"The sound of hooves fell hollow beneath the moon and the clustered stars."
-Poul Anderson, "The Three-Cornered Wheel" IN Anderson, The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, 2009), pp. 199-261 AT IV, p. 237.
Hooves - on Earth, horses' hooves - can sound threatening, triumphant or festive. To Schuster, the fastigas' hooves sound hollow because the Chief Consecrate has just threatened him.
On Vanessa, David Falkayn is alone among enemies:
"As he walked to the compound, he felt their eyes bore at his back. His boots made a loud, lonely noise beneath the wind."
-Poul Anderson, "A Sun Invisible" IN The Van Rijn Method, pp. 263-315 AT II, p. 273.
Again, the boots sound lonely only because Falkayn is. More characteristically, Falkayn would feel confident and the sound of his walk would express that.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many other SF writers "put in" so much symbolism in simple SOUNDS? Not many, altho I think Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling were among them.
Sean
Tho' horses' hooves on a pavement -do- sound hollow, or somewhat 'resonant'.
ReplyDeleteThis is because a hoof is hollow -- it has a hard rim around about 3/4 of its circumference, but the interior is raised. Hence the hollow "clop" sound as it comes down; the sound is bouncing around inside for a bit.
And hence the old practice (referenced by Monty Python) of using two halves of a coconut to imitate the clopping sound.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
ReplyDeleteI used to take riding lessons and I still remember the hollowly clopping sounds made by the hooves of horses when they were walking on pavements.
Sean