Volmer
In which yos’Galan makes connections.
I can’t remember the last book in which we had so many bows in so few chapters. The last few books have either been set on Surebleak or involved people being off having adventures among the Terrans, so there hasn’t been so much opportunity for Liadens interacting.
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Volmer
In which yos’Galan and Carresens begin an exchange.
The other thought I’d had about the people on the cover — in fact, the first thought I had on seeing it, and the only possibility I’d seriously entertained before Mar Tyn and Dyoli showed up — was that it was Padi accompanied by a new character we hadn’t met yet. I’d been becoming less confident about that possibility recently, as we got so far into the book without encountering any new character who fit the bill. I believe we have him now.
(I’ve commented before that I seem to have a tendency to ask questions and make guesses one chapter before the answer shows up. I consider that this says good things about how well paced the books are.)
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Dutiful Passage
Private Meeting Room
In which Dyoli and Mar Tyn consider what’s to do.
Two thirds of the way into the book, and I still don’t know who the people on the cover are, but I’m beginning to consider the possibility that it might be Dyoli and Mar Tyn.
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Tarona Rusk
Her Proper Business
In which Tarona Rusk has one more thing to do.
Tarona Rusk’s plot thread has now caught up with where she was at when she made her appearance two-thirds of the way through Accepting the Lance. Presumably when we next see her that appearance will be behind her and we’ll get to learn what, now that her debts have been paid, constitutes “the remainder of her plans”.
Dutiful Passage
En Route to Volmer
In which Shan consults several people regarding the future.
We now have the names and descriptions of all three planets of the Redlands system: apart from Colemeno, there is Ukarn, site of a mining operation, and Metlin, site of a scientific research base. (Metlin is the name of one of the Liaden weekdays; I don’t have any insights to offer about the etymology of the others.)
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Off-Grid
In which Tekelia vesterGranz gets a new coaster.
A short chapter, and nothing comes to mind to add to what I’ve said already.
Dutiful Passage
In which Priscilla receives a history lesson.
Shan’s coaster that was a gift from Ambassador Valeking was introduced in Alliance of Equals and has appeared a couple of times, in that book and then in this one, during scenes where Padi has been meeting her father in his office.
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Tarona Rusk
Her Proper Business
In which Tarona Rusk repays a debt.
There’s a bunch of stuff packed into this chapter, but I don’t feel like I have much to say about it; most of it is new details of things we already knew about.
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Dutiful Passage
In which Lady Selph goes visiting.
Not much of immediate moment happens in this chapter, but a lot of things are about to happen.
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Tarona Rusk
Meeting Space
In which the Healers plan to excise the Department of the Interior from the healthy body of the universe.
It’s interesting sometimes considering how we think of fictional characters, as in what name we call them by. I generally refer to characters like Shan and Priscilla by their first names, because the narrative encourages us to think of them as people we know and are friendly with; on the other hand, I would probably call Mr dea’Gauss “Mr dea’Gauss” even if we knew what his first name was, because he has that sense of formality about him.
So far I keep finding myself always referring to Tarona Rusk by her full name, because it doesn’t feel right to just call her “Tarona”. (I might use a formal title and surname, like with Mr dea’Gauss, except I’m not sure she has a title that we know of.)
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