Tag Archives: Rakina Lirgael

Local Custom – Chapter 33

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In which the best service Er Thom might do Syntebra el’Kamin would be to arrange matters so they need never meet again.

We’re getting toward the climax of the story now, which means the pace is picking up, which means the chapters are getting shorter, which means that if one is reading a chapter per day the suspense is being agonizingly dragged out. Argh.

I don’t fault the authors for it, since it’s not in the least implausible, but it is remarkably convenient that Syntebra el’Kamin is so thoroughly unsuited to be part of Korval, thus leaving no shadow on our hope for Er Thom to get together with Anne.

I raised my eyebrows when Syntebra thought of Er Thom as “old”, and went to check the timeline. Er Thom is only 35 years old here, but Syntebra is only 20, so he’s nearly twice her age; she was born around the time of “Pilot of Korval”, when Er Thom was already a qualified pilot and old enough to be travelling on the Passage and getting himself into trouble in an adult’s melant’i.

Local Custom – Chapter 32

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In which preparations are made for the gather, and for afterward.

I had wondered, on this re-read, at noticing that Er Thom’s first visit to Master Jeweler Moonel was before he knew Anne would need a party dress and jewels. But here is the answer: two pieces of jewelry, from two visits.

I’m not sure I’m quite clear on how many personages were involved in the drama of Eba yos’Phelium and her thodelm: is Daav yos’Phelium, Sixth Delm Korval, an extra player, or is he himself the thodelm in question? I mean, Petrella spoke of them as different people, but I would have expected that Delm Korval is also Thodelm yos’Phelium (has that ever been explicitly established?). And if they were both the same person, but he was acting in one melant’i at one time and in another melant’i at another time, perhaps a Liaden would refer to them as if they were separate people. (Look at how often, with our current Daav, Delm Korval and Er Thom’s cha’leket are treated as different people.)

Local Custom – Chapter 30

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In which Anne plans for the future.

This is such a painful chapter. Anne in distress, and Er Thom innocently making everything worse — and all the times when they’re so close to clearing everything up.

Local Custom – Chapter 28

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In which Master Trader yos’Galan attends to his duties.

Dutiful Passage is large enough that it remains in orbit, and Er Thom needs to take a shuttle up to it. I was going to say that I don’t think we’ve seen many ships that large so far, but of course Ixin’s trade ship Elthoria was the same (how soon the memory goes!). Not to mention Dutiful Passage‘s venerable predecessor Quick Passage; now that was a large ship.

The scene aboard the Passage is dotted with retrospectively-familiar names. First mate Kadia and cargomaster Ken Rik will still be serving in those positions next time we have a scene aboard, and I’m pretty sure Arsdred will come into it somewhere too, although I don’t recall offhand which of the planets on the Passage‘s route it is (and am making a point of not going to look it up; time enough to find out when the time arrives).

The appearance of Jyl ven’Apon is another one of those instances where extra nuance is added by knowing things from other stories, though I think even if you don’t the basic idea still comes across that her mode of adornment, multiple earrings and all, is not that of a person accustomed to proper society.