Dutiful Passage
Rostermin Breakout
In which Shan yos’Galan reads his mail.
Shan’s statement about “our time in this space” implies that he thinks Lute can’t manifest on the ship while it’s in Jump. I can’t think of anything specific to give him that idea, and he may just be fishing, but on the other hand I don’t at the moment recall any specific event that contradicts it.
Continue reading
Volmer
In which yos’Galan makes connections.
I can’t remember the last book in which we had so many bows in so few chapters. The last few books have either been set on Surebleak or involved people being off having adventures among the Terrans, so there hasn’t been so much opportunity for Liadens interacting.
Continue reading
Volmer
In which yos’Galan and Carresens begin an exchange.
The other thought I’d had about the people on the cover — in fact, the first thought I had on seeing it, and the only possibility I’d seriously entertained before Mar Tyn and Dyoli showed up — was that it was Padi accompanied by a new character we hadn’t met yet. I’d been becoming less confident about that possibility recently, as we got so far into the book without encountering any new character who fit the bill. I believe we have him now.
(I’ve commented before that I seem to have a tendency to ask questions and make guesses one chapter before the answer shows up. I consider that this says good things about how well paced the books are.)
Continue reading
Dutiful Passage
Private Meeting Room
In which Dyoli and Mar Tyn consider what’s to do.
Two thirds of the way into the book, and I still don’t know who the people on the cover are, but I’m beginning to consider the possibility that it might be Dyoli and Mar Tyn.
Continue reading
Dutiful Passage
En Route to Volmer
In which Shan consults several people regarding the future.
We now have the names and descriptions of all three planets of the Redlands system: apart from Colemeno, there is Ukarn, site of a mining operation, and Metlin, site of a scientific research base. (Metlin is the name of one of the Liaden weekdays; I don’t have any insights to offer about the etymology of the others.)
Continue reading
Dutiful Passage
Pommierport
In which there is an unexpected detour or two.
I think that when Priscilla talks about “ambient noise”, she doesn’t mean quite the same thing as the Haosa do when they talk about “the ambient”. If it is, it’s noteworthy that the course of action suggested by her training is to try to block it out.
Continue reading
In which Val Con and Miri have a busy morning.
I like “a salute so smart it could have driven itself into town”. And Val Con’s interactions with the cat.
Continue reading
Bechimo
Dockside
In which it is demonstrated that it is right to disarm norbears.
I wonder if there’s something particular Rig Tranza finds remarkable on his first sight of the new Theo, or if it’s just a general reaction to how much she’s changed. The air of command is pretty much new since he last saw her, for one thing.
Continue reading
Bechimo
Dockside
In which there are many meetings.
Any one of these problems would be relatively easy to deal with by itself; it’s the way they’re all happening at once that makes things difficult.
Continue reading
Bechimo
In which Bechimo is concerned for the safety of his crew.
We lead off immediately with the important news: despite Bechimo’s concerns about the Remastering Unit being affected by the Department’s attack, Win Ton is all right.
Well, okay, the important news is that Bechimo is still in one piece, but that’s pretty much implicit in the news about Win Ton, right?
(As the chapter progresses, though, there are hints that maybe Win Ton’s recovery wasn’t entirely unaffected.)
I’d like to know a bit more about how Bechimo “extrapolated this location”. It makes sense that a place like this wouldn’t be somewhere you’d be able to learn the co-ordinates of from piloting records – for that matter, if the main appeal of it is that nobody else can find it, being able to find the co-ordinates in piloting records would be a disqualification – but extrapolated from what? while seeking the answer to what question?