Tag Archives: Ban Del pak’Ora

Intelligent Design

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In which Trealla Fantrol gets a new butler.

This is another story where I wonder how it comes over to a reader who hadn’t read any of the later-set novels featuring yos’Galan’s robot butler, and who therefore didn’t know where it was going from the moment Roderick Spode appeared. (I’m not sure what we’re supposed to make of Roderick Spode. The story gives us no cause to suppose that that wasn’t actually his name, but it seems like a bit of a tidy coincidence if it was.)

Incidentally, I notice Jeeves is not the only inhabitant of Trealla Fantrol mentioned here with a name from a Terran story: the cat Merlin, mentioned as an earlier beneficiary of Val Con’s hunches, is another. Presumably that means he’s a more recent arrival than Anne.

It’s interesting that Val Con’s sense for a person in danger responds just as much to a machine person as to a living creature, but it cuts in both directions. There’s the obvious implication that the retired unit is a real person despite being composed of wires and code. But there’s a complication introduced in the fact that he was sending out a distress signal at the time Val Con got his hunch: assuming for the sake of discussion that it’s not just a coincidence, the idea that the distress signal might have actually been what triggered the hunch suggests that on some level technological signals and psychic communication might be the same thing. And after some of the sufficiently-advanced-technology shenanigans that went on the prequel duology, I definitely suspect the authors of doing this deliberately.

This is one of the stories that doesn’t have a definite position in the chronological order. Shan is not yet 20 Standard Years old, which is about the most solid indicator in the story. It’s set approximately around the same time as “Heirloom”, and I take it to be somewhat after, since there’s mention of Nova serving an apprenticeship with Luken and she didn’t seem in “Heirloom” to have had much previous involvement with Luken’s trade.

Tomorrow: “A Matter of Dreams”

Mouse and Dragon – Chapter 36

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In which Korval welcomes Nova yos’Galan.

There are some lovely little character details in this chapter; nearly everybody who appears gets at least one.

There’s also one big thing, the demonstration of Pat Rin’s ability to influence dice, which is particularly striking because, as far as I can remember, it’s not so much as hinted at anywhere else in the series. Of course, the series is still growing, and Pat Rin hasn’t appeared for more than a cameo in anything written since Mouse and Dragon, so perhaps this will be followed up some time in future; I look forward to that with interest. I also look forward with interest to re-reading his appearances that were written before this, to see if there were hints I didn’t pick up on or events that might now be seen in a different light. In particular, on thinking back over the scenes I can remember of Pat Rin as an adult, I seemed to find something which I look forward to seeing verified: that for all the time Pat Rin spends gaming, it’s rarely or even never in games that involve him handling dice. In the light of this scene it might be that he actively avoids games where his knack would give him a unique advantage, which actually fits with my understanding of his character.

Tomorrow is the short story “Guaranteed Delivery”, because chronological order, with Mouse and Dragon resuming the day after.

Mouse and Dragon – Chapter 11

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In which Aelliana and Anne go shopping.

And here already is an illustration of my point: Aelliana can feel Daav’s emotions, but not the process of thought that produced them, so without an opportunity to ask Daav she is left with the knowledge that he was horrified but with only speculation about what, and whom, he was in horror of. If Daav absented himself deliberately to avoid disturbing her peace of mind, he’s having the opposite of his intended effect.

Mouse and Dragon – Chapter 8

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In which Aelliana meets Daav’s brother and Daav’s sister.

I’m intrigued by the ramifications of Aelliana addressing Lady Kareen in the mode of pilot-to-passenger. It’s understandable that that mode would come to her tongue before whichever tongue is appropriate for delivering a set-down during a social call (even if Aelliana had been taught that mode, I doubt she’s ever had a chance to practice it) but it’s not really appropriate — except possibly in one sense: as the lifemate of Korval Himself, Aelliana shares his melant’i as the Captain whose passengers are every other Liaden, including Lady Kareen. (I wonder if she was standing close enough to Daav at that moment to have unconsciously picked up an intimation of the mode he was restraining himself from using.)

I hadn’t really thought about it, but it makes sense that Anne would have a place for work at the University, perhaps working with people she’s met through her work finishing Scholar yo’Kera’s book. Certainly she’s not the type to just sit about the house all day. The reason I might not have thought of it, I think, is that I wouldn’t have expected the University of Liad to be accepting of a Terran, but perhaps it helps that she is of Korval as well.

There are several grace notes I love in this chapter, including the cameo by Shan’s Mouse and Mr pak’Ora’s evident relief at not being required to remain in the same room as Lady Kareen.

Local Custom – Chapter 34

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In which nothing is beautiful and everything hurts.

I remember being told once by a connoisseur of heartwarming Christmas movies that a truly great uplifting ending must be preceded, for contrast, by a moment in which everything is terrible and it seems nothing will ever be right again. In the present case, this chapter introduces that moment.

(There are such moments in other Liaden novels, as well; the one that springs immediately to mind is Carpe Diem. On the other hand, there isn’t a moment in Balance of Trade that’s even remotely like, which I think is part of why I’ve never cared for Balance of Trade as much as most of the other novels.)

After the despair, I remember being told, comes the first glimmering of new hope, often in the form of one of the characters discovering that there is more in them than anyone had previously had reason to suspect: a bad person discovering a capacity for good, perhaps, or a weak person discovering inner strength. In the present case — well, we’ll see.

Local Custom – Chapter 33

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In which the best service Er Thom might do Syntebra el’Kamin would be to arrange matters so they need never meet again.

We’re getting toward the climax of the story now, which means the pace is picking up, which means the chapters are getting shorter, which means that if one is reading a chapter per day the suspense is being agonizingly dragged out. Argh.

I don’t fault the authors for it, since it’s not in the least implausible, but it is remarkably convenient that Syntebra el’Kamin is so thoroughly unsuited to be part of Korval, thus leaving no shadow on our hope for Er Thom to get together with Anne.

I raised my eyebrows when Syntebra thought of Er Thom as “old”, and went to check the timeline. Er Thom is only 35 years old here, but Syntebra is only 20, so he’s nearly twice her age; she was born around the time of “Pilot of Korval”, when Er Thom was already a qualified pilot and old enough to be travelling on the Passage and getting himself into trouble in an adult’s melant’i.

Local Custom – Chapter 29

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In which Anne has two unpleasant conversations.

It’s vitally important that Anne and Er Thom have an opportunity for a clear and sensible conversation, so of course they’re prevented from having one.

I think Fil Tor Kinrae is lying when he says he didn’t realise who Anne was. Of course he knew; who else would she be? I reckon he just has such a low opinion of Terrans that, even faced with a scholar, and one who has a particular interest in the Liaden language, he assumes she can’t speak Liaden.

Local Custom – Chapter 25

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In which Shan receives two visitors.

Our first appearance of Luken bel’Tarda, who is one of my favourite characters in the series. In a setting full of hotshot pilots and marksmen and wizards and master traders and witty banterers, it’s nice to know that it’s also possible for a person who is none of those things to be signficant just by being a thoroughly decent human being. (Though, that said, I note he’s achieved the rank of Master Merchant, which suggests that even if he’s not dazzlingly brilliant he’s not stupid either.)

We also get enough detail about Pat Rin’s situation to make it quite clear why the delm found it necessary to remove him from his mother’s care into Luken’s and why her attempts to win him back are unlikely to bear fruit. Whatever her good points may be, Lady Kareen’s obviously not going to be winning any awards for motherhood.

Anne’s estimate of Luken’s age puts him within a year or two of Daav’s sister and Er Thom’s brother. I wonder if it was just happenstance that all the Lines produced heirs around the same time, or if there was some co-ordination involved.

(The estimate of Pat Rin’s age, on the other hand – which is given from Petrella’s viewpoint, so it can’t be handwaved as unfamiliarity – disagrees with the dates in the Partial Timeline by a full three Standard Years. Which, come to think of it, is Shan’s age; I wonder if somebody got confused at some point between Pat Rin’s age when Shan was born and Pat Rin’s age when the two of them first met.)

This is also the chapter in which Olwen sel’Iprith gives Daav nubiath’a. Which goes to show that two Liadens touching each other’s faces like lifemates doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s where the relationship is going to end up – she touches his face again here, even as she’s saying goodbye. And I have occasionally wondered if Daav would have handled subsequent events differently if this hadn’t happened to him just now.

Local Custom – Chapter 24

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In which Petrella has a very odd view of Er Thom’s character.

A moment passes in which things had an opportunity to resolve themselves more quickly and neatly, if only Anne had said what she wants instead of what she thought was required of her. But if we’re talking “if only”, we might add: If only Er Thom had done a better job of letting Anne know what he wants. And so on, as the saying goes, back to the beginning of the universe. (Or possibly, with this bunch, before.)

A nice exchange that says a lot about Korval’s viewpoint (and possibly it’s a widespread Liaden viewpoint, but perhaps only a Dragon would say it out loud):

“I will not have him interpreting Code for his own benefit!”
“Isn’t that what it’s for?”

Local Custom – Chapter 23

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In which a new day begins with mixed omens.

This chapter really illustrates the relationship between Daav and Kareen. (And, even is his absence, between each of them and young Pat Rin.)

Another subtle bit of Liaden culture here, tying in with what we’ve already had: that Daav, however careless he may be of getting dirt on the rest of him, takes great care to keep his face clean.

It appears to be my fate that whenever I say here that I don’t remember any other instances of a thing, another will present itself within the next few chapters.