Tag Archives: Dulsey

Dragon in Exile – Interlude 9

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Vivulonj Prosperu
In Transit

In which Daav is not yet ripe.

The thing the Uncle didn’t take into account in his plan to wake Daav up first and bring him up to speed while they were waiting for Aelliana to join them is that Aelliana’s presence has been a mainstay of Daav’s existence for decades. There’s a hint of the trouble in the Uncle’s reflection, just before his error makes itself known, that Daav will be inventorying himself and checking his memories: for Daav, that process would automatically include checking to make sure Aelliana is still there, and now she isn’t.

Daav’s first question is always going to be “Where’s Aelliana?”, and the Uncle’s not going to be able to wake him safely without having a satisfactory answer ready – with any answer other than “Right here” likely to prove unsatisfactory. He might, in the end, have to reverse his plan and leave Daav asleep until Aelliana’s conscious and up to speed.

Dragon Ship – Chapter 30

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Velaskiz Rotundo

In which Bechimo‘s crew increases.

The revelation at the end of the chapter is ambiguous, since there have been two Joyitas in this book, but it makes sense that it’s B. Joyita, because that’s the one Theo would definitely recognise and more importantly if the norbears don’t know about Bechimo’s copy they’ve got no reason to wonder whether Theo knows the original. So the implication I take from this is that Hevelin managed to notice and get an impression of Bechimo and Joyita despite them keeping quiet while there were passengers on board – and that the norbears, in an echo of Theo’s thought earlier in the chapter, consider B. Joyita to be a person.

That said, it would be interesting if Sinaya actually did know Jermone Joyita, either personally (how old do norbears live to? I’d say not that long based on how aged Hevelin is, but we don’t actually know how old he already was when we first encountered him) or through some version of a memory passed from norbear to norbear. (It would also be another point in favour of Bechimo‘s creation being during-after Jethri’s lifetime, since “Out of True” suggests that it was in Jethri’s lifetime that shipboard norbears became a thing.)

Speaking of Joyita, this chapter has another mention of the number of rings on his hand, currently still holding steady at three.

Meanwhile, in the far reaches of the plot, the Uncle is off to check on a mysterious project of which we have not previously heard, and he’s taking Daav along for want of a safe place to leave him. Which offers the tantalising possibility that Daav will resurface in good time to learn something about this mysterious project himself.

Dragon Ship – Chapter 19

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Tradedesk

In which there are many meetings.

…well, that seems a pretty clear statement that Bechimo was built in or shortly after Jethri’s time, with Arin’s ideas as guidance. There have been other people named Arin (there’s one in Crystal Dragon), and there might even have been another who was a noted thinker on subjects of interest to traders, but it’s not likely there was another who was all that and had a son who took a different path.

But we’re still stuck with the fact that the beginning of Ghost Ship states straight up that Bechimo has been awaiting a captain for over five hundred years – which is to say, since two hundred years before Jethri was born.

(On another, less contradictory, note, we have another hint to go with the one from “Intelligent Design” of a technological underpinning for psychic abilities in the Liaden Universe.)

Dragon Ship – Chapter 12

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Spwao System Arrival

In which there are several updates on Daav’s condition.

Although the narrator seems to be making a point of not referring to the pilot in the Uncle’s care as “Daav”, or by any other name – the only time he’s named is when the Uncle uses the name by which he knows him – which is interesting, though I’m not sure what the point might be.

Olwen sel’Iprith is another familiar name from the past. As she says, she’s an old colleague of Daav’s who knew him very well indeed; she appears or is mentioned in both the Daav-and-Aelliana books, and plays an incidental but unknowingly influential role in Local Custom.

Dragon Ship – Chapter 11

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Middle Orbit
Departing Cresthaller

In which Theo and the Uncle have information brought to their attentions.

This is, I think, the most unambiguous statement we’ve ever had that this Uncle is the same one (for some value of “same”) as the one who appeared in the Crystal duology. Though I’m not sure which, out of all the peoples who crossed Cantra’s path in the duology, the Uncle is counting as “his enemies”.

And the bit about Dulsey’s eyes is interesting, because if she prefers grey eyes that indicates that her eye color is subject to change.

Speaking of names we’ve seen before: Ynsolt’i, which Theo mentions as one of their upcoming stops, is the planet where Jethri has his life-changing encounter at the beginning of Balance of Trade. And the Spwao system, with its two planets and then-brand-new Tradedesk Station, features in the sequel, Trade Secret (though that was actually written after Dragon Ship).

I notice Bechimo’s given up on protesting against being called “Chimmy”.

Dragon Ship – Chapter 10

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Landing Pad Number Nine
Regent’s Airfield Number One
Cresthaller

In which Bechimo takes on cargo at an airport.

Twenty-three Standard years is a long time for the pods to have been in storage. That means they’ve been in storage longer than Shan’s been a Jump pilot, let alone a Master Trader – and longer than Theo’s been alive.

And another drib of what’s happened to Daav. I suspect the authors of stringing out the scenes that don’t involve Theo so that no two of them appear without a bit of Theo in between. There are probably good and sufficient reasons for this; after all, it is officially a book about Theo.

Dragon Ship – Prelude

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In Surebleak Transit Orbit, Outgoing

In which Win Ton yo’Vala has one last chance.

More evidence, if I needed it by this point, that I was wrong-headed when, in the early days of this re-read, I considered reading prologues like this chronologically (which would be near the end of Ghost Ship in this case) instead of with the rest of the novel. A prologue like this exists to remind the reader what’s been going on when they come back to the story after being a while away, which is precisely the function this one is performing now.

Mention is made by the Uncle of “my chief technologist”. The context doesn’t attach the description to a particular person, but if I had to guess I’d say that was probably Dulsey.

Ghost Ship – Epilogue

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Pod 78
Moonstruck

…even this, in its own way.

Given that it’s already something of an effort for Theo to convince herself that things are going well with Win Ton, it’s probably just as well she’s not aware her father is likewise going to be spending the indefinite future in a heavy-duty medical unit.

There was apparently some controversy about this ending when the book first came out, but for myself I think it’s a reasonable cliffhanger, though I’d probably have thought differently if I hadn’t already known there would be another book coming along to pick up the loose threads. I’d also have been less well-disposed if there hadn’t been this epilogue – not that I’d have believed for a moment that Daav was really dead, but I’d have been annoyed if the authors had made us wait for the next book before they admitted it.

And of course the Uncle, being right there and, as we’ve been reminded recently, in possession of certain methods of cheating death, is the obvious explanation for why Daav isn’t out of the game just yet. Though I realised more on this reading that it’s not nearly so obvious from the Uncle’s point of view – after all, he’s notoriously self-centred and Daav yos’Phelium isn’t anything like a friend or an ally – and that the authors have done quite a bit of work in this chapter and the last few the Uncle has been in to put him in a position where he wants to help Daav.

The cliffhanger will remain hanging for a while longer, however, as tomorrow is “Prodigal Son”, filling in the details of what Val Con’s been doing lately, and after that Necessity’s Child.

Ghost Ship – Chapter 42

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Pod 78
Moonstruck

In which Pod 78 draws blood.

I don’t think I’ve observed before, and given the events of this chapter there’s not going to be another chance, that Daav flies Ride the Luck from the co-pilot’s chair. There’s probably more to that than simple force of habit.

There have been a number of moments over the past few books when Daav has felt Aelliana’s presence and forced himself not to look because he knows he won’t see her, and they pay off in the moment at the end of this chapter. Which is a neat trick, really, considering that when the authors started including those moments they had no idea this scene was in their future.

Ghost Ship – Chapter 39

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Jelaza Kazone
Surebleak

In which there is good news and bad news.

Win Ton also knows who Clarence was, which is perhaps not surprising, since Win Ton is a Scout and the Scouts might be expected to have known who was doing what in their home port. What might be surprising is that, knowing who Clarence was, he’s so quick to trust him; part of that is probably that Theo trusts him, but it might also speak to a detailed knowledge of Clarence’s past: merely knowing Clarence’s old job description would probably be a count against him, but there have been better people and worse people to hold that job, and someone familiar with Clarence’s track record would know which side of the scale he was on.

Meanwhile, back on Surebleak, that quiet haven Theo was thinking fondly of while her crew were trying not to get blown up, Val Con has a metaphorical bombshell of his own to deal with…