I had skipped past the opening chapter so have glanced back at it. The Terrans make a bigger deal of the Emperor's Birthday than the British currently do of the King's, which we have recently passed: 14 November. Since King Charles' date of birth is 14 November 1948 and mine is 1 January 1949, he and I are the same age for most of the year with the King getting ahead in mid-November and me catching up in the New Year. Will I live into a fourth reign? The King has better medical care than me but is in poorer health so maybe this question is in the domain of my friend Andrea's preferred deity, Fortuna. This chapter introduces Crown Prince Josip who will have succeeded by the time of the third Flandry novel with disastrous consequences, his death later in the series sparking civil war and usurpation with loss of Imperial legitimacy. And that glance ahead covers most, although not all, of the remainder of the Flandry series. Each instalment, while it can be read as a discrete narrative, has its place in the series which has its place in the longer history, like the events in our lives.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember that first paragraph of Chapter One, and of how the court still felt bound to follow daylight around the globe for one exhausting ceremony after another in honor of the Emperor's birthday. And that's not bad, people still caring about the symbolic/ceremonial aspect of public life.
Given King Charles' age and health problems it doesn't seem likely he will have a long reign, but I hope he still has a reasonable number of years left.
And I recall how Stirling thinks very well of the King.
Ad astra! Sean
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