His Dark Materials The Subtle Knife Book 2 The Subtle Knife, the second book in the His Dark Materials series, is a young-adult fantasy novel written by Philip Pullman and published in 1997. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua as she investigates the mysterious Dust phenomenon and searches for her father. Will Parry is introduced as a companion to Lyra, and together they explore the new realms to which they have both been introduced. In this book, Lyra and Will travel between worlds attempting to find his father and continue on with Lyra's mission. There are a lot of minor characters in too many places spreading the story out too thin to move quickly enough to keep one's attention Praises: "Very grand indeed." —The New York Times "Pullman is quite possibly a genius." —Newsweek