Tag Archives: Val Con yos’Phelium’s name

I Dare – Chapter 5

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Day 50
Standard Year 1393

Lytaxin
Erob’s Medical Center

In which Miri has visitors.

Forward again now to the day Plan B ended on, for which we now have a specific date.

It is beginning to become apparent that one of the disadvantages of possessing a mystical bond so rare it’s frequently considered mythical is that it might complicate one’s medical situation in ways your average medicial technician is probably not trained to recognise, let alone deal with.

Although, that said, part of the entertainment of this chapter is that in some ways hospitals haven’t changed at all in however many centuries it’s been.

Carpe Diem – Chapter 41

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Vandar
Fornem’s Gap

In which Miri launches and Val Con dances.

In Miri’s scene, we get a bit more detail about the last days of Klamath. This is the first time she’s mentioned Skel.

In Val Con’s scene, there’s a glimpse of one of the reasons the Clutch have such long names. Each part of the name identifies an aspect of the self; together, they serve as a reminder of who one is.

It’s interesting that the aspect of Val Con’s self connected to his newest name has nothing to do with the actual words which make up the name. The name “Tough Guy” isn’t about him being a tough guy; it’s a marker for the change in Val Con’s life and self that came about as a consequence of meeting Miri, the person who bestowed the name. And in that respect, it’s like the stick-knife which Val Con bestowed on Miri; though Edger and his brothers may have been mistaken about the spirit of the specific gesture, seeing in it a significance not intended by the giver, they were basically correct that underneath it something significant was taking place.

Carpe Diem – Chapter 13

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Liad
Solcintra Port

In which Cheever McFarland has a delivery for the First Speaker of Clan Korval.

I have a feeling I’m going to be spending a lot of this tetralogy marking off occasions where something appeared for the first time in the Liaden Universe. Here’s one: first published appearance of the Tree.

Among several other firsts, of course, including the first appearance (in order of publication or of internal chronology) of Cheever McFarland.

If Shan says that Nova is in a meeting with Mr dea’Gauss then I’m sure it’s true, but I wonder if they wouldn’t have arranged some such thing in any case, so that Shan might have an excuse to talk to Cheever first. He’s definitely taking the opportunity to try and get an idea of who Cheever McFarland is and how he came to be involved in the present situation.

Cheever is undeniably very struck by Nova’s appearance, but it’s difficult to say whether that’s significant. Maybe he’s in a particularly susceptible frame of mind because he’s so tired. Maybe she just has that effect on everybody. (We already know that she’s accounted a beauty among Liadens. What impression she usually makes on Terrans, we don’t have enough data to say.)

Carpe Diem – Chapter 7

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Liad
Trealla Fantrol

In which Val Con’s siblings receive news of his doings.

The mention of “children, cats, and dogs” as potential hazards to navigation is, I think, the first mention of there being dogs in Korval’s Valley, or indeed on Liad. In fact, I’m not sure it isn’t the only mention of dogs at all in the series (outside of Necessity’s Child, which has a major character with a dog). Characters in the Liaden Universe are much more likely to be cat people, like their creators.

Speaking of children, we get a run-down of the youngest generation of yos’Galans: Shan’s daughter Padi has been mentioned before, as has his foster-son Gordy (who would be about 18 Standards old now), but this is the first mention of Nova’s son Syl Vor and of Anthora’s twins, Shindi and Mik. Unsurprisingly, in the latter case, since they’re “brand new” — which is a reminder that just as Val Con’s relatives are unaware of what he’s been up to lately, so is he unaware of their latest news.

Agent of Change – Chapter 20

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In which Agent of Change Val Con yos’Phelium meets his death.

Hmm. The glossary in the back of Pilot’s Choice is quite explicit that “Entranzia volecta” is High Liaden, with the Low equivalent being “Tra’sia volecta”. Then again, Miri says she understood that bit, so maybe her complaint about Val Con springing Low Liaden on her applies only to the “cha’trez”, which is definitely Low Liaden. That just leaves the question of whether it’s likely that Val Con would mix High and Low Liaden in a single three-word sentence.

On a less confusing note of drawing-information-from-other-stories: Given what we know from the prequels about Liaden customs, the non-verbal components of Val Con’s leave-taking say a lot about his regard for Miri and his hopes for the future, though Miri herself is no more able to translate than she is able to translate the murmured comment that precedes them. (I wonder whether Val Con would have done the same if Miri did possess the knowledge to interpret, or if he only allows himself to make the declaration because it won’t be understood.)

Agent of Change – Chapter 18

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In which several people are given things to think on.

Miri and Val Con are clear of Lufkit, but they’re not clear of trouble yet. Justin Hostro is sending people after them —

— I find myself wondering how he was able to discover their destination, when so far the name of Volmer has been spoken only in the hearing of Turtles. Perhaps Watcher mentioned it while he was in Xavier Ing’s custody, though that seems unlikely; a more plausible possibility is that the process of setting the ship for the journey included filing a destination with local traffic control —

— and near the end of the chapter we’re introduced to a new group of people, who act as a reminder that there are other dangers in the wide universe, which Miri and Val Con might now be heading toward.

Agent of Change – Chapter 3

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In which the man who was not Terrence O’Grady recalls Val Con yos’Phelium.

I am reminded of something Sharon Lee says in one or another of the various places she’s talked about the origins of this novel: that when she first started telling herself stories about what eventually became the Liaden Universe, they were about Val Con the master spy on his own, but after a while Miri came into things because — as near as I can remember the wording — Val Con was in need of someone who still knew what truth looked like.

To Cut an Edge

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In which the Edger does something hasty.

Back to Korval, but not to Liad, for Val Con is outworld on his preliminary Scout exam.

This is another story where I feel like I’d probably have more to say if I were reading it for the first time.

I like all the characters in this; they’re strongly drawn and make the most of the limited screen time they get. (An un-looked-for advantage of e-readers is that I no longer have to stop and ask myself “Can I say ‘screen time’ when it’s on paper instead of a screen?”) Edger’s first scene also does some good compact work at showing the Turtles’ society and their idea of doing things in a timely manner.

It’s probably just a coincidence, but I notice that in this stretch of stories which introduce (or re-introduce as adults) the main players of the new generation, Pat Rin’s story is next to Natesa’s and Val Con’s is next to Miri’s. (But no Shan story to go next to Priscilla’s, apparently. Yet.)

Tomorrow: “Shadow Partner”