The Subtle Knife was fun to read, but it felt quite a bit sloppier and less disciplined, somehow, than the Golden Compass. I suppose there are only so many magical objects I can handle, and maybe 2 is a bit high for me. The faux science about dark matter is a little anything, but it does have a sort of charming consistency about it. Lyra’s rejoinder to Dr Malone, that she must consider the ethics of her work or something along those lines, sounded like a bit of forced propaganda to me. And her transformation from a totally feisty adventuresome child into a kind of weak and submissive shadow for Will was both completely disappointing and entirely unbelievable. All that said - It’s a good adventure, with all of the good storytelling fundamentals present in book 1, so it’s quite worthwhile!