If we are reading
The Earth Book Of Stormgate after the earlier Technic History volumes and specifically after
Trader To The Stars and
Mirkheim, then "Esau" is our third sight of van Rijn's penthouse on the roof of the Winged Cross in Chicago Integrate whereas if instead we are reading the Technic History for the first time in
The Technic Civilization Saga, then it is our first. Emil Dalmady tells van Rijn of his experiences on Suleiman just as, in "The Master Key," other characters come to the Winged Cross to recount to van Rijn their adventures on Cain. This is a comfortable narrative form. We remain seated. Van Rijn remains seated. His employees recount conflicts that are past and which they have survived. In "The Master Key," the comfortable conversation continues throughout the narrative, not just at the beginning and the end. Maybe tomorrow we will take a closer look at "Esau."
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And mention of "Esau" almost inevitably makes me remember the role played in that story by the court dwarfs of the Thalassocracy we see on Suleiman. And of how human royal households on Earth also used to have court dwarfs.
Ad astra! Sean
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