{"id":409,"date":"2011-06-30T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2011-06-30T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=409"},"modified":"2011-06-30T10:07:14","modified_gmt":"2011-06-30T17:07:14","slug":"mark-reads-the-subtle-knife-chapter-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/06\/mark-reads-the-subtle-knife-chapter-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Subtle Knife’: Chapter 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fourth chapter of The Subtle Knife<\/em>, Lyra finds someone who knows about Dust at Oxford (sort of), and Will investigates his father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mysterious disappearance years ago. Oh, and AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Subtle Knife<\/em>.<\/p>\n

CHAPTER FOUR: TREPANNING<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Very Ridiculous and Lengthy List of Things Found in Chapter Four of The Subtle Knife<\/em> That Made Mark Want To Pass Out From Excitement<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
<\/strong>Will learns from his family lawyer that his father simply vanished, and that it has been at least<\/em> ten years since the man has heard from John Parry.<\/li>\n
<\/strong>Oh, Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father disappeared on an expedition. In the North. ABOVE ALASKA. I see you, character parallel, I see you<\/em>.<\/li>\n
<\/strong>Lyra, on her journey through this familiar\/unfamiliar Oxford, finds the exact same initials (SP) carved on a street corner where, in her world, a boy named Simon Parslow had done just this. This makes her realize that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely possible that, in this world, Simon Parslow might have another version of himself. And so might she. And ;AKSDJFSD;LKFJADSFKL;JJKLAFSDJKDFS I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH ALREADY.<\/li>\n
<\/strong>In a history museum, Lyra finds \u00e2\u20ac\u0153doubles\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of the exact<\/em> Samoyed hunters who had sold her to the Gobblers in Bolvangar, and the sled appears to be the same<\/em> sled, complete with identical fraying and knotting in the rope. CREEPY.<\/li>\n
<\/strong>Lyra also finds trepanned skulls in the museum, meaning that people in this<\/em> world also cut holes in their skull on purpose. Was this for the same reason?<\/li>\n
<\/strong>Oh, and some CREEP is watching Lyra THE ENTIRE TIME SHE IS DOING THIS <\/em>and his tongue is like a snake? Oh. Oh, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like this man at all<\/em>. Why is he so interested in Lyra and why is he so unsettling?<\/li>\n
<\/strong>The alethiometer confirms that the trepanned skulls are 33,254 years old and that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s way more Dust around them.<\/li>\n
<\/strong>The creepy watching man confronts Lyra, introduces himself as Charles, and begins to talk to her about the skulls, and every inch of my body is shrieking at Lyra to RUN AWAY RUN AWAY THIS MAN IS BAD RUN AWAY.<\/li>\n
<\/strong>Pantalaimon helps Lyra realize that this man SMELLS LIKE IOFUR RAKNISON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S PALACE<\/strong>. I cannot even pretend to understand what this means.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> The alethiometer tells Lyra, once she is outside of the museum, that the scholar who can help her with Dust is in a specific room directly behind her. Oh, and she needs to focus on helping Will find his father. So the alethiometer can now speak<\/em> to Lyra without her even asking a question? What the hell<\/em> is that thing???<\/li>\n
<\/strong> At a library, Will begins to look into the public records surrounding the disappearance of his father. Look, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore that both Will and Lyra \u00e2\u20ac\u0153lost\u00e2\u20ac\u009d their fathers to scientific expeditions. HELLO, CHARACTER PARALLELS.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> My brain is going to erupt from unpreparedness: Lyra, using that oh-so-wonderful ability to lie her way into anything, finds her way to the specific room where the alethiometer told her that there would be a Scholar who would know what Dust is. The sign on the door to this office says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153DARK MATTER RESEARCH UNIT.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I now have goosebumps. Of course<\/em> it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be called Dust in this world.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> YOU ALL: DUST = DARK MATTER. <\/strong>ka;sdjkf spdo8f S;kl :FDdfps78af s;l DF:KLas fasd;ofiyds fhjlsdfak ;DFAajks pioasdfkladfs fdsapaoifds ;asl<\/li>\n
<\/strong> We are introduced to Dr. Mary Malone, the dark matter physicist who works in this office, and Lyra proceeds to blow this woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind open as she reveals so much about \u00e2\u20ac\u0153dark matter\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that this woman has spent years learning. And Lyra is eleven.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Because the alethiometer told Lyra not to lie, this entire interaction is a thousand times better than it ever could have been because she is so forthright with Dr. Malone. Within the first minute or two, she tells the scientist she is from a parallel universe, though Dr. Malone does not initially understand this.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t claim to be an expert on dark matter, but I love how ridiculously complex this all is. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a challenge, for sure, to even be able to visualize<\/em> the concept of something that holds the universe together that we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a distinctly scientific explanation of the universe, though, instead of a religious one.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> The research team believes that dark matter, nicknamed Shadows in this universe, are PARTICLES OF CONSCIOUSNESS<\/strong>. what is this i cannot even <\/em>oh my god this is the greatest book of all books to be a book.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Dr. Malone begins to describe how the particles don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t appear until one puts their mind in a specific, relaxed state, and then some sort of communication appears on a device that relays what the particles mean to tell you. Yeah, I just fucking described the alethiometer to you, except here, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a computer called the Cave. No, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m serious, this book is already better than The Golden Compass<\/em> and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on chapter four. Hold me, please.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Oh, Shadows only seem to react to objects associated with \u00e2\u20ac\u0153human workmanship.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Why are humans so integral to Dust\/Shadows? I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T GET IT.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Dust did not exist until (my guess) 33,254 years ago. Historically, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about the time that humans appeared on earth. This. Is. Amazing. My. Brain. Is. So. Happy. Right. Now.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Lyra demands to use the Cave. Dr. Malone declines because…well, an eleven-year-old girl with knowledge of a complicated physics theory just walked into her office and surely this is enough for one day. So Lyra pulls out the alethiometer and tells this woman that if she can answer a question that only Dr. Malone knows the answer to, then she should be able to use the Cave. Lyra, you are so beautifully demanding. Never change.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Yeah\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.so Dr. Malone USED TO BE A NUN. WHAT. I do like that Lyra is shocked at the very concept of being able<\/em> to leave a church, confirming pretty much outright that Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s universe is run by the Church.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> WHY DOES THE COMPUTER MAKE THE SAME SOUND AS THE GUILLOTINE CHAMBER IN BOLVANGAR.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Lyra on the computer\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.holy god I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand this <\/em>but i love it dearly<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n
<\/strong> LYRA ASKS THE COMPUTER HOW THE PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD COULD PROPERLY INTERPRET THE SHADOWS AND IT ANSWERS HER IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE ALETHIOMETER: IMAGES<\/em>. This is just…I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. I CANNOT. THIS IS SO AMAZING TO ME!!!!<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Now we get an absolute confirmation that while the alethiometer is a unique device in and of itself, it appears people of every<\/em> universe or culture have found ways to communicate with Dust\/dark matter\/Shadows.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Oh, I adore the scene where Lyra just flat out explains that she is literally<\/em> not of this world and the blank, shocked face of Dr. Malone is all she gets in response.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> How powerful is the moment when Lyra tells Dr. Malone that you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t divorce good and evil from science? Ugh, seriously, you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand. This trilogy, so far, has so many things that I adore intensely. HOW HAVE I NEVER READ IT BEFORE??!?!?!<\/li>\n
<\/strong> Lyra, in that demanding tone again, tells Dr. Malone to get the computer to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153do words,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d so that she can use it to tell her what the alethiometer hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t revealed yet to her. In exchange, Dr. Malone asks Lyra to come back to demonstrate what she just showed her to someone else. Lyra agrees. And shit is going to get so real.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> AS IF ALL OF THIS NEW INFORMATION IS NOT ENOUGH<\/strong>: We cut back to Will, who discovers that a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153journalist\u00e2\u20ac\u009d asked someone at the Institute of Archaeology for all of the information regarding the disappearance of John Parry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expedition. DUN DUN DUN.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> As much as the Dust\/Shadows reveal is about the coolest alternate scientific theory ever<\/em>, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reveal here that seems even more important to me. Will learns that the expedition was actually a survey, not a dig or an actual experiment, and that the team had a physicist with them, looking at PARTICLES IN THE AURORA AND THIS MAN HAD BALLOONS WITH RADIO TRANSMITTERS<\/em><\/strong>. Look, I could be totally wrong about this, but this universe has so many creepy doubles and parallels with Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore this. Is this Lee Scoresby? But in this world?<\/em> Even stranger, John Parry was there to act as the survival guide, to manage the threat of polar bears<\/em>, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just going to potentially embarrass myself here by making a guess: Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father is a double for Lord Asriel. That would just…my god, my brain and heart would cease.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> The journalist who visited the Institute of Archaeology? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the man who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been harassing Will and his mom. FUCK.<\/li>\n
<\/strong> This chapter ends with that very man entering the office of Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s family lawyer. Oh, this is just the best chapter to ever be a chapter for all time. THANK YOU FOR INSISTING I READ THIS SERIES.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
(A quick note! Thank you to RachelsaurusRex <\/strong>and her friend Jasonsan<\/strong> for coming up with the idea and the execution of the new banner, respectively. <3)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the fourth chapter of The Subtle Knife, Lyra finds someone who knows about Dust at Oxford (sort of), and Will investigates his father\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mysterious disappearance years ago. Oh, and AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,76],"tags":[23,78,62,61],"class_list":["post-409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-dark-materials","category-the-subtle-knife","tag-mark-reads","tag-mark-reads-the-subtle-knife","tag-philip-pullman","tag-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}