Tag Archives: Lyre Institute

Neogenesis – Chapter 6 part II

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In which Admiral Bunter and Tolly discuss necessary action and acceptable risk.

A nice piece of narrative judo, here. By having Tolly explain things to Admiral Bunter, the reader is informed of matters that will be relevant to the ongoing adventures of Inkirani and Tocohl, who couldn’t have handled that bit of exposition themselves without it coming down to them telling each other things they already know. As a bonus, there’s the little touch of irony that Tolly and the Admiral consider going to the place where they would have met again with their former companions, and then decide not to.

I also like the bit where Tolly is telling Admiral Bunter about the rumour regarding the Carresens-Denobli long-looper. He says that there is this rumour; he doesn’t say what he knows from his own experience of its accuracy. Of course that’s something he doesn’t need to be telling Admiral Bunter at this point in their relationship; all the Admiral needs to know is that there may be other people like him out there.

Neogenesis – Chapter 6 part I

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Admiral Bunter

In which the topic of ethics recurs.

And in this chapter we get a direct reference to the events of “Wise Child”, described in sufficient detail to assist anyone who hasn’t read it already. I wonder if that portends that Disian is going to be showing up in this story. It might not, it might just be mentioned for the light it sheds on the present circumstance, but I’d like to see Disian again and learn how she’s getting on.
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Neogenesis – Chapter 5 part II

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In which Inkirani Yo has no idea of what’s about to hit her.

This chapter is from Inkirani’s point of view, for the first time in the book (and, I believe, the first time in the series, since in Alliance of Equals her motives and intentions were being concealed from the audience). So now we know how sincere she was about what she told Tocohl.
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Neogenesis – Chapter 3 part II

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In which Tolly does some housecleaning.

There’s a moment, when Tolly is reflecting on the horrors of being forced to do things against one’s will, when I get the feeling he’s recalling a specific thing from his own past. I wonder if we’ll be hearing more about it, at some point when he has less urgent things on his mind. (And I wonder if it has anything to do with the question of how Thirteen-Sixty-Two became Tolly Jones.)
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Neogenesis – Chapter 2 part I

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Ahab-Esais

In which Tocohl wakes up briefly.

The good news is, Tocohl didn’t choose to throw in her lot with one of the bad guys. The bad news is, that means she’s been taken captive instead.
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Neogenesis – Chapter 1 part I

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Surebleak

In which we are reunited with various people already resident on Surebleak.

As the first chapter of the latest book of a series, this is mainly concerned with reminding the reader (or introducing them if they’re entering the series here) who everyone is and what they’ve been up to. It’s quite a long chapter, which might simply be that it’s a long series and there are a lot of characters to catch up on — but then, we don’t catch up on everybody, which suggests that these might be just the characters we need to know about to follow what’s going to happen in this novel. Which suggests there’s going to be a lot happening.

(Just how long a chapter the first chapter is depends whether the first part of the novel set on Surebleak, divided into three sections headed I, II & III, is one chapter or three. I wrote the paragraph above thinking of the whole thing as one chapter, but on reflection, I think I’m going to blog it as three chapters, if only so that the blog entries are a reasonable length.)
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Alliance of Equals – Chapter 35

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Admiral Bunter

In which Padi accepts her nature.

And so Aunt Anthora’s gift does come back into relevance – and now, considering also how interested she was to learn Padi had opened it, and what the occasion of that was, I’m wondering if Anthora somehow intended it to assist in Padi’s transition.

Alliance of Equals – Chapter 33

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Admiral Bunter

In which things are concealed.

Padi has finally had an opportunity to do the thing she was too-ready to do at the beginning of the novel, and found that she doesn’t like it.

As I follow Tolly’s reasoning, the problem is that there’s no certainty about what Admiral Bunter will do once the core mandate is removed. The Admiral says, now, that he trusts Tolly, and he might even mean it, now – but once Tolly has restored his freedom, he’ll be faced with the immediate situation of another person in a position to do him over the way Inki did, or worse, which is a definite problem. And, as Tolly says, the Admiral’s toolset for dealing with definite problems has historically tended toward immediate lethality as the best and only solution.

I’m a bit bemused that Tarona Rusk fell for Shan’s false compliance so easily. Partly, I suppose, it’s that she sees what she wants and expects to see; and also that what she sees of Shan is only what he wants her to see. I get the feeling that, for all she mocked him for being only a Healer, it’s his Healer training that’s giving him the advantage here.