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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Colemeno Port
Great Hall
In which it may be accounted misfortune to lose one kinsperson, but two looks like carelessness.
Betya seelyFaire’s account of her ancestor’s reasons for coming to the Redlands have a noticeable resonance with Dyoli’s reasons for doing likewise.
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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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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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Volmer
In which yos’Galan and Carresens begin an exchange.
The other thought I’d had about the people on the cover — in fact, the first thought I had on seeing it, and the only possibility I’d seriously entertained before Mar Tyn and Dyoli showed up — was that it was Padi accompanied by a new character we hadn’t met yet. I’d been becoming less confident about that possibility recently, as we got so far into the book without encountering any new character who fit the bill. I believe we have him now.
(I’ve commented before that I seem to have a tendency to ask questions and make guesses one chapter before the answer shows up. I consider that this says good things about how well paced the books are.)
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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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Dutiful Passage
In which Lady Selph goes visiting.
Not much of immediate moment happens in this chapter, but a lot of things are about to happen.
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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
Pommierport
In which there is an unexpected detour or two.
I think that when Priscilla talks about “ambient noise”, she doesn’t mean quite the same thing as the Haosa do when they talk about “the ambient”. If it is, it’s noteworthy that the course of action suggested by her training is to try to block it out.
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