Wind On Ishtar

Fire Time, IX.

"'Well, Ian, what are your ill tidings?'

"Sparling told him. He stood silent for a space, save that the wind rustled his mane. The scar on his brow was livid." (p. 107)

We notice, first, a pause after receiving bad news, time to think. In a film, there would be a moment without dialogue although the wind would be audible. In a comic strip, there should be a "silent" panel with neither speech balloon nor caption. It would be harder to depict the wind. 

Secondly, of course, the omnipresent Andersonian wind underlines and punctuates the dialogue. 

Thirdly, does Larreka's vivid scar signal to us that Larreka himself is "livid"? I guess yes. Sparling is the current viewpoint character so that we are not told directly what Larreka either thinks or feels but we also know that we should heed every clue in Anderson's dense prose.

Look at the "ADVENTURES IN SPACE" boxed set:

There Will Be Time belongs with Maurai and Orion Shall Rise;

Fire Time belongs with The Star Fox;

The Enemy Stars belongs with "The Ways of Love."

These three novels do not belong together.