the first volume, fans of all of it.

This volume I like less than the first and third, but it is still great. The adaptation is great, ambitious, full color, darkly complex, an interestingly different interpretation than other versions.

[George Kasnic · Rating 2 out of 5]

A colleague gave me this leaving school and it will go in my classroom library.

Difficult to follow. The story changes scenes and times suddenly and is jarring in doing so. Until the last third the story is difficult to follow. This may be due to it being part of a series, but most series books do something to give new readers enough familiarity to follow the story. The illustrations are fine, graphic novel standard. The dialogue seems forced and stilted. I think more or fans of the series than a drop in reader.

[Pearlyn Chua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty expressive art (with some cute dæmons too). I can't recall the full original plot, but this is definitely highly abridged, plus some subtle movements may be hard to capture in static illustrations (e.g. body language, the opening and closing of portals). I did remember the scene with Mrs Coulter in Sir Charles' study being much more tense and nerve-racking in the original book, but everything happened quite quickly in the graphic novel.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my introduction to this series. I received this to review, thought it was a good idea to determine is I should read the novels. After realizing this was the second book, got the first book to read first. Both graphic novels were good, story and characters. Can't wait for the third, and will read the books now. #TheSubtleKnifeGraphicNovel #NetGalley

[Lee-ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The Subtle Knife graphic novel by Philip Pullman is a decent graphic retelling of the Subtle Knife print book. The major negative that I found was there were no transitions between the multiple storylines and that became very confusing. Otherwise the illustrations are excellent and the story felt true to the original.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this graphic novel! I was so excited to see the sequel to The Golden Compass. It did not disappoint. Lyra and Pan continues their adventures and meet new friends and foes along the way. The art is colorful and engaging. An excellent read!

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

His Dark Materials has been one of my favorite books since I first read it in middle school. The graphic novel is a treat and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I will definitely be purchasing all of the graphic novels for my bookshelf and to share with my kids.