Clouds and ice make Dennitza whiter than Terra when seen from space. Oceans are azure and dazzling. As Flandry and Kossara bail out on gravbelts, they experience:
"...a roar of night winds." (p. 520)
- then descend to:
"...the unpeopled taiga north of the Kazan." (ibid.)
(I would have guessed that "taiga" meant some kind of terrain other than a forest.)
In perhaps my first year at school, maybe 1954, I was frightened by a film of men bailing out of a plane and was allowed to leave the school hall. A few years later, I would have enjoyed a film, if there were one, of Flandry and Kossara bailing out of the Hooligan.
Today, walking past the back of the Infirmary, I was for the first time ever right beside the helipad when a helicopter circled around, descended just above my head and almost landed (it was only a training flight), raising a strong, cold wind that blew my hat off into a line of cars that had been temporarily stopped by a barrier during the helicopter's approach. That would have been an exciting experience for a young schoolboy.
(A friend who has been mentioned on the blog was once flown to the Infirmary with a broken back.)
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
But "taiga" can mean or include what is called a "boreal forest," characterized by trees like pines, spruces, larches, etc.
I only wish somebody in the film industry would take an interest in making Nicholas van Rijn or Dominic Flandry movies!
I am sorry about the friend who suffered a broken back. I can only hope he healed and recovered.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment