Monday 1 July 2013

Intermissions

The main narrative of Poul Anderson's The Game Of Glory is about the activities of Diana Crowfeather and her two nonhuman companions. Anderson skillfully interrupts this narrative with sometimes shorter chapters presenting a wider perspective -

Chapter Four: 5 pages of dialogue between Magnusson and his wife on the eve of his insurrection;
Chapter Six: 5 pages in which the Merseian Roidhun's Grand Council discusses the news that Magnusson has risen;
Chapter Eight: 10 pages on the two faces of war, the face of technology, organization, strategy, tactics and philosophy and the face that is different for every individual;
Chapter Eleven: 11 pages about a Merseian raid intended to confuse the Terrans;
Chapter Twelve: 9 pages in which Dominic and Miriam Flandry discuss the war;
Chapter Eighteen: 15 pages about a meeting between Magnusson and Flandry;
Chapter Twenty-One: 8 pages summarizing the personal and family history that had led to the Magnusson rebellion;
Chapter Twenty-Two: 6 pages about the aftermath in the Patrician System and on Merseia.

That leaves fifteen chapters for the main narrative which I am currently rereading.

No comments: