Prince Torric's chamber:
looks elegant and colorful;
feels warm and comfortable;
is scented by incense;
resounds to the sounds of recorded music and of rattling dice;
is stained with the drunk prince's green wine.
Effortlessly, Poul Anderson evokes all five of the senses to subliminal effect while the reader's attention is focused on the content of the conversation between Torric and Flandry. The latter is like a demon assigned to tempt the prince. He has straightened out money matters for Torric yet wins money from him at dice. Torric will rule a single planetary system? Surely that is not enough? Torric's elder brother, Cerdic, will succeed their father as king? Surely the nobles used to elect each new king from among the previous king's sons? (They did and that led to civil wars.) Surely Torric's duty is to work for the good of the realm by becoming king? His mother was higher born than Cerdic's. Of course Torric does not want to bribe his brother's friends but Torric's own friends might...
Flandry is tireless and relentless. Torric's young, drunk, unsophisticated mind is bombarded with incitements to disaffection. Flandry's drinking, dicing dialogues with leading Scothans are hard work and effective.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I've actually been wondering how * I * would do had I been in Torric's place, being beguiled by Flandry! Would I have seen thru his wiles and realized Flandry was trying to manipulate me? Maybe, but probably not if I was as unsophisticated as Torric!
Ad astra! Sean
Flandry is very talented, but he's also the product of a much older civilization.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Meaning he could also draw on a much deeper and varied body of knowledge and experience than what the Scothans had. I agree with that. And we see the Ardazirhop Intelligence officer who interrogated Flandry in HUNTERS OF THE SKY CAVE making exactly that point.
Ad astra! Sean
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