Back on Vorlak, a black, mountainous, ancestral castle covers and burrows deep into an atoll from where straight fused stone walls rise to watchtowers and missile turrets. Wind drives low clouds bronzed by the hidden sun, whips grey-green waves and whistles through warm air. Surf booms and spindrift hits Donnan. Both sound cold while the boat carrying him and Ger Nenna rolls and lurches. We summarize and paraphrase but also advise blog readers to read or reread Poul Anderson's text.
Donnan must cope with this alien environment and also with the possibility that he will be killed on entering the castle. However, the being that might kill him is:
"'...the boss of this planet...'" (p. 97)
- while the human survivors have:
"'Nothing to lose.'" (ibid.)
And Donnan knows how to turn such facts to his advantage: a true Andersonian hero.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I have almost no doubt * I * would fail in Donnan's place! Alas, I know too well I'm not a Holger Carlsen, Nicholas van Rijn, Dominic Flandry, Manse Everard, or Anson Guthrie.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment