Tag Archives: Carresens family

Neogenesis – Chapter 6 part II

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In which Admiral Bunter and Tolly discuss necessary action and acceptable risk.

A nice piece of narrative judo, here. By having Tolly explain things to Admiral Bunter, the reader is informed of matters that will be relevant to the ongoing adventures of Inkirani and Tocohl, who couldn’t have handled that bit of exposition themselves without it coming down to them telling each other things they already know. As a bonus, there’s the little touch of irony that Tolly and the Admiral consider going to the place where they would have met again with their former companions, and then decide not to.

I also like the bit where Tolly is telling Admiral Bunter about the rumour regarding the Carresens-Denobli long-looper. He says that there is this rumour; he doesn’t say what he knows from his own experience of its accuracy. Of course that’s something he doesn’t need to be telling Admiral Bunter at this point in their relationship; all the Admiral needs to know is that there may be other people like him out there.

The Gathering Edge – Chapter 39

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Bechimo

In which Bechimo delivers its cargo and passenger.

So, after all the griping about how long it seemed to be taking to get to the climax of the novel, was I satisfied with it when it arrived?
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 29

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Minot Station

In which Bechimo‘s exec and chief technician are in conference.

I agree with Kara that there’s something here not quite adding up, but I’m not sure yet what it is.
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 23

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Bechimo
Aubernet System

In which Bechimo arrives in a new place.

Lots of technical details in this chapter, which is impresive but not the kind of thing I personally find most entertaining to read or talk about.
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 18

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Bechimo
Exercise Room

In which Theo exercises her body and her mind.

I’ve had something of a track record on this blog, with the novels where I’m reading for the first time instead of re-reading, of noting something in an entry and then finding the very next chapter either pushing it further than I expected or completely contradicting it. I don’t think this is actually a problem; I think it’s a sign that the authors are pacing the story properly and layering in the foreshadowing well, so that the reader starts thinking about things just as they are about to become important.
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Alliance of Equals – Chapter 3

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Dutiful Passage

In which Padi has a lesson to learn.

I raise an eyebrow at Padi’s dismissal of things that serve no purpose other than looking pretty. Apart from the error she’s making of assuming that “I see no purpose to this” is the same as “There is no purpose to this”, it seems shortsighted for one who aspires to be a trader: even if a thing’s only value lies in looking pretty, it still has value that may be usefully leveraged or may cause problems if ignored. People value the things they value, for whatever reason.

(That said, being unreasonable isn’t all that unlikely for someone Padi’s age.)

I’m wondering if the Carresens Syndicate is going be part of the “alliance of equals” referred to in the title. When the family (and Pilot Janifer Carresens-DeNobli) was last mentioned, in Dragon in Exile, the delm summed them up by saying they were very like Korval. (I somehow doubt the Uncle is going to be part of it; has he ever recognised an equal?)

Wise Child

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In which Disian completes her schooling.

So. Not the Department, then. Instead, the Lyre Institute, clearly some relative of the Tanjalyre Institute of distant and unfond memory, Cantra’s birthplace. A reminder that even when our heroes succeed in squishing the Department once and for all, there will still be other things to make the wide universe interesting.

The Lyre Institute, we’re told, regards its people not as people but as useful objects, and gives them numbers instead of names. So where did Tolly get such an impressive name as “Tollance Berik-Jones”? Picked it up somewhere when he was out on his own, before they dragged him back in, I guess.

Tolly’s interactions with Disian suggest that he’s a good choice for the job he’d embarked on last time we saw him, of sorting out the hastily-woken and confused Admiral Bunter. Disian’s own existence is interesting, because it suggests that somebody has continued or revived the shipbuilding programme that produced Bechimo. (Though perhaps without some of Bechimo’s Old Tech-influenced special features, like the ghost drive and the bonding mechanism. And Bechimo has a Morality module instead of an Ethics module, though perhaps that’s only a difference of terminology.)

This story presumably takes place before Tolly’s appearance in Dragon in Exile (the alternative is that a future novel will feature his recapture by the Lyre Institute, which would be a bit of a downer), but it’s not yet clear how much before. Presumably there will be hints in future appearances.

Dragon in Exile – Chapter 19

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Jelaza Kazone
Surebleak

In which Jeeves brings an urgent request to the delm.

That’s what you get, Miri, for tempting fate by being thankful you didn’t have to deal with Pat Rin’s problem in fleecy robe and slippers.

(It occurs to me that there’s a conceptual connection between Jeeves’s intention to create a child and what Val Con and Miri were doing when he interrupted, although Val Con and Miri presumably weren’t motivated by the same intention in this instance.)

The idea of Jeeves’s child coming to Korval is interesting; Jeeves, as far as I know, is not counted a member of the clan himself, any more than the other household servants. Perhaps it’s an option opened up by the fact that he came to the delm for permission. I don’t think a household servant would normally do that; inform their employer of a factor likely to affect their performance, yes, but the decision itself would be in the hands of their own delm. (I’m thinking, among other examples, of Jeeves’s predecessor Mr pak’Ora, who was called by his delm to serve his clan in another role, with his employer being given no say and left to cover his absence at short notice.) Jeeves, of course, doesn’t have a delm of his own, which may be another factor in Val Con’s offer. If it is an offer, and not an ultimatum: there have been cases where a child has gone to another clan as Balance for trouble caused by the parent. I don’t think that’s what’s going on here, even though Jeeves admitted fault for the present emergency, but I suspect that the possibility is one of the reasons he had to stop and think before accepting the delm’s word.

Dragon Ship – Chapter 36

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Jemiatha’s Jumble Stop

In which Theo goes shopping and Kamele has an adventure.

The people watching Kamele are presumably agents of the Department of the Interior – apart from it being the most obvious conclusion in context, the peculiarly inflexible face is an established signifier – and they’re doing the invisible-in-plain sight thing that Daav did and Theo picked up from him. I had thought it was a Scout thing, then the people at Chaliceworks made a big deal about it and I thought maybe it was something rare that Daav had picked up on his travels, but this inclines me back toward it being a Scout thing. Unless it is something rare that the Department have also picked up in their travels, they having a habit of picking up things they’re not entitled to.

If it is the Department, then it’s probably not the case that they’re simply after the reward being offered for Theo’s apprehension; more likely they intend to apprehend Theo for themselves, which will be rewarding in its own way. The reward does, however, give Kamele a reason to comprehend her own significance in respect to Theo – and us the readers a reason to start wondering who else might be tempted by the reward.

Dragon Ship – Chapter 35

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Hoselteen

In which Kamele receives news of her daughter.

I like that the news of Theo’s activities comes from news sources that show a range of degrees of reliability and accuracy, where a writer less committed to worldbuilding might have just had one. (I particularly appreciate the detail of the biased summary on the Eylot situation saying “Eylot threatened with interdiction; vessel destroyed”, which makes it sound like somebody threatened Eylot for no reason and then destroyed a ship, instead of Eylot destroying a ship and being threatened with consequences.)

Joyita has acquired a fourth ring since last time they were mentioned, which was at Velaskiz Rotundo, just before Kara signed on as crew – and putting that way makes me wonder if that’s the key. Perhaps the fourth ring represents Kara, and the original two represent Theo and Clarence… or Theo and Win Ton, the holders of the first two ship keys, and the third was added at the point when Bechimo accepted Clarence as a crew member and not just a temporary nuisance. (It appears, I think, at about the same point that Bechimo stops objecting to being addressed as “Chimmy”.)