— Red Arctic, p 44-5
Crump could tell that the PM was scarcely listening. "What's this going to do to my reputation, my popularity, David? Things are bad enough as it is. I'm at the bottom of the heap in the polls even though I've been pulling off miracles. The economy's up, unemployment is down. We've repaired the holes in the free Trade Agreement. We've cut the deficit down to only $10 billion a year. And I've been able to show leadership in international matters. But nothing happens at the polls. I'm still at the bottom…"
— Red Arctic, p 151
Time is out of joint, all right. The thing with the wine arriving before it was ordered is bugging me too. Or maybe the service at the King Edward is just that good. I drove to Chino -- 75 miles each way -- to see a de Havilland Vampire, Rohmer's post-war plane. Beautiful. If anything could swoosh around in time, that would be it.
ReplyDeleteNewsreel footage of the Vampire.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.britishpathe.com/video/de-havilland-vampire
Now, that's a plane. Let a little air out of the tires and it would be perfect for the Arctic.
DeleteHa! They tested an aircraft carrier version of the Vampire with no wheels at all. The thought was to cover part of the carrier deck with rubber, and make the plane light enough to catch on an arrestor cable and bounce to a stop. The Vampire was already pretty light, even with landing gear, because it was made of balsa wood.
ReplyDeleteBalsa wood, you say. Next you'll be telling us how the V-1 worked.
DeleteFunny you should ask. First, you need a ramp...
ReplyDeleteHow to explain away this temporal anomaly: in the dystopian future of RA, opinion polls are conducted on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteBut now that you bring this up, did either of you have a sense that there was a part of this book missing? I know things have a tendency to move quickly in Rohmer world, but it seems to jump along too quickly, as if there were missing chapters. And the fact it's only a little over 160 pages - it's a borderline novella.
Which can't be right - novellas aren't best sellers, therefore who would write them?
It does, of course, end with a cliffhanger. I wonder if Rohmer thought the issue was just so hot that he had to get to press.
ReplyDeleteIt's a strange little book, though. You'd think your odds of landing a be$t $eller would increase as you got closer to 200 pages.
The low page count and cliffhanger ending made me wonder whether Rohmer wasn't planning to return to his old Ultimatum/Exxoneration and Exodus/UK/Separation formula. Was there supposed to be a sequel? It's sure set up for one.
DeleteI think it's a given that he works towards a cliff hanger - it's like an insurance bet in blackjack - if it's a best seller (and how could it not be?), your next book is already set up. If it's not (like that would ever happen!), the books ends on an exciting (and totally unsatisfying) note.
ReplyDelete