The second book of a trilogy or any series is never my favorite. I don't like how the author reminds us who everyone is, what had happened in the last book, etc. This book did just that. And though I definitely didn't like it as much as the first one, The Subtle Knife cleared up a lot of confusion that I had while reading The Golden Compass. I look forward to everything coming to a close in the last book and seeing where the plot will take me.