{"id":461,"date":"2011-08-01T06:00:36","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T13:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=461"},"modified":"2011-08-01T09:57:26","modified_gmt":"2011-08-01T16:57:26","slug":"mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass-chapter-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2011\/08\/mark-reads-the-amber-spyglass-chapter-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;The Amber Spyglass&#8217;: Chapter 11"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the eleventh chapter of <em>The Amber Spyglass<\/em>, the convergence on the cave where Lyra is being held begins. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <em>The Amber Spyglass<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><!--more-->CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE DRAGONFLIES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">You know, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good thing that Pullman has done such a great job utilizing a large cast of characters to make sure I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m entertained and fascinated, because, truth be told, I really miss Lyra. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s odd that the main character from the first and second books has largely been used to give us some strange dream world of the dead and hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been taking an active part in all the shit getting real. I could see why this might turn off other to this last book in the trilogy, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m enjoying the ride.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Plus, now I know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only a matter of time before Lyra\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s back. YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pullman switches between multiple characters in chapter eleven, which largely serves as a set up to this battle that is sure to happen outside the cave where Mrs. Coulter is holding Lyra. We start off with Ama, who is still trying to find a way to get into the cave to give Lyra the medicine that will wake her up. I like that her and her d\u00c3\u00a6mon are still able to play a game while they wait for the right moment, as it suggests that Ama is still completely unaware of just how <em>serious<\/em> this all is. Well, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about to discover why:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As she pulled herself up to look over the edge, she gasped and fell still, because looking down at her was the face of a creature she had never seen before: a bear, but immense, terrifying, four times the size of the brown bears in the forest, and ivory white, with a black nose and black eyes and claws the length of daggers. He was only an arm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s length away. She could see every separate hair on his head.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">IOREK IOREK IOREK IOREK. I realized that I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to have to wait very long. If Will, Balthamos, and Iorek were here, that meant Lord Asriel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s force and the Magisterium group were both set to arrive rather soon. For the time being, though, I just wanted to focus on Will. Of all the people to meet here, Ama is conveniently the best one, since she possess a powder to wake Lyra up. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take long for the two to communicate, even though Ama does not speak English. I really love the idea that two d\u00c3\u00a6mons can speak with one another and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153understand each other.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Yes, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the first time we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen it, but I find it very touching, yet another reason I <em>really<\/em> wish I had a d\u00c3\u00a6mon myself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And so Will and Ama set forth for the cave where the sleeping girl is, and Iorek stays behind. (Personally, I would have taken him with me, but then again, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d probably have died already at this point.) I realized that Will and Mrs. Coulter had never actually met, aside from glimpsing him at Sir Charles\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s house in <em>The Subtle Knife<\/em>. I expected that Will would scope out the scene, see Mrs. Coulter and her wretched monkey, and then go back to Iorek to plan out their next move. Instead, I was surprised when he had Ama go fetch the drug and wait for him at this very spot. He was going to go <em>talk<\/em> to Mrs. Coulter.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It <em>is<\/em> very much like Will to believe that he could face this woman. His life as a boy who always had to <em>disappear<\/em> generally works in his favor, and on top of that, he has the subtle knife <em>and<\/em> an angel with him. Unfortunately, trying to be hidden or invisible doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t work, as Balthamos points out that Will has already been spotted by the golden monkey.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Well, this should be good, I thought.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better than good. The conversation between these two characters, who are meeting for the first time, is tense, confusing, and riveting. Both are <em>completely<\/em> aware that the other person is lying, which makes it incredibly hard to determine just how truthful Mrs. Coulter is being. Initially, I believed that Will would be unaffected by Mrs. Coulter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s infamous charm. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aware of the way she is, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aware of the position of the monkey at all times, and he memorizes as much about the shape of the cave as possible, knowing he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to come back when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dark. And when Mrs. Coulter invites Will to sit down and explain why she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s keeping Lyra asleep, Will believes he can actually leave this cave with the upper hand:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">He felt that every word she said was a lie, every action a concealed threat, and every smile was a mask of deceit. Well, he would have to deceive her in turn: he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have to make her think he was harmless. He had successfully deceived every teacher and ever police officer and every social worker and every neighbor who had ever taken an interest in him and his home; he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been preparing for this all his life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Right, he though. I can deal with you.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What a character arc! All that time we spent with will in the opening of <em>The Subtle Knife<\/em> was leading straight for this moment: A battle of wits with Mrs. Coulter.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even right from the start, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear Will is going to take absolutely none of this woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bullshit.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153And you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a knife, I understand.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sir Charles told you that, did he?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sir Charles? Oh&#8211;Carlo, of course. Yes, he did. It sounds fascinating. May I see it?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153No, of course not,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Why are you keeping Lyra here?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">UGH HE DOESN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LET HER CHARM HIM AT ALL. He just cuts straight through to the point. <em>I love you, Will Parry.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m now on my second time reading this, I genuinely cannot determine just what Mrs. Coulter is lying about, and what she is telling the truth about. Her charm even comes through the pages and affects the reader, and the power of Pullman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s writing for this character is evident with every line. Mrs. Coulter tells Will that she is <em>protecting<\/em> Lyra from the Church. That the has saved her life <em>three times<\/em>. That she broke from the church to save Lyra yet again, this time from those in the Church who want to kill her for what she is. I mean, even if Mrs. Coulter is lying about her intentions, she <em>is<\/em> telling the truth about the Church.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">But why <em>this<\/em> cave? Why keep Lyra asleep? Why not keep moving so that no one could find you? Mrs. Coulter tries to appeal to Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s empathy, saying that he is the only one she can trust to keep her and Lyra alive, but Will still resists, demanding to know why Lyra is being kept asleep. <em>That<\/em> explanation I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily believe. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true that Lyra would run away in an instant if she was awake, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not ready to believe this woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good intentions. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be more inclined to start to trust her if she was truly honest. She has made no mention to Will of the horrific things she did in the name of the Church, and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made no statement about her guilt over her actions. If she regretted her decision to work for the Church, then I could understand why she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d become a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153renegade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and try to save her daughter. She mentions that Lyra hates her, but doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say <em>why<\/em>. The <em>why<\/em> is deeply important to this whole thing! Why keep that a secret? Why tell Will that she loves Lyra and gave up her career for it, but take no steps to <em>renounce<\/em> her career? It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite adding up. However, that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve figured out what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on, either.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And Mrs. Coulter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mention of Will\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mother, either intentional or accidental, doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make me feel any better about this. I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised if she did it on purpose, to poke at Will for having to take care of his mother and not necessarily knowing what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to have a mother who can protect her son. Will tries to bluff his way out of the cave, saying he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll leave them alone and return to Lord Asriel, but I quickly realized that Will had lost. Mrs. Coulter had the upper hand:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">She held out her hand. A rueful smile, a shrug, and a nod as if to a skillful opponent who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d made a good move at the chessboard: that was what her body said. He found himself liking her, because she was brave, and because she seemed like a more complicated and richer and deeper Lyra. He couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help but like her.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">So he shook her hand, finding it firm and cool and soft. She turned to the golden monkey, who had been sitting behind her all the time, and a look passed between them that Will couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interpret.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Christ, <em>she knows<\/em>. She probably knows Will is going to return. She knows that she beat him. GOD DAMN IT.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to believe it at first, but when Will returned to Balthamos and Iorek, both of them knew Will had been had.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Balthamos knew. In his own angel shape, shimmering like a heat haze in the sunlight, he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You were foolish to go to her. All you want to do now is see the woman again.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Iorek uttered a deep, quiet growl. At first Will thought he was warning Balthamos, but then with a little shock of embarrassment he realized that the bear was agreeing with the angel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Oh, Will. Why did you go see her? Why not use the element of surprise? Damn it, did Will just ruin everything?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To make matters worse, the sound of distant zeppelins drones far away. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no time for an elaborate plan, so Will tells the two what he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to do: cut into another world and take Lyra with him before Mrs. Coulter can follow them, and bring Ama with them to help Lyra wake up. Honestly, though\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a good feeling about this plan.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pullman switches to the perspective of the two Gallivespians, who are busy with the hatching of the dragonflies. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a gorgeous and emotional moment for Lady Salmakia, and I love how she basically acts to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153introduce\u00e2\u20ac\u009d it to the world, using her face as the first thing it sees, stroking it delicately.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Chevalier Tialys is also set to do the same thing (and I love that the men and women Gallivespians are no different in this regard), but he first sends communications to Lord Roke about the plans the Consistorial Court has for killing Lyra, including how they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll split up to accomplish this goal. Lord Roke returns a message, urging the two to cooperate with Will and follow him into another world if he takes Lyra through.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Shit, this upcoming battle is going to be crowded, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? After the birth of the two dragonflies, the Gallivespians saddle them up, headed for the valley that holds Lyra, and I could not be more excited about what is to come.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>OH MY GOD I TOTALLY FORGOT LAST-MINUTE EDIT<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">There&#8217;s a new banner! Look at that spiffy dragonfly. Now, you may be wondering <em>why<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0I&#8217;ve been having BridgeToTheStars design me these gorgeous banners every week. Did you know they&#8217;re actually cropped from full images, <a href=\"http:\/\/bridgetothestars.net\/images\/MRTAS-seventeen.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">like this one<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Well, the very first Mark Reads contest starts today! BridgeToTheStars will be hosting it, and it involves all of the banners being made for this site. Have you noticed the changes between them? <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bridgetothestars.net\/news\/mark-reads-tas-week-3-august-contest\/\" target=\"_blank\">Head over to BridgeToTheStars to read the full instructions<\/a> and enter to win a <strong>signed copy of <em>The Amber Spyglass<\/em>!!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Additionally, <a href=\"http:\/\/bridgetothestars.net\/forum\/viewtopic.php?f=4&amp;t=215550\" target=\"_blank\">week 3 of the spoilery discussion thread is up at BTTS<\/a>, and you can spoil to your heart&#8217;s content over there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the eleventh chapter of The Amber Spyglass, the convergence on the cave where Lyra is being held begins. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Amber Spyglass.<\/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-461","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\/461","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=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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