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Local Custom – Chapter 16

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In which there are sparkles to touch, and sparkles not to touch.

The conversation with the shocked driver is an interesting illustration of mode. It’s not possible to directly express concern for a person’s well-being in Employer to Employee, but it may be possibly to express it indirectly. (There’s another similar demonstration of the restrictions of the mode, following a different kind of shock, in “Intelligent Design”, when we get there.)

It’s also an illustration of Er Thom’s melant’i: I bet it’s not every high-ranking Liaden would deal so gently with an employee who nearly ran his son over, even if it was the kid’s fault and nobody was actually harmed.

The epigraph for this chapter is interesting, since it relates to nothing that happens in the chapter. It does, however, help set the scene for chapters to come.

Local Custom – Chapter 14

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In which Anne agrees to go to Liad.

Anne’s joke about enquiring into the suitability of Er Thom’s genes really is an awkward one, not only because of the implication that they might not have come up to scratch, but also because, according to Liaden propriety, it is no more than the truth to say that she should have done it before conceiving Shan, and if she had much of the present difficulty might have been avoided. It speaks well of the strength of Er Thom’s sense of humour that he’s able to find it amusing.

Local Custom – Chapter 9

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In which Anne comes home to find Er Thom and Shan gone.

The dragon on Korval’s shield, so Er Thom tells Shan, is named Megelaar. I didn’t think anything of it the first time I read Local Custom (why shouldn’t the dragon have whatever name Korval chooses to give it?), but having read “Dragon Tide” it’s interesting that the name fits the pattern of the dragon family in that story. It’s not inappropriate – there are plenty of parallels that make it clear the Laar is a relative of Korval’s Tree – but I do wonder how Korval knew, when the only person who could have told them is the Tree, and the Tree isn’t one for generating vocal utterances. (I also wonder whether there was a real dragon named Megelaar, and if so why he was singled out for having his name immortalised. The first of the line, perhaps? …or the last?)

Another thing I wonder, speaking of having read other things first: I read the novels in more-or-less publication order, so when I reached Local Custom, I already knew how Er Thom and Anne’s story turned out. How does this chapter read to someone coming to it from the other direction, who knows Er Thom only from the eight preceding chapters? Does it seem more likely that Anne’s fears are justified?