This concluding chapter is an extended action sequence which for me is an anticlimax. Kintyre goes to where the villain might be and sees a parked car which is unlocked. As in Anderson's Murder Bound, the owner's name is in registration information on the steering column. Thus, Kintyre confirms that the villain is nearby and also is able to sabotage his car. The rest is a fight on a dark beach. There is one further Machiavelli quotation but this one is from his private correspondence. Anderson's following volume, Murder Bound, does not tell us what becomes of Kintyre and Corrine.
We artificially differentiate the contemporary from the cosmic although, of course, the former is merely a minute part of the latter. Inhabitants of extra-solar planets must also have their domestic affairs. We will maybe follow up these posts on the Trygve Yamamura novels by quoting some descriptions of contemporary scenes in Anderson's sf and fantasy novels where the author makes the cosmic setting explicit.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And, to me, the "anticlimax" in the ending of MURDER IN BLACK LETTER was how it focused on Kintyre, not Yamamura. But that's a now rather old complaint of mine, the minimal role played by Yamamura in the book.
I found Anderson's USE of contemporary times (as distinct from simply describing them) much more satisfactory in THE DEVIL'S GAME and the 20th century parts of THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS. And the Yamamura short story, "Dead Phone," was more satisfactory than his three mystery novels.
Ad astra! Sean
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