{"id":456,"date":"2011-07-27T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2011-07-27T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=456"},"modified":"2011-07-24T22:29:36","modified_gmt":"2011-07-25T05:29:36","slug":"mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass-chapter-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/07\/mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass-chapter-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Amber Spyglass’: Chapter 8"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth chapter of The Amber Spyglass<\/em>, Balthamos mourns briefly before devoting himself to helping Will Parry. Will, on the other hand\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.look, just read the review. Holy shit<\/em>, this is so good.<\/p>\n

CHAPTER EIGHT: VODKA<\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter is full of victory<\/em>, but we have to deal with the tragedy before we get to that:<\/p>\n

Balthamos felt the death of Baruch the moment it happened. He cried aloud and soared into the night air over the tundra, flailing his wings and sobbing his anguish into the clouds; and it was some time before he could compose himself and go back to Will, who was wide awake, knife in hand, peering up into the damp and chilly murk.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m beginning to realize, on my second pass through chapter eight, that I am inherently unable to understand just what this grief is like at all. I lost my father almost five years ago, and I know that sudden, gutting sense of loss. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not easy to forget and given the way my sense of memory works, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be able to recall that moment over and over again for a long time. I miss my father a lot and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to belittle my own experience, but Pullman really does a fantastic job of giving us this idea that Baruch and Balthamos truly experienced thousands<\/em> of years of joy. I have just short of twenty years of memories of my own father, and while many are strong and positive, I cannot conceive of this idea. THOUSANDS.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t keep still: he flew up again, scouring the sky as if to seek out Baruch in this cloud or that, calling, crying, calling; and then he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be overcome with guilt, and fly down to urge Will to hide and keep quiet, and promise to watch over him tirelessly; and then the pressure of his grief would crush him to the ground, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d remember every instance of kindness and courage that Baruch had ever shown, and there were thousands, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d forgotten none of them; and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d cry that a nature so gracious could never be snuffed out, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d soar into the skies again, casting about in every direction, reckless and wild and stricken, cursing the very air, the clouds, the stars.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Like the experience of Mary Malone walking into a brand new parallel world, I am both innately familiar with this and struck by how foreign it is. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eerie how much this sort of erratic behavior modeled my own grief upon learning my father had died, and the next three weeks of mourning, wakes, and funerals. Yet at the same time, this is about a loving, intimate relationship that lasted centuries upon centuries<\/em>. The sort of emotional base and connection that two beings of this nature must have had is unknowable to me. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t picture it, and I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine how it must feel.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because of this that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m struck by how incredible and touching Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s response is to Balthamos\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grief. He gives the angel a measured and respectable tone, one that understands his loss (given that Will had just lost his own father, too), but one that also imparts how important it is for them to continue on. Again, I know I bring this up often, but Will is twelve years old<\/em>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that pre-teens can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be full of compassion or maturity, as they certainly can, but this kid is so full of heart and courage that I just want to reach through the pages and hug him. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s entirely in character for him as well, and I love how consistent this is. Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life with his mother necessitated him to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153grow up\u00e2\u20ac\u009d earlier than most kids, and he exhibits that maturity in dealing with Balthamos.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear the next morning that this has had a profound effect on Balthamos, and he agrees to assist Will \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cheerfully and willingly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d making sure to honor his fallen lover in the process. (I almost said boyfriend, but I feel weird ascribing our relationship terms to angels<\/em>. Right???? They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re angels. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Boyfriend\u00e2\u20ac\u009d just sounds so human<\/em>.)<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I failed so many times, but each time his goodness was there to redeem me. Now it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not, I shall have to try without it. Perhaps I shall fail from time to time, but I shall try all the same.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Then Baruch would be proud of you,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Will, shivering.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
CAN YOU HEAR MY HEART SHATTERING ALL OVER THE WORLD<\/strong>. jesus christ, hold me<\/em>.<\/p>\n
A bit of a side note: I really like that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unspoken here, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still this implicit acceptance that there still can be goodness and morality in a world apart from God. For any non-believers, one of the most common things we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re asked is how we define our morality without a base to draw it from. Without a god or God or deity, what basis is there to be good? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s yet another question I sort of despise because it feels like a huge derail most of the time. (I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually mind discussing it in ontological terms, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s generally not brought up in that way. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually utilized to distract an argument by claiming that I cannot postulate that something is immoral or wrong because I have no morals anyway. Um…I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll let you know if I have no morals, okay? Pretty sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a better judge of that than you.)<\/p>\n
This is not a world without<\/em> God, obviously, but these angels live apart from him. I mean…seriously, I know it may be irritating that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m harking on this, but GAY ANGELS!!!!<\/em><\/strong> I know people who would read this and begin to sweat profusely from the very thought. I really hope we get more backstory on how the rebel angels have lived since the Fall, but I imagine that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have<\/em> to have come up with their own sense of a social code or ethics. And isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that something that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done anyway? Obviously, humanity has fucked up along the way, but we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve constantly defined and redefined and adapted our own standards for what is and is not acceptable year after year after decade after century. Are all of these morals purely based on our acceptance of a Christian God? It seems terribly Western-centric to propose those ideas as well.<\/p>\n
Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own moral sense is pretty rock solid, though, and he never seems to talk about God at all. I mean…look, what Will does in this chapter is so fantastically amazing that I actually cheered <\/em>when–wait, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m getting ahead of myself.<\/p>\n
Will and Balthamos make a fine team here in chapter eight, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so glad this sassy angel is at Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s side. Of course, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m devastated by the loss of Baruch. That death certainly creates a different dynamic here, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just as fascinating to see Balthamos eagerly changing into a d\u00c3\u00a6mon to help will as it was to see him treat Will with so much witty reticence as before. Here, Balthamos does a fine job of mimicking a d\u00c3\u00a6mon and acting as a translator for Will.<\/p>\n
Even before we get to PURE SUCCESS AND BADASSERY, everything here is painfully awkward and tense and PLEASE GET AN ADULT I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T FEEL GOOD. Aside from the physical destruction present in the town these two come upon, Will ends up meeting with the local priest and the entire interaction leaves a bad taste in my mouth.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of those situations where things just feel wrong<\/em>. And maybe you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t properly explain why or elaborate to another person the reasons why you feel this way, but Father Semyon makes me feel awful. First of all, I actually felt relieved that perhaps Will had found someone to help him on his journey, but then Father Semyon introduced himself as part of the Holy Church, I instantly thought, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153WELL, GREAT. THIS CANNOT END WELL.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d But as long as Will kept his cool and avoided sharing too much, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be fine. Really, though, who else was better at seeming inconspicuous than Will?<\/p>\n
Oh, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to insist that your world falling apart is the Apocalypse, Father Semyon? Oh. Oh, this is going to be really awkward, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Are you going to talk about the End of Days? Could you…not? That would be awesome.<\/p>\n
Oh. Oh, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to assume Will is perfectly fine just hanging around all day with you and play cards or maybe have an uncomfortable conversation? Oh, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re one of those<\/em> people, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you? Oh, this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t good.<\/p>\n
BUT WAIT <\/strong>THE ARMORED BEARS ARE IN TOWN<\/strong> DOES THIS MEAN WHAT I THINK IT DOES<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
Hold on, Mark, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got some more awkward talk from Father Semyon:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They are afraid of the bears. And so they should be–they are children of the devil. All things from the north are devilish. Like the witches–daughters of evil! The Church should have put them all to death many years ago.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
YOU SHUT YOUR DIRTY CHURCH MOUTH, FATHER. <\/strong>I am personally offended<\/em> that you would speak of the panserbj\u00c3\u00b8rne<\/em> and the witches in such a tone and I will fight you to the death over this<\/em>. You wish you had beings as honorable and loyal as Iorek Byrnison or Serafina Pekkala on your side. I will find a trout <\/em>and I will slap you in the face with it<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Also, is this the first real acknowledgment of the devil existing in this series? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ever been mentioned before, but is<\/em> there an actual Satan that exists? Will we discover it is an invention by the Authority? I am curious to know such things. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T SPOIL ME.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Now I am going to offer you a little drink, Will Ivanovitch,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You are young, so not very many glasses. But you are growing, and so you need to know some things, like the taste of vodka.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
;AJKSDF;KLAJSDF AS;DKLFJAS ;DFLKADJSF WHAT WORLD DO YOU LIVE IN WHERE IT IS TOTALLY NECESSARY TO GIVE VODKA TO A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD BOY<\/strong>. I mean, look, let me state this first: I am not saying this because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sober\/straight edge myself. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absurd that I even have<\/em> to say that, but this is the Internet and you would be surprised how often people yell at folks like myself for even talking<\/em> about alcohol. Hell, this might be a cultural thing as well, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m willing to admit that, but WHAT ARE YOU DOING, FATHER SEMYON. This is SO RIDICULOUSLY STRANGE TO ME. <\/em>Is this just something you do<\/em> with people you just meet??? What imperative are you acting on that this MUST happen right now? I do not like this ONE BIT. NOT AT ALL. Oh god, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not poison is it?<\/p>\n
But Father Semyon drinks a shot of the vodka himself, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m assuming it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s safe. Well, the vodka is safe, but nothing about the situation does. This is what I meant by saying this just feels wrong<\/em>. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t place my finger on any specific thing or give you a well-thought out reason for it. He just strikes me as this creepy, over-assuming man who has no business giving preteens shots of alcohol. (Great. Now that awful LMFAO song just popped in my head. SEE? FATHER SEMYON INSPIRES DESTRUCTION.)<\/p>\n
After a particularly mortifying hug and prayer session, Will and Balthamos are off to move further along in their journey to find Lyra. For the first time in days, thankfully, they finally discover a chance to make this a reality: they come upon what seems like some sort of battle in a small town. The source of this is a gigantic vessel offshore manned by non-human creatures in armor.<\/p>\n
I nearly wet myself with joy. (Actually, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not hyperbole. I had to pee really badly while I was reading this section and I refused to take a break. DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T JUDGE.) COULD THIS BE???? IS IT…OMG IT IS THE ARMORED BEARS. Wait, why are they attacking this village? WHAT IS GOING ON, I UNDERSTAND NOTHING<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153They want fuel. But we have no dealings with bears. Now they are leaving their kingdom and sailing up the river, who knows what they will do? So we must fight them. Pirates–robbers–\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I kind of like that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t some noble cause, per se. They need fuel. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re bears. With armor<\/em>. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just going to take it. What are you going to do to stop it? Right???<\/p>\n
Well, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do what Will does here: You stand up to the bears and challenge one of them to a fight.<\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be honest: the technique made absolutely no sense to me when I first read it. Will knows that the bears are his key to finding Lyra, so why on earth would he want to fight<\/em> them? How does that compute at all?<\/p>\n
He could feel the blackbird-Balthamos trembling on his shoulder.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Dude, an angel is frightened, Will. You are not. I concede that you are more brave than I will ever be. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even a slight at myself! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that Will possess this brilliant ability to face his fear and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m perfectly fine not<\/em> fighting an armored bear. Thus I remained perplexed at Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bluff. Well…it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bluff, right? He can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually fight<\/em> the bear he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s challenged, can he?<\/p>\n
He gets the townspeople to agree to sell the bears fuel if he can get this particular one to yield to him; when that bear refuses to fight on the grounds of how BLATANTLY UNFAIR this is, Will demands that the bear hand over his helmet to at least be somewhat evenly-matched. (LOL NICE TRY, WILL.)<\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when Will–oh, you genius boy–pulls out the subtle knife and slices the helmet. Will just cut an armored bear\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s armor. In one second, I face-palmed (at myself, not Will) and realized what Will had just done: he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ended the battle, gotten the bears fuel, and earned the attention and respect of the bears.<\/p>\n
Can I just quote my favorite exchange of the chapter now?<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I want to see that knife.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I will only show it to a bear I can trust. There is one bear I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard of who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trustworthy. he is the king of the bears, a good friend of the girl I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to the mountains to find. Her name is Lyra Silvertongue. The bear is called Iorek Byrnison.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am Iorek Byrnison,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the bear.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I know you are,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Will.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I mean, is this just the best book or the very best book<\/em>. Someone sign me up for marriage, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve found my soul mate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the eighth chapter of The Amber Spyglass, Balthamos mourns briefly before devoting himself to helping Will Parry. Will, on the other hand\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.look, just read the review. Holy shit, this is so good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,79],"tags":[23,81,62,80],"class_list":["post-456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-dark-materials","category-the-amber-spyglass","tag-mark-reads","tag-mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass","tag-philip-pullman","tag-the-amber-spyglass-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456","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=456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}