Monthly Archives: October 2013

Balance of Trade – Chapter 12

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Day 67
Standard Year 1118

Elthoria
Protocol Lessons

In which Jethri learns a thing or two about melant’i.

There have been occasions when the scene-setting description at the head of the chapter applied only to the first portion of the chapter, before the scene shifted elsewhere, but I perceive that in this case the descriptor of “protocol lessons” applies just as much to the second scene in the corridor.

This is also one of my favourite chapters, or perhaps it would be most appropriate to say that the chapters concerning the visit to Kailipso Station collectively form one of my favourite episodes of the book.

It’s warming that Jethri has so many comrades. Some of them may have been involved less out of personal friendship than because the ship’s honor is at stake, but it’s still good to know that they consider ship’s honor to comprehend Jethri.

This is the first chapter since Jethri signed on to Elthoria in which he hasn’t thought about his family even once.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 11

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Day 66
Standard Year 1118

Kailipso Station
At Leave

In which Jethri is put at liberty to enjoy those things which Kailipso offers.

This is one of my favourite chapters in the book. It has the nice little scene with the bookseller, and the action and excitement of the incident later.

The bit where Jethri’s being chased by the two Liadens has echoes of Khat’s story about Byl. Jethri must be hearing the echoes, too, and it affects his judgement of the situation.

Jethri’s back to thinking of Arms Master sig’Kethra as “Pen Rel”. Maybe because he’s off duty?

I’m a thought puzzled about the name of Kailipso Station, which strikes my ear as a more likely name for a Terran establishment than a Liaden one.

Our first Scout, and our first mention of Solcintra City.

It must mean something that Iza never told Jethri how Arin died. Was she deliberately keeping the details from him, or did it just not occur to her that he might care to know them? Maybe she didn’t care to know them, and didn’t enquire into details beyond the fact that he was dead. (I wonder whether, if so, learning that Arin died a hero would make her feel better about it, or worse.)

Balance of Trade – Chapter 10

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Day 65
Standard Year 1118

Kinaveral

In which Mr Rumor has been doing the rounds.

I like “at sevens and eights”, which is presumably the same as “at sixes and sevens” only worse.

Mac Gold seems like an unpleasant fellow, and I wonder how much of the rumor he recounts is what Mr Rumor is actually saying and how much is him putting his own spin on it for his own purposes. (I mean, people do talk, and people who talk don’t always need encouragement to assume the worst, but based on what we’ve seen of him so far I wouldn’t put it past him.)

Balance of Trade – Chapter 9

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Day 63
Standard Year 1118

Elthoria

In which Jethri proceeds with his lessons.

Jethri has been on Elthoria for 21 days, which is three of our weeks, slightly less than that in Standard weeks, and a bit under two Liaden weeks. During that time the ship has been in transit, but it is now approaching a destination.

Ship-days on Elthoria are 28 hours long, and divided into four shifts; if the hours are divided evenly, that makes each shift 7 hours. (The preceding sentence is here mainly in case it helps when we get to the time-keeping in Conflict of Honors.) Ship-days on Gobelyn’s Market are 24 hours, which is suggestive, but not conclusive when the Market‘s masters are ship-people who call no planet home.

One of the things I considered mentioning but ended up not, two chapters ago, was that Jethri, as reflected in the narrative voice, was still thinking of Pen Rel sig’Kethra as “Pen Rel” even after he’d been informed that he was properly “Arms Master sig’Kethra”. Which I thought was a nice detail: it was only a few hours at most after he’d received the new information, and he’d had several days to get into the habit of “Pen Rel”. The extension of the nice detail, and the reason I bring it up now, is that in this chapter the narrative voice has made the transition to “Arms Master sig’Kethra”.

Jethri seems to be settling in. And taking something of a shine to First Mate tel’Dorbit.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 8

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Day 60
Standard Year 1118

Gobelyn’s Market
Approaching Kinaveral

In which there is talk of courses being disputed.

The Market arrives at Kinaveral, where it’s going to be refitted. Most of the family have made plans for short-term jobs – particularly those who get uncomfortable if they have to spend much time with their feet planted on dirt.

Except that Iza Gobelyn, who is definitely one of that number, has insisted that she’s going to stay dirtside all through the refit.

On the one hand, it’s reasonable for a captain to feel a duty to make sure her ship’s cared for. On the other, Paitor points out that Seeli is capable of doing that on her behalf (Seeli, apparently, not being so edgy on dirt). And Iza is kind of reminding me of certain people I have known, who have given me the impression that if they ever find themselves without any sources of stress in their lives, they’ll go out of their way to find or create one.

It would be interesting to see things from Iza’s viewpoint some time. I get the feeling she has things in her past overshadowing the way she relates with her present.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 7

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Day 42
Standard Year 1118

Elthoria
Arriving

In which Jethri begins to find his place in his new home.

I like the bit at the end of this chapter where Jethri finds that his new quarters are in some ways very different from the old quarters he left behind last chapter, and in some ways just the same.

Between Norn ven’Deelin and Gaenor tel’Dorbit, there’s probably quite a bit of information to be gathered about how Liaden differs from English in the matter of sentence structure and so on, if one is of a mind to gather that sort of information.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 6

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Day 42
Standard Year 1118

Gobelyn’s Market
Departing

In which there are secrets in all families.

With Paitor and Grig wanting to let Jethri know a few things, there’s a lot of background filled in here, not all of which ends up being noticeably relevant in the rest of this novel.

Allowing for a bit of linguistic drift, it seems likely that the blusharie the three of them share is the same kind of drink as the blusherrie Niku and Friar Julian drink in celebration at the end of “Eleutherios”.

Speaking of things returning under new names, the fractins – the Fractional Mosaic Memory Modules – seem likely to be the same as the data-tiles that were all over the place in Crystal Dragon. (Interesting that we get more description of what they look like and what they’re made of in this book than we ever did in the one where they were all over the place. I suppose when they were all over the place, none of the viewpoint characters paid them much attention.) And the suggestion that within a few years something is going to start happening to them is one of those bits that isn’t picked up in this novel, but might be in the sequel.

I’m not sure what to make of the business about there possibly having been more than one Terra.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 5

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Day 35
Standard Year 1118

Gobelyn’s Market
Dockside

In which Jethri finds his ship.

I can never decide whether Jethri’s tendency to assume a person is being straight with him until proven otherwise is a testament to his own honor or just a sign of naivety. I’m not saying it’s wrong to give people the benefit of the doubt, but to never even consider the possibility of a deception seems like a weak point in a trader.

You probably know that “Balance of Trade” was originally a short story that ended up as chapters 2 through 5 of the novel. This being chapter 5, it seems like the right moment to cast an eye over the differences. There is some tweaking of wording and punctuation, unsurprisingly, and it’s expanded a bit with extra details that will be relevant after the point where the story ended: most of the mentions of Jethri’s family apart from his mother and uncle, and all mentions of fractins and of Combine trade keys. So far as those go, they might be regarded as storyteller’s choice of what to include or leave out, but there are also parts of the story that are flat-out different. The details of Arin’s death, what few there are, are different (and fewer) in the novel, and most of the fine details involved in the trades, of who bought how much of what for which price are changed. The numbers being thrown around during the negotiation over the cellosilk are an entire order of magnitude lower.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 4

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Day 34
Standard Year 1118

Ynsolt’i Port
Zeroground Pub

In which Norn ven’Deelin is not what Jethri expected.

My heart was pounding during Jethri’s visit to the Master Trader. Physical danger in stories generally doesn’t bother me much, but a character on a course to, as Jethri puts it, learn the depths of his own folly, that’ll get me every time. (One has more respect for the dangers with which one has had personal acquaintance.)

We meet our first Master Trader, wearing our first Master Trader’s amethyst ring. Which, so soon after Crystal Dragon, prompts a thought I’ve not had before: I wonder if the amethyst was chosen as the mark of Master Traders in honor of Tor An yos’Galan’s remarkable eyes.

Balance of Trade – Chapter 3

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Day 33
Standard Year 1118

Ynsolt’i Port
Textile Hall

In which Jethri passes his first day of unsupervised trade.

Jethri makes three bargains this chapter, some to better effect than others.

I have read enough about the art of the con that I think the conversation with Sirge Milton would be setting off alarm bells even if I didn’t already know how it turns out. (Also, I reckon the flattering bartender is either a carefully selected prop or a confederate; she has a knack for saying just the right thing to keep the wheel turning.)

I do wonder a bit that an apprentice trader hasn’t been taught more about how to tell when somebody’s trying to fleece you, but perhaps that’s one of the things that’s slipped through the cracks with him being the youngest that people don’t always bother telling things to.