Always caught in the details of a Poul Anderson text, I have not been in any hurry to tackle the mystery of Perish By The Sword. Despite having read the novel at least twice before, I honestly do not remember the identity of the murderer which maybe shows that that was unimportant to me in the first place.
My guess at this stage is Keith Deacon - the one centrally placed character who might have a motive and who certainly has both means and opportunity. It is he who ensures that both Mike Stefanik and Janice Colquhuon are out of town on the day when Arthur Colquhuon is decapitated in Stefanik's apartment. On the previous readings, I was not even trying to find the answer.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I recently finished rereading Drake/Stirling's THE HAMMER, which I thought a real page turner. Maybe I should reread PERISH BY THE SWORD NEXT?
Sean
Sean,
Ali's review of PERISH... has diverted me from THE HAMMER but, of course, I will return to the latter.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And I'm very keen to know what you might think of THE HAMMER. I have some thoughts about that book as well, but they are best left to when you are ready to discuss THE HAMMER.
Sean
Sean,
As you know, I discuss passages from a book while reading the book and have already focused on a few details in THE HAMMER. But, in plot terms, the characters have only just set off on their expedition. I am in about Chapter Three or so.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
There is not so much "action" in THE HAMMER as there was in THE FORGE. Much of the book touches on what might be called the theory and practice of war when it comes to different kinds of people. That is, tactics that would work against barbarians would not succeed against a civilized people. Basically, Raj's strategy against the Squadron was: tactical defensive, but strategic offensive.
We also see a good deal of reflections about Raj understanding WHY Governor Barholm was so paranoid: successful generals nearly always became threats to the reigning Governor. Raj was determined not to rebel, not to aim for the Chair, to do his bit to break the cycle of fear that was rotting out the Civil Government.
And we see a pretty fair amount of Raj and Center's conversations as well.
Sean
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