In which the bakery goes forward.
I had forgotten that we already knew of a character called “Our Lady of Benevolence” until I was re-reading the earlier bakery stories in preparation for this new one. (Well, actually, the authors’ foreword gave it away, but if not for that it would have been re-reading “Fortune’s Favors” that did it.)
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Healspace
In which there is an exchange of gifts.
I don’t feel like I have anything new and insightful to say about the events of this chapter. And I don’t want to sit around hoping for an insight to show up, because I want to see what happens next.
Ribbon Dance Hill
In which Tekelia has an urgent question for Shan, and an important answer.
One consequence of Padi and Shan being teleported directly to Ribbon Dance Hill is that it bypasses questions of geography, so my guess about whether the Hill is related to the ridge Padi read about is unlikely to be answered until it’s all over, if then. I think it’s a good guess, though; a hill that may be literally from another world seems like a good place for these kinds of goings-on.
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Dutiful Passage
Rostermin Breakout
In which Shan yos’Galan reads his mail.
Shan’s statement about “our time in this space” implies that he thinks Lute can’t manifest on the ship while it’s in Jump. I can’t think of anything specific to give him that idea, and he may just be fishing, but on the other hand I don’t at the moment recall any specific event that contradicts it.
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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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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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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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Dutiful Passage
In which Mar Tyn pai’Fortana answers some questions.
When Mar Tyn offered to let Priscilla bind him, I completely missed the implication until it was spelled out; I was thinking of handcuffs or similar.
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Dutiful Passage
In which Padi makes connections and Shan receives news from home.
The looper families Shan mentions are among those who have appeared or been mentioned in the Jethri-era stories: the Smiths were the first family to have norbears travelling with them, the Tragers were friendly with Jethri’s family, and the Wildes did that ill-fated bit of experimenting with Old Tech.
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