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THE SUBTLE KNIFE by Philip Pullman

THE SUBTLE KNIFE

The Graphic Novel

From the His Dark Materials—Illustrated Edition series, volume 2

by Philip Pullman ; adapted by Stéphane Melchior ; illustrated by Thomas Gilbert

Pub Date: Jan. 18th, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-17693-1
Publisher: Knopf

Lyra and Will meet in a world beyond each of their own and begin a journey that will change all the myriad worlds.

In this graphic adaptation of Pullman’s 1997 classic, Will, a boy from our world in search of his father, stumbles upon a window into another world. There, he meets Lyra and her dæmon, Pantalaimon, who have traveled from their own world, leaving behind both allies and enemies, in search of answers about the ineffable Dust. As witches, angels, a scientist, and more gather for an impending confrontation, Will and Lyra form an alliance of their own, moving between worlds and ultimately encountering the titular powerful knife. While this is a faithful adaptation in terms of major plot points and even a good deal of dialogue, some changes will perplex existing fans of the series, including many instances of characters breaking the taboo of touching another’s dæmon and inconsistencies to do with dæmon lore. Other changes, while functionally following events of the original, should have an effect on emotional moments, but these repercussions unfortunately never play out on the page. The art shines when depicting the fantastical worlds the characters inhabit, including sweeping landscapes and cityscapes, but at times lacks subtlety and finesse when depicting the characters themselves. Lyra and Will and most other characters are White.

An offbeat adaptation that glosses over the nuances of the original.

(Graphic fantasy. 11-14)