When Trygve Yamamura, private detective, presents his card to Judith Mendel, she responds:
"'Goodness! This is a surprise. I've heard about you, the way you solved that Samurai sword case. Do come in. There's coffee on the stove, or would you prefer tea? I never thought I'd entertain a legend.'" (p. 74)
We have had the tea or coffee discussion on the blog. See here.
Judith exaggerates. The Samurai sword case had been in the newspapers "'...last year...'" (p. 77) so Yamamura is not yet a legend although maybe he will become one?
This passage confirms SM Stirling's comment in an earlier combox that the three Yamamura novels cover only a couple of years, especially since Perish By The Sword is the first and Murder Bound is the third. By contrast, Anderson's Dominic Flandry series covers its central character's entire career.
Anderson's Nicholas van Rijn is definitely a legend in his own lunch time. See:
An Organization And A Myth?
Mirkheim, Chapter XIX
In fact, we have discussed legends quite a lot. See the blog search result for legend.
9 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And the Founder of the Terran Empire, Manuel Argos, is mentioned as also becoming legendary. The "preface" to "The Star Plunderer" says Manuel I was a "...man who even in his own time had become a legend."
And the beginning of "A Tragedy of Errors" says "later ages" wove legends around Roan Tom, either admiring or hostile.
Sean
Sean,
But it is good that the Technic History also covers everyday people who do not become legends.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I'm not sure I quite understand your point. I agree there are many characters in the stories who did not become legendary (unlike Nicholas van Rijn, David Falkayn, Manuel I, Dominic Flandry, Roan Tom, or even Adzel the Wide Faring).
Sean
Sean,
The heroes of "The Saturn Game," "Wings of Victory," "The Problem of Pain," "How To Be Ethnic...," "Season of Forgiveness," "Wingless," "Rescue on Avalon," "A Little Knowledge," THE NIGHT FACE, "The Sharing of Flesh."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That does clarify what you meant. I think, to be a "legendary" character in the Technic series, you needed to be either a series character OR someone who became renowned for what he had done. Preferably both.
Sean
Kaor, Paul!
I missed it in my previous reading of this blog piece, and I'm sure it was merely a typo, but "Anderson's Nicholas van Rijn is definitely a legend in his own LUNCH TIME"??? Well, Old Nick was fond of good food!
Sean
Sean,
Not a typo. It's a sort of joke phrase over here. Interesting that you missed it the first time.
Paul
I have just found that you can find explanations or discussions of the phrase if you google it.
Kaor, Paul!
I can miss many things in a first or hasty reading of a text! That is one reason for REREADING a story or book, etc.
I have done that too, looking up words or phrases online.
Sean
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