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The Subtle Knife (Dramatised)

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The Subtle Knife (Dramatised)

By: Philip Pullman
Narrated by: full cast
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About this listen

The award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy is a breathtaking epic adventure spanning a multitude of worlds. The second installment, The Subtle Knife, introduces Will Parry, a young boy in search of his long-lost explorer father.

Will's discovery of an extraordinary 'window in the air' near the Oxford ring road leads him out of our world and into the strange and unsettling Cittagazze. There he meets Lyra, a girl who is herself searching for something: the secret of the mystical substance Dust. Moving back and forth through the portal, Will and Lyra join forces in their quest. As they make allies and enemies along the way, they also learn of the Subtle Knife. An object which many would kill to possess, the knife has incredible powers, and Will finds himself reluctantly in a fight for its possession.

Ray Fearon, Emma Fielding, and Jack Klaff are amongst the cast in this gripping BBC Radio 4 dramatization.

©2003 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2003 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Adaptation

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epic novel loved it couldn't stop listening once I started why would anyone want to stop the film being released its only fiction after all lol

just wish the film wasn't stopped in its track's

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I loved this action packed novel. full of drama and mystery. A great book to recommend to anyone. its a bit of a struggle to begin but gets better.

a great long listen

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Absolutely gripping and stretching your imagination beyond the realms of reality. At times the plot was a little far fetched and confusing, but it made you think different worlds. A big tip is to listen to the books in the correct order as I started Amber Glass before Subtle Knife and realised something was wrong! Brilliant book and excellent production very believable. Loved it loved it!!

The Subtle Knife (Dramatised)

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I read this as a child and was captured by Lyra's world - so similar to our own, yet so fantastic.

It's still a marvel, and I didn't mind my time with it, but I'd forgotten just how much of a children's book it is. The whole world revolves around Lyra, and everything she tries seems to work out. In some ways it's the kind of story a child might tell - "I went here, and there were mean people doing evil things, but I said this and they believed me"

I'm glad to have revisited it, but it's not quite what I remembered from all those years ago.

Better for kids than grown-ups

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I love Philip Pullman and had previously read all of his books. My mistake but when I bought this I thought it was a talking book narration. Instead it was a radio play. Better to get the other version. Very disappointed.

Only 2 hours long!

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The script and performances are riverting - I listen to this every 6 months as i love it so much.

Read this over and over again

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As this was my first ever Audible purchase, I should have read the full description more carefully, comparing it to the other Audible version available. If I had done this, I would have seen that the total running time was only 2 hours and 26 mins, compared to the other version which was around 12 hours. The difference was that this version of The Subtle Knife was entirely dramatised, missing out all the narration that was not speech. It also meant missing out on all the amazing descriptive words of Philip Pullman which beautifully tie everything in this story together.

Without any visual aid it can be difficult to appreciate and fully immerse yourself in the story as it’s hard to imagine locations or the mood and thoughts of the characters. I still enjoyed the story and the actors provided the voices of the characters were great, but when it finished I felt rather unsatisfied and that I had missed out on certain elements.

For the next book in the series, The Amber Spyglass, I made sure I chose the version that was narrated by Philip Pullman himself together with an excellent cast of voice actors. This book lasted around 18 hours and was stunningly good!

Too Short - due to no background narration

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Don't make the mistake of downloading this version when the full version, narrated by the author, is available for 1 credit. This version is (badly) edited to around 1/4 of the length of the original, is not particularly well acted and is so truncated that the story, at times, just does not make sense.

Edited beyond recognition!

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In error downloaded when the full unabridged version was not available. I couldnt listen as it was just too odd.

Did not realise was dramatised and abridged

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Very abridged and a bit disappointing. After the Belle Sauvage read by Michael Sheen I guess it was a tall order. I now feel I have to go back and re read the book to pick up on the subtleties. I read the book a few years ago and wanted a refresher. Come on Audible get the trilogy re recorded in Michael Sheen fashion.. kindle and whisper sync... one of the classic stories of our time!

Hmmm

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