Sunday 9 January 2022

Conversations

Years ago now, I read a series of sf novels. (I will leave out the titles and author's name for now.) Each novel had many chapters. Each chapter recounted a conversation between two or three characters. However, the conversations never seemed to advance the plot of the novel. It always seemed that the main action was happening somewhere else. 

I mention this to contrast that experience with Poul Anderson's ability to introduce a wide cast of characters in conversations that advance a plot at a rapid pace. In The People Of The Wind:

Chapter I
Conversations between:
Daniel and Christopher Holm
Christopher/Arinnian and Eyath
 
Chapter II
Conversation between:
Daniel Holm and Ferune
 
Chapter III
Conversations between:
Arinnian and Hrill
Eyath and Vodan
Ekrem Saracoglu and Luisa Cajal
 
Chapter IV
Conversations between:
Philippe Rochefort and his crew of two
Philippe and Eve Davisson
 
Chapter V
Phone conference between:
Matthew Vickery, President of the Parliament of Man
Ferune, First Marchwarden of the Lauran System
Daniel Holm, Second Marchwarden
Liaw, Wyvan of the High Khruath
 
In III, Saracoglu is the Terran Governor of Sector Pacis.
In  IV, Rochefort is a Lieutenant (j.g.).

War preparations affect every rank, both sides. These chapters convey that.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And we see a similar pattern in the opening chapters of ENSIGN FLANDRY:

Chapter 1, Lord Hauksberg confers with crucial members of the Policy Board on Terra.
Chapter 2, Commander Abrams spars with the Merseian Runei the Wanderer on Starkad.
Chapter 3, the Protector Brechdan Ironrede converses with his son on Merseia.

And it was only in Chapter 4 that we finally see Flandry himself. But the first three chapters ADVANCED the plot of the story.

Ad astra! Sean