TSK discussion | Passage, ch 1-12
Life continues to imitate art, as today I'm traveling south toward the general vicinity of what's most likely the model for Graymouth. We're not going quite that far, though, and in fact aren't quite close enough to the actual Mississippi River (although I did see it when the plane was landing!). So you've escaped a picspam this time. ;)
( Summary and discussion -- spoilers under the cut )
( Summary and discussion -- spoilers under the cut )
On the other hand, I think it's fair to say that Passage wouldn't be quite as satisfying as it is without the background from the previous two books. Particularly striking is Dag's determination to talk about Lakewalker lore to farmers now, in comparison to the beginning of the series, when he found it hard even to make himself talk about ground and sharing knives. And as hard as it was to read Legacy and see Dag's place in Hickory Lake Camp crumbling away around him, all that was a necessary backdrop to his and Fawn's current plans.
I really like the development of Whit's character -- he doesn't suddenly turn perfect overnight, but once he's off the Bluefield farm, he starts to grow up, much like Fawn did. Actually, the archery practice in the very first chapter was already an interesting development, and one that Dag certainly wasn't expecting.
The crew of the Fetch are interesting and fun, too, and some of them, especially Berry and Hod (plus more to come in the second half of the book), are explored in enough detail for us to really get to know them. Berry is a wonderful character -- competent and determined in the face of possible personal tragedy; a quintessential Bujold strong female character. And I love the detail that she plays the fiddle.
The details of life on the river are wonderfully vivid. I've certainly never been on anything like a flatboat (the nearest thing might have been a canal boat on the Erie Canal system a few years ago), but it's easy to see and feel what the characters are experiencing.
I have some more critical thoughts, too (she said, trying not to sound like a squeeing fangirl ;) ), but they mostly go with the second half of the book, so I'll hold off for now.
...And I always have a feeling that there's more that I meant to say when I'm posting one of these comments, lol, so if I think of anything more, I'll be back. In the meantime, I'm enjoying my reread of Passage, now with my very own copy -- my home airport contains, most unusually but brilliantly, a used bookstore. On the way to Munich last month I spotted a copy of Passage in paperback there, but didn't want to have to carry it to Germany and back. I had my fingers crossed on Tuesday when we set off to fly south toward Graymouth that it would still be there, and it was! (Luckily for me, because otherwise I would have had to do this discussion post without a copy of the book -- the enormous hardback copy I have out from the library did not make it into my luggage, heh.)
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Hope you're having a good time with all the travelling. It really does sound like life almost imitating certain books, lol.
And yes, totally agree about this feeling more tightly plotted than the previous two. Even though the riverboat adventure floats off at a leisurely pace, at least to start with.
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