Tag Archives: Eldema

Carpe Diem – Chapter 23

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Liad
Trealla Fantrol

In which Nova learns more about the Department of the Interior.

With Miri and Val Con’s adventure in Gylles over for now, it’s back to see what Val Con’s relatives are doing on Liad. Or have been doing, or will be doing: I’m still not sure how the timelines of the various plot strands line up.

One thing I have realised is that as well as Val Con saying it’s been slightly over a month since their night on the town in Econsey, we have Miri — the previous day — saying that they’ve known each other for less than a month. Maybe Miri is rounding down and Val Con is rounding up, or maybe they’re using different months… in which case, it’s anyone’s guess how long it’s actually been.

That realisation led me to go back over the chapters covering the disputed period, looking for date markers, and here’s what I’ve discovered: if one figures on Miri and Val Con being in the hands of the Juntavas for about four days, and then another four days between that and their landfall on Zhena Trelu’s world (a much more likely period to survive on bread, water, and salmon than two weeks!), that not only fits all the available hints, but it can then be plausibly asserted that (with a single exception) the chapters of the novel up to this point are after all in their correct chronological order.

Imagine that: the authors knowing what they’re doing!

Carpe Diem – Chapter 4

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Liad
Solcintra

In which Shan discusses the situation with Priscilla.

Priscilla, of course, is the other reason Shan was so definite about rejecting the prospect of a contract marriage. It is of course beyond question that Nova must be aware of Shan’s relationship with Priscilla, but it’s open to question how well she understands what it means to them. (The fact that they’re still together coming up on seven years after they met must count for something, even if they haven’t taken the step to officially seal it; but perhaps Nova has concluded that the important detail is that they haven’t taken the step to officially seal their relationship even after being together coming up on seven years.)

Can I count Priscilla’s house as another for the list of characters who appear only briefly but in memorable detail? The descriptions of her situation add richness to the chapter, and the value of Dablin’s commentary on events is immeasurable.

Carpe Diem – Chapter 3

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Liad
Trealla Fantrol

In which Val Con’s family are concerned for his whereabouts.

There’s more about certain aspects of Liaden culture in this one chapter than there is in all of Agent of Change, although that’s perhaps only to be expected when Agent of Change was about a Liaden surrounded by Terrans and this chapter features two Liadens interacting on Liad itself.

I’m a bit puzzled by the mention of Val Con being a Scout Captain in a time past, because it was said several times in the later chapters of Agent of Change that his present rank is Scout Commander, and Commander is usually the rank below Captain (traditionally, it meant that although one was not a captain yet one had risen far enough to be put in command of an unrated ship) — and I don’t picture Val Con doing anything that would have got him busted down a rank. Maybe the Scouts just do ranks differently. Maybe it’s just a typo.

This is the first chapter not to contain any reference to Miri since almost the beginning of Agent of Change, which in a way underlines how much Val Con’s family don’t know about what he’s been up to.

Agent of Change – Chapter 4

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In which Val Con and Miri make some calls.

Miri and Val Con are clearly starting to relax into each other’s company: they’ve begun bantering.

Val Con speaks more truth than he realises when he promises Liz he will take the best care of Miri he can, for as long as he can.

Here’s an interesting exercise for a writer: the character has a small box containing everything most valuable to her in the world — what, specifically, is in it? To answer the question for a character who’s only been in the story for four chapters would require either a considerable knowledge of parts of her backstory that haven’t made it into the story yet, or a certain talent for improvisation together with a willingness to assume explanations will present themselves as needed. Or both, mixed in some proportion. (Explanations for some of Miri’s keepsakes will subsequently become apparent, but not all. Which is as it should be; a character whose past can be entirely told is likely a character lacking in depth.)

Signs that this novel was written in the 1980s: the primary medium for data storage and retrieval is tape.