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Mouse and Dragon – Chapter 1

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In which dead women do not need new clothes.

And the sequel starts, straight out of the gate, by picking holes in the happy ending of the previous book. Which is unexpected, perhaps, only in how quickly it gets down to it, since if there were no holes in the happy ending it would not be necessary to have a sequel.

(I do wonder whether the authors were aware all along of the issues Daav and Er Thom lay out here, and glossed over them for the sake of a tidy ending, or if they only realised them after further thought, during the time between publishing Scout’s Progress and beginning to write Mouse and Dragon. I do not mean this as a slight, to suggest that it may have taken them a while to realise what Daav realises almost immediately; after all, they are authors, not Delms, and have not spent thirty years learning to think like a Delm the way Daav has.)

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 35

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In which the first duty of the co-pilot is the well-being of the pilot.

This chapter is another with a quote that later got expanded into a story of its own with more to it than the quote implies. Like the Tinsori Light quote from a few chapters back, it seems to be being used here only for its obvious meaning (in this case, a reminder of the nature of co-pilot’s duty).

I like that Sinit knows about what Aelliana’s been up to, and understands its significance, simply because unlike her other siblings she pays attention to the world outside — and the detail that, thanks to the extra context from the news reports, she knows at least one thing about Aelliana that Aelliana herself doesn’t know.

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 26

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In which Samiv tel’Izak is introduced to the Tree.

The Tree disapproves of Samiv tel’Izak, and is not shy of making its disapproval known. What the basis of its disapproval might be is less easy to see. It’s unlikely to be merely that marrying her would make Daav unhappy; the happiness of its fellow creatures has not always been the Tree’s primary concern, and Daav was making some progress toward a comfortable union before the Tree itself stomped on his efforts.

One suspects that it disapproves of Pilot tel’Izak because she is not Aelliana Caylon and the Tree has realised, as Daav has not yet, that Aelliana Caylon is an available possibility. Presumably it’s aware of Aelliana second-hand, through Daav — though one does wonder what other sources of information it might have, remembering that it was a suggestion from the Tree which put Daav in Pilot Caylon’s path in the first place…

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 24

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In which Clonak tells Aelliana a story about Daav, and Korval responds promptly to an insult.

As usual I’m going to duck talking about how this chapter was emotionally affecting, and talk about something else instead, like how this chapter does some clever work of incluing and foreshadowing. For instance, the list at the beginning of the chapter of the people who have been entrusted with Daav’s private number does multiple duty by introducing the reader to Olwen and Frad, so that their names glide smoothly by in Clonak’s story later.

I even caught myself thinking that the last scene of this chapter did a remarkably good job of foreshadowing the end of Mouse and Dragon, considering that this was written so many years before that was, before I remembered that that end had already been established in another book that was in its turn published many years before this one.

Another interesting thing about the list of Daav’s near ones is that it includes, apart from Aelliana, his brother, and his former Scout teammates, one Fer Gun pen’Uldra, Daav’s father. One gets the impression that there are not many Liadens who know their out-Clan parent at all well, let alone remain so close as to include them in such an exclusive list. (The situation with Aelliana’s father illustrated in Chapter 9, where he has had no further contact with Mizel since the conclusion of contract and Aelliana doesn’t even know his name, seems more typical.) Is there a story there? If so, it’s one we haven’t been told yet; Daav’s father is mentioned only rarely, by name even more rarely, and as far as I recall has never made an in-person appearance.

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 22

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In which Daav sees Aelliana home.

Another progression of similar situations across chapters: Two chapters ago, Daav and Aelliana started holding hands “that they should not lose each other” in the crowd. One chapter ago, Yolan took Sed Ric’s hand in the darkness, “to lead him, she told herself fiercely”, with the implication that that wasn’t the only reason. In this chapter, Daav and Aelliana hold hands again, “though the station was barely crowded”.

A thing that amused me when I noticed it: The glossary at the end of the book includes the Liaden word va’netra, which is translated as “stray puppy” in this chapter when Daav uses it to describe Yolan and Sed Ric. The word itself appears nowhere in the novel except only in English translation, but it’s in the glossary all the same.

The subplot of the stray puppies seems at first glance to have no connection to the main plot, but it has thematic links forward and back. Their situation as Aelliana describes it here, “without kin on Liad, with no hope of going elsewhere”, is the situation Aelliana herself might have been in now if the luck had not been with her. And the idea of a person being cast out from their clan is going to reappear later.

Daav tells Aelliana that the custom to shun the clanless and withhold all aid is only custom, “the Code, not the Council”. Even the Code may be less strict on the matter than it’s usually interpreted to be, at least based on the section of it quoted at the head of an earlier chapter. That excerpt is very clear that a person cast out from their clan must be shunned and denied aid by the members of the clan that cast them out, but is less restrictive as regards the members of other clans. Another clan may not offer the outcast the benefits of a full clan membership, but there’s nothing there about not being allowed to, for instance, lend them a few dex and help them find a job.

I’m beginning to worry about Voni. Does she never think for herself?

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 14

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In which Hedrede calls upon Korval.

I am suspicious of Delm Hedrede’s attempt to discredit Anne’s scholarship. Certainly, prejudice may be found in all walks of life, but the description of Hedrede as a clan that usually keeps to itself and doesn’t start anything in Council makes me wonder if somebody put her up to it. (If it was the same people who were behind Fil Tor Kinrae and the earlier, more direct attack on Anne and Scholar yo’Kera, one would expect them to know that Daav could invoke Scholar yo’Kera to defeat the implication of Terran duplicity. Perhaps they did, but felt it was worth a try anyhow, as long as they had Hedrede to absorb the consequences if it didn’t work out.)

While Daav is busy defusing ticking social bombs of various kinds, Aelliana is having a much better day. Being around people who give her honest respect for her achievements — and are able to bring her to accept the respect she’s earned, which the Scouts are able to do in a way her students have never had the status for, however much they respected her — has been doing her some lasting good.

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 13

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In which Clonak ter’Meulen is in love.

Though why he picks that precise moment, of all the moments in the conversation, to decide this, I am not sure.

The Binjali crew seems to have adopted Aelliana as a comrade. Jon says it clearest, when she tries to thank him and he says that it’s the same as they’d do for any of their own, no gratitude demanded.

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 9

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In which the nature of Scouts is a cause for discussion.

There are some remarkable instances of short-sightedness in this mealtime conversation.

One of them is Voni, buying in to the idea that a dress that was a runaway success when worn by one person will necessarily work the same magic whoever wears it. The fact that she defends it from the charge of wantonness by saying it’s a knock-off of a design created for Lady yos’Galan underscores the point for anyone who remembers that in Local Custom at least one person did describe the dress created for Anne as “entirely wanton”, while the more nuanced view was that it would have been unacceptably forward on a Liaden but got away with being charmingly daring because it was Anne wearing it.

The other is Birin Caylon, who comes in on a scene she accurately describes as “Ran Eld the insatiable cat about to eat the unfortunate mouse, portrayed by Aelliana” — and completely fails to grasp, as she apparently always has when it comes to Ran Eld and Aelliana, how serious it is.

Have I mentioned how much I like Sinit?

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 4

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In which Daav wishes there were someone who might love him for himself.

It is good to have friends who care when one is in trouble, even if there seems to be nothing they can do to remedy the trouble.

The chapter epigraph reminds us of what Aelliana is risking by leaving the clan — to be outcast, never again to be able to ask the clan for the support and comfort due to a clan member — but it also underlines the fact that she’s already not being given the support and comfort due to a clan member. “Within the clan shall be found truth, kinship, affection and care,” says the Code. “Outside of the clan shall be found danger and despite.” Aelliana’s experience of clan life has contained no small measure of danger and despite, and less than she ought to be able to expect of truth, kinship, affection and care.

Scout’s Progress – Chapter 2

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In which Anne seeks the delm’s instruction.

And this chapter re-introduces some of the familiar faces from Local Custom, along with two new complications:

First, Daav is going to be married, an event he’s been putting off for years and would have continued to put off if he had his preference. (I wonder if it makes sense to say that the delm has put his foot down, when it’s Daav’s foot. One thing I’ve noticed about Daav: the flipside of him preferring not to invoke the Delm when some other way to handle the situation exists is that when the Delm does put in an appearance he tends to be extremely strict, and perhaps even more so with Daav than with anyone else.)

Second, Anne discovers what has been hinted a few times but not explicitly stated until now: that Korval considers itself still bound by the contract that made Cantra and her heirs responsible for the safety of the passengers they brought to Liad. I don’t think anything much comes of it in this novel, apart from it further underlining the gap between a certain impoverished scholar and the man who might loosely be described as “the king of the world”, but it will be important later.

Along with Anne’s discovery, this chapter gives us another vague estimate of how long it’s been since Liad was settled. Anne, this time with a more solid knowledge of Korval’s history under her belt, calls it a thousand years, which Daav says is “near enough”.