Wednesday 1 May 2024

Not Josserek But Cassiru

Poul Anderson, The Winter Of The World (New York, 1976).

Chapter II opens:

"Tornado alive, Josserek Derrain burst from his prison cabin." (p. 17)

I had misremembered Josserek's escape as opening this novel. Instead, Chapter I begins with an objective account of three men riding through a snow-covered landscape, which I had completely forgotten. Zhano and Kyrian conduct Casiru to Owlhaunt. Considerable information is conveyed in condensed form as if by an omniscient narrator. After a page and a half, the text begins to focus on Casiru and we come to realize that he is the viewpoint character of this chapter:

"Casiru thought..." (p. 10)

"Casiru strained his gaze ahead." (p. 11)

"...Casiru looked..." (ibid.)

"Casiru believed..." (ibid.)

Interruption here. More later.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Ha! I remember Casiru, he was one of the leaders of yet another of the organized crime gangs we sometimes see in Anderson's works: the Merseian Gethfennu, Leon Ammon on Irumclaw, Sumu the Fat on Unan Besar, etc.

Ad astra! Sean