Surebleak
The Bedel
In which Rys’s family receive news of his doings.
Here’s an entirely frivolous question: Does the placement of this scene, so many pages after the event Droi Sees, indicate that the authors have monkeyed with the chapter arrangement for dramatic effect, or does it take time for a Seeing to travel over interstellar distances?
The Port Road
Yulie Shaper’s Place
In which Yulie has a proposition.
We’ve previously had the names of Yulie’s four helpers as he knows them — Nathan, Mary, Walter, Abigail — and, separately, the names as Kezzi knows them — Udari, Memit, Isart, Syaera. Knowing that Nathan is Udari and Mary is Memit gives us enough of a start to line all four up.
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Jelaza Kazone
In which Yulie Shaper is visited by a young lady.
Yulie knows what’s important in a person. What they look like doesn’t matter nearly as much as will they do right by the cats.
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The Bedel
In which the Bedel receive long-awaited news.
Back around the time Maysl first entered the story, I spent a while speculating about how she and her parents were going to manage when the ship came to pick up the kompani. It appears that Droi has been assuming that the question wouldn’t arise, that the ship which was already late would not appear in her lifetime.
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Surebleak
In which Korval goes visiting.
Kamele has a come a long way in her understanding of risk and safety since we first met her.
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Boss Nova’s House
Blair Road
In which there is a nice dinner followed by serious conversation.
I find it interesting that Kezzi’s triumph at school is reported by Syl Vor, and vice versa.
The phrase “something so trivial as an apparent breach of contract” has an edge to it, coming after Val Con’s lecture on the importance to Liadens of the making and keeping of contracts. One might suppose that in the general way, the Liaden attitude about self-reliance being what it is, a breach of contract would be resolved between the parties to the contract without bringing in any outsiders, so a breach of contract wouldn’t normally be taken to the Council of Clans unless it developed into a major situation. This is not the general case, however – for one thing, the Council of Clans is one of the parties to the contract in question.
The mention of Quin in this context makes me belatedly wonder whether his current project – which is, you will recall, to gain piloting experience by flying off somewhere for several weeks – was already planned, or if it was invented as a way to keep him out of reach of any more Balance-seekers while his family determined whether any more are to be expected.
Val Con’s aunt Mizel would be his mother’s sister Sinit, who was appointed Nadelm Mizel in Mouse and Dragon and presumably has succeeded to the Delm by now. (She also formed an alliance with yo’Lanna in that book, so that mention is another pointer.) Seeing her mentioned now as still in contact with Korval, with Aelliana’s return in prospect, makes me wonder how she is going to react to having her sister come back from the dead.
The Bedel
In which Val Con prepares to dream.
I had been wondering, after the revelation about the dreams, whether all the luthia‘s abilities were of a similar nature, but the way she reads Val Con seems to be inherent. Unless there’s another device the authors are choosing not to mention for the moment. I don’t think so, though; it’s described in similar terms to the abilities of Shan or another Healer.
The thing about how detail works in drama is that the more time is spent reiterating that Miri ought to be safely shielded, the less I believe it’s going to work out that way. If Val Con comes through this safely only to find that Miri hasn’t, there’s going to be Trouble, though for whom I am not certain.
In which the first day of school is an exciting time for everybody.
Rys says explicitly that he knew when Agent bar’Obin explained the mission that he wasn’t going to survive it, but it’s also implied that Agent bar’Obin, who is inside the building she’s about to blow up, doesn’t expect to survive either. The Department doesn’t care for the lives of its people.
I want to note that there are quite a few taxis in this chapter, with at least three and probably more simultaneously present outside the school at one point. I’ll have more to say on that subject in a couple of days.
In which Rys has a reunion.
But of course it doesn’t occur to Syl Vor that Ms ker’Eklis was asking something of him in advance of his age and ability; he’s used to living under the Plan B conditions which regularly did the same.
At last we have a name for Rys’s former colleague – and it’s one that has appeared before in this novel. Isphet bar’Obin was present, credentialed as a member of the Blair Road Patrol, when Mike Golden interviewed the criminals who mugged Rys. Several details about that scene seem much more significant, reading it again now, starting with the description of her eye colour, moving on to the fact that Mike only assumes she’s a Scout, and finishing up with the bit where Mike delegates to her the task of discovering the owner of a knife found among the muggers’ possessions.
And this naturally explains how she came to be in the bakery during the meeting, in such an artfully covered position that I assumed at first she was one of the Road Patrol assigned to be Nova’s backup: it’s because she was. How very amusing for her.
In which there’s been some excitement in the warehouse district.
This is one of those chapters that it’s more difficult to talk about because this is a re-read. I could speculate about what these events mean, or about who Silain’s patient is (Liaden, warehouse district, …) but it wouldn’t really work since of course I already know the answers.
I notice that there’s a person named Jin helping one healing effort and a person named Gin directing the other. I don’t suppose that means anything; there are only so many short names to go around. (As evidence of which, this is the second person known only as “Gin” in the series so far; the first was a merc on the front line on Lytaxin, so probably not the same person.)