In which two men demonstrate their utility.
The scene after the comet enters its transition phase gives us the title drop for the book, and a key theme for this story.
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Dead Men Dream – Chapter 3
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 26
Bechimo
Crew Lockers
In which news is received of absent friends.
There I go again: the question I asked last entry is immediately answered, and not in the way I expected.
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The Gathering Edge – Chapter 25
Bechimo
Sync Shift
In which some things are opened that had been carefully sealed.
I don’t think I said this when it came up earlier: I like that Theo’s friends don’t all like each other just because all they like Theo. And that, on the other hand, it’s not held against them that they don’t; that’s just the way it goes, sometimes.
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Alliance of Equals – Chapter 7
Dutiful Passage
In which Apprentice Trader yos’Galan secures her milaster.
Parts of this, with the ‘prentice trader visiting a new planet with the master trader, inevitably remind me of Jethri’s apprenticeship in Balance of Trade. (I also recollect how the numbers being haggled changed from the short story to the novel of Balance of Trade, and note that so far in this novel the authors have managed to avoid committing to specific numbers.)
Being of a nasty, suspicious turn of mind, I intend to assume in the absence of contrary evidence that Technician First Class Higgs is in some way a relative of Airman Third Class Higgs from Girl Genius.
I get the distinct impression that when Shan moves to intervene in the confrontation at the end of the chapter, it’s not his daughter’s health he’s worried for.
Necessity’s Child – Chapter 33
In which Rys goes for a mug.
There are several things to be suspicious of in this chapter, but I don’t know if I’m suspicious of them only because I know where the story’s going; I can’t remember what I thought of them the first time I read the novel.
Droi’s anger, “anger that was more than half vey“, is interesting, both for the half that is vey (that is, inspired by the gift by which she sees things that others don’t see), and for the half that isn’t.
Moon on the Hills
Surebleak
In which Korval acquires a new neighbour.
It’s an evocative name, “World’s End”. There’s the obvious sense in which the place is named, referring to a physical boundary, a place where the world comes to an end, but there are other things it could mean, such as a temporal boundary, a time when a world comes to an end. Sometimes a person’s world can come to an end even though the planet continues untouched. Yulie’s world might have ended when he lost the last of his kin. It might have ended today, if Boss Conrad had been someone other than the person he is.
(And isn’t it interesting how, when he’s talking to Yulie, he’s mostly Pat Rin but sometimes he’s Boss Conrad for a moment or two?)
It’s also interesting to speculate how things might have gone differently if Yulie’s brother hadn’t got himself killed before Boss Conrad showed up, and had been the one handling the negotiation for road access.
I Dare – Chapter 51
Day 54
Standard Year 1393
Dutiful Passage
Jump
In which various people spend time in transit.
I haven’t been noting it every time a relevant detail has come up, but I think by now we have to acknowledge that in the Liaden universe cats are sapient and capable of dramliz-type abilities. Some cats, anyway. Merlin, at least. (Come to that, I wonder if Val Con knew how appropriate the name was when he chose it…)
I feel like I should say something about the scene with Hazenthull and Nelirikk, but nothing particular is coming to me.
It’s good to see Trilla again.
I Dare – Chapter 49
Day 54
Standard Year 1393
Solcintra
Liad
In which Anthora is boxed in.
Well, that’s one way to prevent Nova sorting things out by going in front of the Council and accusing the Department: send someone in front of the Council to accuse Korval of everything the Department has done.
Interesting that it’s Aragon who’s been maneuvred into making the accusation. Aragon has been mentioned several times as an old and respected High House, so an accusation from Aragon will be taken seriously; it’s a significant step up from the last time we saw somebody make an accusation in Council at the Department’s instigation, when it was an ambitious clan hovering around the border between the high and mid levels. Also interesting because the most recent of the Agents of Change that have been named to us, earlier in this book, was a chel’Mara, and chel’Mara looks to Aragon — so it might even be her specifically that Aragon is about to ask about when he’s interrupted.
Because of course there’s an interruption: having Korval called before the Council to answer an accusation might be an effective way to force Anthora out of Jelaza Kazone, but letting things run on long enough for her to actually answer would be risky. I presume the interruption was part of the plan, for that reason and because it provided the excuse to hustle Anthora into the room where the trap lay ready, but I wonder how the Department managed it. Did they know their targets so well as to be able to predict that attacking dea’Gauss at a particular time would result in a Master Accountant interrupting the Council hearing? Worrying thought, that.
Having done this re-read, paying more attention to names than I usually do, I recognize everyone in the list of Korval’s allies and friends. Justus is the clan of Ken Rik, Guayar is the clan of Clonak, Ixin is the clan of Jethri and of Aelliana’s prize student Rema, Reptor is the clan of Aelliana’s space pirates, and Mizel is the clan that produced Aelliana herself. (The fact that it’s counted now among Korval’s friends is a pretty clear sign that Aelliana’s mother is no longer delm.)
The date issue is compounding itself: if the chapter heading was wrong about it being Day 53 when Anthora was told to present herself to the Council the next day, this chapter must also be wrong about it being Day 54 when she presents herself to the Council. But I still think that’s more straightforward than the alternative.
I Dare – Chapter 20
Day 308
Standard Year 1392
Blair Road
Surebleak
In which the people meet the new boss.
Following on from what I said last time, I note that when telling Ms Audrey about the Sinner’s Carpet Pat Rin is again selective with the details, and selects a different set than when talking to Jim Snyder.
On a subject I’ve been keeping track of: Ms Audrey’s guess is that Pat Rin’s preferred game is dice, rather than cards, but his reply is exquisitely uninformative.
I Dare – Chapter 14
Liad
Department of Interior Command Headquarters
In which Commander of Agents thinks inside the box.
I worry about the test subject, and his cha’leket. As far as I recall, we never hear of them again, and while it is not long until Korval will be taking the fight to the Department, I am not confident of their surviving even that long. The key question is perhaps whether the technicians anticipate a use for the test subject after the present project is completed to their Commander’s satisfaction. If they decide to hold on to him, there might be some chance of him living to see that rescue after all. If, on the other hand, they don’t see any need for him once they consider that they’re ready for Anthora, obviously they’re not going to just let him go.