The chapter starts with Roland going on a bike ride just before dawn, in order to take his mind off things, which is understandable. He arrives at the lighthouse, where he knows his grandfather will be, seemingly preparing himself to ask for the whole truth about the sinking of the Orpheus. But instead of actually confronting his grandfather, he goes to bed. A bit odd considering the build-up, but fair enough. Just before he falls asleep he finds himself glad that he's made friends in Max and Alicia so quickly and to an unusual degree of closeness, considering that he's only known them a day or two. It has to be said, this section irritates me somewhat, as it kind of flouts one of the most important rules of writing, which is "show, don't tell". I'm sure there are better ways of expressing the same sentiment than this:
"...he felt deep loyalty and gratitude for the invisible pact that seemed to have bound them together...."It might just be me nitpicking, but surely there are ways of demonstrating that through his actions, meaning you wouldn't really need to spell it out like that. In any case, he falls asleep, and we'll presumably rejoin him in the morning.
Day breaks and we're introduced to a new character, Victor Kray, who is presumably Roland's grandfather as he's in the lighthouse. From what I can gather from his inner monologue, he's been running the lighthouse for 25 years as a guardian of some evil that he hasn't yet stated or defined. It also explains his frosty relationship with Roland, as neither of them get to spend much time in each other's company, which is a shame really. He also has huge reservations about Roland's exploration of the Orpheus, so there's obviously something very wrong about the ship, we just don't know what yet. He goes down to check if Roland's gotten back, only to find his grandson waiting for him. Kind of like those melodramas where the suspicious wife waits up for her husband in order to catch him out. In this case it just seems that Roland didn't get much sleep after we left him last paragraph. So they start cooking together, presumably for lack of better things to do. At breakfast, Roland confronts his grandfather with the weird stuff that's been happening, causing Victor to tell them all just what is happening. While this is still fairly gripping, I'm only about halfway through the book, so surely there's something that we've missed. I can't figure out what though.
Back at the Carver house, a phone call arrives to tell them that Irina's making progress but still isn't out of danger yet. 5 minutes later, Roland calls to meet them later. Alicia, having taken the calls, goes outside to tell Max. He then starts to ask her about her relationship with Roland; perhaps a little personal, but let's see how it goes. Sounds like he's worried that she'll get hurt, seeing as Roland may well be conscripted after the summer's finished, which is sweet I guess. The chapter ends with them going inside to shelter from the cold.
Again, another chapter where not a whole lot happens, although there have been a few hints here and there. Hopefully next chapter will be more "action-packed", so to speak. At least it looks as though there will be some answers as to what it is they're actually dealing with here.
Signing off,
Nisa.
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