Tag Archives: King of Bentrill

Prodigal Son

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In which Scout Commander yos’Phelium returns to the scene of the crime.

I haven’t read this story since a while before the first time I read Ghost Ship, and there’s quite a bit more to it than I remembered. I remembered the mirrored scenes with Miri at the beginning and end, and I remembered everything that happened at the Explorers Club, but the entire middle section I’d completely forgotten about. It’s a much better story with the middle in.

(I recognised the bits with Nelirikk that were included in Ghost Ship, of course, because I’ve just finished reading that, but I remember thinking both times I read Ghost Ship that those must have been new additions to the course of events.)

Speaking of the mirrored sections at the beginning and end, I noticed on this re-read that the opening scene is also reflected in the middle, with Hakan and Kem taking the places of Val Con and Miri, and the place of the rocking chair being taken by a different rocking chair.

Carpe Diem – Chapter 71

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Kosmorn Gore

In which Cory and Miri say goodbye.

To have been able to leave their hero money behind for Hakan and Kem, Miri and Val Con must have been carrying it with them when Agent sig’Alda showed up. Which is not, on reflection, so surprising: we know already that pilots have a habit of carrying essentials with them at all times, which mercenaries probably share, and having made the decision to signal the mysterious aircraft it would have made particular sense for Val Con and Miri to start carrying anything they didn’t want to leave behind, in case they had to leave in a hurry once the pilot of the aircraft replied. It does seem like a lot of money to have been carrying around, but Val Con and Miri seem like they’d have known how to keep it hidden, and how to protect themselves from anyone who might have been of a mind to take it.

The novel ends on an oddly disquieting note, with Hakan and Kem faced with the fact that they’ve been part of something they can’t understand. They’re going to have a tricky time explaining where Cory and Meri went to everybody else. For that matter, even with the things they know that they can say only to each other, they’re going to have a hard time explaining it to themselves.

Tomorrow: “Quiet Knives”

Carpe Diem – Chapter 51

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Winterfair

In which Cory and Meri and Hakan are Heroes of the Realm.

I wonder if the king’s doing Zhena Trelu as much of a favour as he’s presumably trying for; she mentioned a while back that she was thinking of selling the farm and moving into town once it had been fixed up enough to be marketable, and now she’s pretty much stuck with it. With free upkeep and a guaranteed income, admittedly, which makes it less of a burden, and maybe a few months with Val Con and Miri around have added enough good new memories to the place that she’d have reconsidered anyway. Whatever she might think of the arrangement, she clearly knows that there’s no point arguing about it once it’s been publicly announced.

And then Val Con gives the king the bow between equals, which is interesting. Presumably the Benish don’t know precisely what it signifies, but from the zhena’s reaction it still reads to them as being not as respectful as they’d expect. Or is the zhena’s reaction because Miri, following Val Con’s lead, bows instead of curtseying?

I like the bit about the quarterweight of hontoles; it gives the investiture of the Heroes of the Realm a feeling of being a tradition that’s been around for a while. I wonder if a quarterweight of hontoles is worth more these days, or less, than when the first Hero of the Realm was invested.

The king is another of this series’ minor characters who makes a brief but impressively deep impression. I always feel like there’s more going on with him than we ever get to see.

Carpe Diem – Chapter 43

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Springbreeze Farm

In which Miri and Val Con are reunited.

Ah, you can tell Val Con’s recovered: they’re bantering again. I love the banter in this series.

And after all this time we get an answer to the question of who gets which coloured napkin, though no indication of whether it’s a definite or a contingent answer. Is the blue napkin always for Val Con, or only under some circumstances, or does anybody get whichever colour they want?

This is a fairly significant chapter for the series, in that it contains the first-published detailed description of the lifemate’s bond or wizard’s match. (Which I still think is a consequence rather than a cause of people getting together, even though Val Con here recalls hearing stories about intended lifemates finding each other through their bond. Stories may be made up or distorted, especially so in a context that encourages a romantic spin on the material.)

Carpe Diem – Chapter 21

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Gylles

In which Cory and Meri get some new clothes.

I notice that Zhena Trelu neglects to mention to Salissa the shop assistant that Miri is married, and I wonder if that’s a factor in Salissa’s insistence on “looking pretty” as the primary factor in her clothing choices. On the other hand, Zhena Trelu does quite clearly specify “proper work clothes” and “warm”, without any measurable effect, so maybe she’d have taken the same tack anyway.

It hadn’t occurred to me before this re-read, but Zhena Trelu’s inclusion of the library on the day’s itinerary is presumably a response to Val Con’s request for books to help Miri with the language.