Monday, 18 July 2016

Seasonal Change, Sympathetic Clergy And Specialized Terminology

The Merman's Children.

"Summer was yielding to autumn. Leaves seemed paler green than erstwhile, a few already brown, red, gold; the sky too had gone wan, pierced by geese whose cries awoke wordless longings; when the sun went under the treetops, a breeze that had been cool became chill." (p. 119)

Seasonal changes, sunsets and sunrises are major events in Poul Anderson's prose. Leaves change from green to gold, the breeze from cool to cold. Forest dwellers see changing colors, hear departing geese and feel cooling air. I think that we can verbalize those longings: we would like to fly away like the geese.

Tomislav, like Corentinus in Ys, wants to make conversions but meanwhile is friendly and helpful in practical matters.

"An alliance of the Subitj and Frankapan septs gave strong government." (p. 120)

There is much more here but that is enough for tonight.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Sympathetic clergy in the works of Poul Anderson? I can think of quite a few! A striking example being the Catholic priest win "Journeys End." Others being Fr. Moriarty in "The Word to Space," Brother Hugh de Tourneville in ROGUE SWORD, Brother Parvus (true, a friar rather than a priest) in THE HIGH CRUSADE, Fr. F.X. Axor in THE GAME OF EMPIRE, the Lutheran minister we see in OPERATION CHAOS, St. Martin and St. Corentinus in THE KING OF YS, etc. And there are others, I'm sure.

Sean