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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Dutiful Passage
Millsap Orbit
In which Padi has a long day.
Shan has a plan: to visit the Redlands, which it turns out is not one country, or even one planet, but a system with three inhabited planets.
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In which one remains in plain sight and vulnerable.
One’s own mother used to say “Sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite”. Apparently bedbugs are one unpleasantness that isn’t found on Surebleak. (They prefer a tropical climate, I gather.)
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In which a family reunion or two occurs.
More bows and modes in this chapter than we’ve had in a while, including a couple of new ones. Well, it’s been a while since we’ve had a conversation, in other than everyday circumstances, between two parties familiar with the forms.
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In which Rys says a hello and Syl Vor says a farewell.
This book is Syl Vor’s big step into the spotlight, but it’s also casting new light on Nova, showing aspects of her other than the one who stays home being strait-laced while all her siblings hare around acting precipitously and making witty banter.
The bit where Syl Vor maybe-falls-asleep against the Tree reminds me – particularly with Kezzi talking about “dreaming together” in the other half of the chapter – of “Dragon Tide”, and the dragons that used to sleep in the branches of the Tree’s ancestors and share their dreams.
(I also note that somebody, presumably the Tree, is doing some pretty blatant manipulation to get Syl Vor out to receive his gift, and then back in as soon as it’s done. It’s interesting that Syl Vor’s hand enters the last override code without his conscious mind getting involved; is that just a limitation of the process, or is the Tree making an effort to make sure he doesn’t remember it and use it on some other less appropriate occasion?)
And the continuing emphasis on dreaming from Silain and Kezzi reminds me that I was reminded recently that the authors are fans of Janet Kagan’s novel Hellspark, which leads to the realisation that the luthia reminds me somewhat of layli-layli calulan from that novel.
In which Syl Vor requests a change of schedule.
The Rule of Succession is, like all proverbs, something of an oversimplification. While it’s true that who wants power most may be someone who shouldn’t be trusted with it, it’s just as possible that who wants it least may do a great deal of damage by neglecting or avoiding the duty that comes along with.
There is a phenomenon called “shipping goggles”, which is a propensity to look at the interactions between two characters and see romantic subtext regardless of whether the storyteller intended any. I don’t have shipping goggles myself – I’ve been known to have trouble seeing romantic subtext that a storyteller definitely did intend – but there are moments when I suspect that, if I did, I would have an opinion about Nova and Michael Golden.
Kezzi’s protest that she shouldn’t be considered a child just because the kompani currently has no children younger suggests that she’s in a similar position to the one Nova was just diagnosing of Syl Vor, with nobody her own age to interact with, which kind of suggests where this story might be going.
In which Anne agrees to go to Liad.
Anne’s joke about enquiring into the suitability of Er Thom’s genes really is an awkward one, not only because of the implication that they might not have come up to scratch, but also because, according to Liaden propriety, it is no more than the truth to say that she should have done it before conceiving Shan, and if she had much of the present difficulty might have been avoided. It speaks well of the strength of Er Thom’s sense of humour that he’s able to find it amusing.