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i_read_what2019-12-22 01:06 am
kalinara) wrote in i_read_what2019-12-22 01:06 am
Dragonsong - Chapter Nine
Last time on Dragonsong, Alemi and Elgion continued their epic bromance and I kvetched a bit more about world-building. This time we'll be back with Menolly and her cats fire lizards.
So we start off with Menolly waking up in her cave because the fire lizards are hungry. Apparently, the day before had been too wet for them to hunt, but today is much clearer. Menolly wakes up the lizards with some plans to find food.
She greets the other fire lizards at the beach, but they don't acknowledge her. Only the queen does. Menolly still greets them though because she feels like it's rude to ignore their presence. She's also having an issue with her boots: the soles are being warn down and she can feel the rocks through them. She's going to need to replace them somehow. She'll have to get a wherry, tan its hide, and find some way to sew it on.
She takes her lizards to the farthest cove, and we're told that the Dragon Stones look like knobs on the horizons. They find lots of spiderclaws though, and the lizards eat their fill. In the meantime, Menolly starts looking for a way to set a fire and stumbles onto a mound of fire lizard eggs. She doesn't see the queen about. A part of me wants her to try Impressing them too, just to see what the upper limit is.
Anyway, she does succeed in making a fire and starts baking some of the spiderclaws. She does some more exploring, looking for some greens to eat with her spiderclaws. It's while searching that she spots Thread on the horizon. She starts running toward her cave, the fire lizards flying with her. Then they all disappear.
Menolly considers going into the water for safety, but rules it out as she doesn't know how deep Thread needs to be to die. That seems reasonable. Some of the fire lizards are back, including an extra queen. She feels more protected as she runs, then suddenly there's a whoosh and a shadow. A brown dragon has come to rescue her. The rider helps her up and they're off. The poor fire lizards are trying vainly to follow but are left behind. Aw, poor little guys.
We get a nice outside perspective on what it's like to go between, as Menolly's sweat freezes, and she starts getting afraid she'll suffocate. She can't hear, see or feel anything. Menolly finds herself thinking about the Teaching Song and understanding it better. Then they arrive at Benden, which we're told is bigger than Half Circle by half again. It's nice to get an updated description of the Weyr, which is vaster than Menolly imagined.
The rider talks to her, calling her lad. He asks why she'd been out so far, and she explains that she'd been catching spiderclaws. She's worried that he'll realize exactly where she's from and tries to think of another nearby Hold. This feels like a very teenaged moment, since the dude seems pretty uninterested in any further explanation, and likely wouldn't be inclined to drag her back even if he knew. He seems to have the usual dragonrider people skills though, as his dragon (Branth) has to inform him that Menolly's injured: her feet are lacerated entirely after her run.
The dude manhandles her over his shoulder, which I'm not a fan of, and carries her into the lower Caverns. He calls Manora, and we find out that his name is T'gran.
And now we see why T'gran mistook Menolly for a boy: Elgion was also rescued from his own outdoor adventures and is in the same place. Now that Elgion knows the songwriter is a girl, he has to mistake Menolly for a boy so he doesn't put two and two together. This is a pointless attempt to drag out a reveal that honestly isn't that interesting. Elgion's wrapped up in his own embarrassment, until he's distracted by the sight of a fire lizard: it's Grail, F'nor's queen.
So that gives us a rough time frame of when we are. We'll get more details soon: it's not long after the Prideth-Wirenth mess, so F'nor and the now bereft Brekke are back at Benden. Which means Lessa is likely in the middle of her machinations to try to help Brekke, and F'lar is dying of sepsis or whatever actually causes someone to have "wound fever" for weeks on end.
We're told that the Weyr likes to reassure rescued victims with food. Elgion has to turn down thirds, while he's informed by T'gellan, a bronze wingleader, that Yanus has been informed of his safety. Apparently Yanus had been willing to mount a search, which "is a remarkable concession".
Because losing a Harper is more embarrassing than losing a child? God, I hate these people. I also hate that McCaffrey won't bother giving any of them the depth or complexity of a mud puddle. My slasher heart is amused that Elgion asks if Alemi is angry with him. I'm pretty sure Alemi marries a woman in a later book, but I'm amused to ship this. Apparently Alemi was "better pleased than Yanus to hear [he was] safe and scoreless at Benden." Yay, mutual! T'gellan asks if Elgion found fire lizard clutches, which they need terribly.
Elgion of course has failed, because that means that Menolly's find is more important now. Poor Elgion, he really does exist only to shill Menolly. This is annoying because Menolly is a good character in her own right: she's smart, sensible, earnest and goal oriented without being shrill or hyper-reactive. I just wish Ms. McCaffrey would let her stand on her own. She doesn't need to be shilled. She doesn't need to be superhumanly perfect. She doesn't need to be able to play EVERY instrument, and her story would have probably been exactly the same if she had only four or five fire lizards as opposed to nine.
I said this before, but Anne McCaffrey could have really done something interesting with Elgion. Menolly wants to be a Harper, but at this point in time it isn't completely clear what a Harper does. Robinton clearly has more clout than one would expect the leader of a guild of musicians to have. We know they teach songs. We know they perform them. But the Harpers seem to be as much agent as they are performers. Robinton is a member of F'lar's inner council, with Fanderal and Lytol. He's clearly influential. Elgion would be a glimpse into the world that Robinton controls, but unfortunately it doesn't involve Menolly so McCaffrey doesn't care.
Even though it DOES actually involve Menolly, because she wants to be a Harper.
So anyway, T'gellan and Elgion discuss fire lizards and their potential usefulness. We've heard this before, but not in this book, so I won't ding Ms. McCaffrey for repetitiveness. Not every reader of this book will have read Dragonquest. The real interesting part to me is that Lessa apparently thinks the fire lizards are a nuisance. I love Lessa so much.
Elgion uses the time to observe Weyr life, hoping to use his observations to get back into Yanus's good favor. He sees an injured dragon crying like a child over an injury, another one crying over an injured rider, and weyrlings soothing their "beasts". We can't not shill the Weyr here, as Elgion notes seeing youngsters filling firestone sacks and realizing they make less work of it than Sea Hold lads would have. He even gets to peek into the Hatching Ground.
T'gellan calls G'sel over to show his bronze lizard to Elgion. G'sel was the green rider introduced in Dragonquest that found his lizard in that clutch that F'nor first discovered. I like him, even though he doesn't really have a distinctive personality. Elgion is delighted to meet the fire lizard, Rill. He strokes his eye ridges, and Rill's "eyelids began to close in sensuous pleasure."
Um. Ew? That kind of sounds wrong.
T'gellan makes a teasing jab at G'sel, noting that the creatures have "no respect for degree" and I grumble at the way this series treats greens and green riders yet again. Green riders are front line fighters damnit. They chew firestone and burn flame out of the sky just like any other. They're small, fast and maneuverable. But they get no respect. And I can't help but connect that to the fact that their riders are men, who end up involved in mating flights with other men. It doesn't escape my notice that the few main character green riders are women.
Anyway, the men talk about Half Circle Hold, and Elgion has a standing invitation to fly a signal if he feels isolated so he can hang out for an evening in Benden Weyr. That sounds swanky and gives us an idea of how respected Harpers actually are. I just wish we got to see more of the why.
Elgion then is taken back to the Hold, though it's mentioned he'll likely get to be present for the Hatching. T'gellan cheats a bit and "times it" so Elgion can get back earlier. The Hold cheers for his safe return. T'gellan makes a nice show of praising Elgion for wanting to return immediately, but Lessa needed his report, which saves Elgion from a scolding. T'gellan continues by relaying the order that any fire lizard signs must be reported.
Alemi almost gets Elgion into trouble by mentioning the cave, but Elgion covers quickly and suggests the cave as a likely source to find fire lizard eggs. The chapter ends with Elgion getting ready to make his report to Yanus.
So this was fun. Mostly a set up chapter to introduce Menolly at the Weyr. I'm still annoyed by the needless dragging out of the Menolly-as-songwriter reveal, since Menolly's torn up feet provide a perfectly reasonable excuse for sticking around to witness later events. But I suppose it isn't dramatic or ego stroking enough.
It's a fun young adult novel, don't get me wrong. Menolly's a good protagonist. I just wish Ms. McCaffrey would relax a bit. We don't need all of these extra frills to appreciate the story.
So we start off with Menolly waking up in her cave because the fire lizards are hungry. Apparently, the day before had been too wet for them to hunt, but today is much clearer. Menolly wakes up the lizards with some plans to find food.
She greets the other fire lizards at the beach, but they don't acknowledge her. Only the queen does. Menolly still greets them though because she feels like it's rude to ignore their presence. She's also having an issue with her boots: the soles are being warn down and she can feel the rocks through them. She's going to need to replace them somehow. She'll have to get a wherry, tan its hide, and find some way to sew it on.
She takes her lizards to the farthest cove, and we're told that the Dragon Stones look like knobs on the horizons. They find lots of spiderclaws though, and the lizards eat their fill. In the meantime, Menolly starts looking for a way to set a fire and stumbles onto a mound of fire lizard eggs. She doesn't see the queen about. A part of me wants her to try Impressing them too, just to see what the upper limit is.
Anyway, she does succeed in making a fire and starts baking some of the spiderclaws. She does some more exploring, looking for some greens to eat with her spiderclaws. It's while searching that she spots Thread on the horizon. She starts running toward her cave, the fire lizards flying with her. Then they all disappear.
Menolly considers going into the water for safety, but rules it out as she doesn't know how deep Thread needs to be to die. That seems reasonable. Some of the fire lizards are back, including an extra queen. She feels more protected as she runs, then suddenly there's a whoosh and a shadow. A brown dragon has come to rescue her. The rider helps her up and they're off. The poor fire lizards are trying vainly to follow but are left behind. Aw, poor little guys.
We get a nice outside perspective on what it's like to go between, as Menolly's sweat freezes, and she starts getting afraid she'll suffocate. She can't hear, see or feel anything. Menolly finds herself thinking about the Teaching Song and understanding it better. Then they arrive at Benden, which we're told is bigger than Half Circle by half again. It's nice to get an updated description of the Weyr, which is vaster than Menolly imagined.
The rider talks to her, calling her lad. He asks why she'd been out so far, and she explains that she'd been catching spiderclaws. She's worried that he'll realize exactly where she's from and tries to think of another nearby Hold. This feels like a very teenaged moment, since the dude seems pretty uninterested in any further explanation, and likely wouldn't be inclined to drag her back even if he knew. He seems to have the usual dragonrider people skills though, as his dragon (Branth) has to inform him that Menolly's injured: her feet are lacerated entirely after her run.
The dude manhandles her over his shoulder, which I'm not a fan of, and carries her into the lower Caverns. He calls Manora, and we find out that his name is T'gran.
And now we see why T'gran mistook Menolly for a boy: Elgion was also rescued from his own outdoor adventures and is in the same place. Now that Elgion knows the songwriter is a girl, he has to mistake Menolly for a boy so he doesn't put two and two together. This is a pointless attempt to drag out a reveal that honestly isn't that interesting. Elgion's wrapped up in his own embarrassment, until he's distracted by the sight of a fire lizard: it's Grail, F'nor's queen.
So that gives us a rough time frame of when we are. We'll get more details soon: it's not long after the Prideth-Wirenth mess, so F'nor and the now bereft Brekke are back at Benden. Which means Lessa is likely in the middle of her machinations to try to help Brekke, and F'lar is dying of sepsis or whatever actually causes someone to have "wound fever" for weeks on end.
We're told that the Weyr likes to reassure rescued victims with food. Elgion has to turn down thirds, while he's informed by T'gellan, a bronze wingleader, that Yanus has been informed of his safety. Apparently Yanus had been willing to mount a search, which "is a remarkable concession".
Because losing a Harper is more embarrassing than losing a child? God, I hate these people. I also hate that McCaffrey won't bother giving any of them the depth or complexity of a mud puddle. My slasher heart is amused that Elgion asks if Alemi is angry with him. I'm pretty sure Alemi marries a woman in a later book, but I'm amused to ship this. Apparently Alemi was "better pleased than Yanus to hear [he was] safe and scoreless at Benden." Yay, mutual! T'gellan asks if Elgion found fire lizard clutches, which they need terribly.
Elgion of course has failed, because that means that Menolly's find is more important now. Poor Elgion, he really does exist only to shill Menolly. This is annoying because Menolly is a good character in her own right: she's smart, sensible, earnest and goal oriented without being shrill or hyper-reactive. I just wish Ms. McCaffrey would let her stand on her own. She doesn't need to be shilled. She doesn't need to be superhumanly perfect. She doesn't need to be able to play EVERY instrument, and her story would have probably been exactly the same if she had only four or five fire lizards as opposed to nine.
I said this before, but Anne McCaffrey could have really done something interesting with Elgion. Menolly wants to be a Harper, but at this point in time it isn't completely clear what a Harper does. Robinton clearly has more clout than one would expect the leader of a guild of musicians to have. We know they teach songs. We know they perform them. But the Harpers seem to be as much agent as they are performers. Robinton is a member of F'lar's inner council, with Fanderal and Lytol. He's clearly influential. Elgion would be a glimpse into the world that Robinton controls, but unfortunately it doesn't involve Menolly so McCaffrey doesn't care.
Even though it DOES actually involve Menolly, because she wants to be a Harper.
So anyway, T'gellan and Elgion discuss fire lizards and their potential usefulness. We've heard this before, but not in this book, so I won't ding Ms. McCaffrey for repetitiveness. Not every reader of this book will have read Dragonquest. The real interesting part to me is that Lessa apparently thinks the fire lizards are a nuisance. I love Lessa so much.
Elgion uses the time to observe Weyr life, hoping to use his observations to get back into Yanus's good favor. He sees an injured dragon crying like a child over an injury, another one crying over an injured rider, and weyrlings soothing their "beasts". We can't not shill the Weyr here, as Elgion notes seeing youngsters filling firestone sacks and realizing they make less work of it than Sea Hold lads would have. He even gets to peek into the Hatching Ground.
T'gellan calls G'sel over to show his bronze lizard to Elgion. G'sel was the green rider introduced in Dragonquest that found his lizard in that clutch that F'nor first discovered. I like him, even though he doesn't really have a distinctive personality. Elgion is delighted to meet the fire lizard, Rill. He strokes his eye ridges, and Rill's "eyelids began to close in sensuous pleasure."
Um. Ew? That kind of sounds wrong.
T'gellan makes a teasing jab at G'sel, noting that the creatures have "no respect for degree" and I grumble at the way this series treats greens and green riders yet again. Green riders are front line fighters damnit. They chew firestone and burn flame out of the sky just like any other. They're small, fast and maneuverable. But they get no respect. And I can't help but connect that to the fact that their riders are men, who end up involved in mating flights with other men. It doesn't escape my notice that the few main character green riders are women.
Anyway, the men talk about Half Circle Hold, and Elgion has a standing invitation to fly a signal if he feels isolated so he can hang out for an evening in Benden Weyr. That sounds swanky and gives us an idea of how respected Harpers actually are. I just wish we got to see more of the why.
Elgion then is taken back to the Hold, though it's mentioned he'll likely get to be present for the Hatching. T'gellan cheats a bit and "times it" so Elgion can get back earlier. The Hold cheers for his safe return. T'gellan makes a nice show of praising Elgion for wanting to return immediately, but Lessa needed his report, which saves Elgion from a scolding. T'gellan continues by relaying the order that any fire lizard signs must be reported.
Alemi almost gets Elgion into trouble by mentioning the cave, but Elgion covers quickly and suggests the cave as a likely source to find fire lizard eggs. The chapter ends with Elgion getting ready to make his report to Yanus.
So this was fun. Mostly a set up chapter to introduce Menolly at the Weyr. I'm still annoyed by the needless dragging out of the Menolly-as-songwriter reveal, since Menolly's torn up feet provide a perfectly reasonable excuse for sticking around to witness later events. But I suppose it isn't dramatic or ego stroking enough.
It's a fun young adult novel, don't get me wrong. Menolly's a good protagonist. I just wish Ms. McCaffrey would relax a bit. We don't need all of these extra frills to appreciate the story.