Tag Archives: Diglon Rifle

Neogenesis – Chapter 20 part VI

In which Val Con and Miri offer their solutions.

The distinction Val Con makes between those who count themselves to be Scouts and those who count themselves to be Liaden Scouts is one I was reaching for yesterday but didn’t manage to wrap words around. (And reminds me of Eylot, forcing its pilots to decide whether they were pilots who happened to be Eylotian or Eylotians who happened to be pilots.)

It also, come to think of it, suggests the possibility, if not the certainty, that at some point in the future the Scouts headquartered on Surebleak are going to accept non-Liadens into their ranks. Once you’ve reached the conclusion that being a Scout and being a Liaden are not necessarily linked, it’s an obvious consequence. (There have been hints in that direction already, too, with people mentioning that the Scouts have been providing educational opportunities on Surebleak, usually followed by commenting that Scout teachers always treat their students as prospective Scouts.)
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Neogenesis – Chapter 20 part IV

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In which Val Con and Miri have a busy morning.

I like “a salute so smart it could have driven itself into town”. And Val Con’s interactions with the cat.
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Neogenesis – Chapter 20 part III

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In which Val Con and Miri are not getting much sleep tonight.

Chapter 20 is shaping up to be a long chapter, to the point that I’m almost wondering if I need to subdivide the sections even further. Makes sense, though, since this is the chapter where a whole bunch of plot strands come together, not just from this book but from the four books preceding it.
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 30

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Minot Station
Administrative Offices

In which Clarence and Kara go shopping.

I’m beginning to get the impression that, on top of whatever else might be happening on Minot, the culture might be just a wee bit sexist.
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 15

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Bechimo

In which some important things are learned.

I like Stost’s reaction to the promise of being kept safe.
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 12

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Seebrit Station
The Sweet Rest Hostel

In which Ambassador Vepal pursues his necessities.

It doesn’t surprise me that Vepal has an Explorer’s training. Imagine an ordinary Yxtrang officer trying to do this job!
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 6

Alliance of Equals – Chapter 6

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Dutiful Passage
Andiree Approach

In which there may be trouble ahead.

We get quite a few new names in this chapter. There are the characters who have not been specifically referenced before, such as the crew of Pale Wing, and also characters who have been mentioned before but not named, such as Dutiful Passage‘s third mate and the woman whose actions resulted in Hazenthull being brought along by Tocohl and Tolly.

Tocohl has a bit of a new name, too: this is the first time her surname has been mentioned. I wonder if it signifies anything, the way her forename does. (I wonder if it’s actually her surname, or just part of her cover?)

The third mate has the surname Tiazan, which is, as Padi recently reminded us, the name of Miri’s Liaden relatives. I did briefly entertain the amusing notion that Miri had for some reason joined the crew for this voyage, incognito, and that Shan’s comment about the third mate being “a bit stiff in the honor” was a joke. But of course we know that Miri is still back on Surebleak.

Dragon in Exile – Epilogue

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In which the Road Boss comes home.

I spent the entire epilogue waiting for Theo to show up, or Daav and Aelliana, or all of them together, but it didn’t happen. Perhaps Daav’s homecoming, like the downfall of the Department, is a large enough thing to require the length of an entire book to tell it.

Maybe Daav and Aelliana are even home already and the narrator’s just not mentioning it, to avoid being distracting. Or they may be just about to arrive; the hint of the seed pods could go either way. Theo’s definitely not back yet, judging by Miri’s reaction to the vision of her with the seedling from Spiral Dancer; Miri doesn’t know it’s a thing that’s actually happened. (It has to be a thing that’s happened, because the business with Admiral Bunter shows that this is after Dragon Ship – so it’s interesting that it’s in among a bunch of visions of things that haven’t happened yet. I wonder if the young woman in Scout leathers is who Lizzie will grow up to be.)

Another thing that’s happened is “The Rifle’s First Wife”, since there she is among Korval’s other guests. I suppose that means the events of that story have been happening alongside the events of this one (or perhaps in the gap between the last chapter and this epilogue, if it’s large enough, although I seem to recall “The Rifle’s First Wife” begins when Hazenthull is still on Surebleak and Kareen is still guesting at Jelaza Kazone).

And that’s it. Nothing left to read. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: A few retrospective posts.

Dragon in Exile – Chapter 40

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Sherman’s Shootout
Expert Round

In which the people make their feelings known.

Nelirikk has a new surname: nor’Phelium. I wonder whose idea that was, and what it signifies. I tried to see what could be gleaned from seeing who else has had a surname with the nor’ prefix, but there hasn’t been anyone – which might be significant in itself.

I like the bit about Nelirikk feeling under-equipped with only four handguns, six knives, explosives, arm-chains, and zhang-wire. (We’ve seen zhang-wire before, only romanised slightly differently: “jang-wire” was the name of the weapon Sed Ric the pirate carried for self-defence in Scout’s Progress.)

I was surprised to see Yulie. Makes sense a man with his shooting ability might want to come along to an event like this – but this is Yulie, who doesn’t do well with strangers and has been actively avoiding the city for as long as we’ve known him and longer. That he’s in the city now, having trusted somebody else to watch his farm and his cats (a Scout, he says, perhaps Tan Ort?) says a lot about how much he’s benefited from the changes on Surebleak.

For the final chapter of the book, we return to the main theme. Pat Rin’s making a deliberate point by standing unarmed in the middle of the argument: he could have shot quite a few people if he’d wanted to, but he wants people to understand that his leadership isn’t just about who can shoot who the fastest.

I may have got a bit sniffly at the bit about the people opening the road that they own.

Reading Liad

from Dragon Tide to Dragon Ship, and beyond