By now, I should be able to anticipate Andersonian moments of realization. When, expecting death at the hands of their kzinti captors, Robert and Dorcas Saxtorph embrace, an exchange like the following should be all too predictable:
"Saxtorph lurched where he stood. 'Fanden i helvede!' he roared." (p. 286)
He explains that this is Danish for "The Devil in Hell." Then he shares his revelation with Dorcas but not with the reader. We must wait to see his plan work to learn what it is. She asks, "'What if we fail?'" (ibid.) but, of course, they have no alternative but to proceed. Onward, Earthlings (or "monkeys" from the kzinti pov).
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, "moments of realization" is one of the tropes to be found in Anderson's works. I am sure other writers have used similar means for their heroes finding ways out of predicaments, but not as often or as distinctly as we see in Anderson's stories.
Ad astra! Sean
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