"Laconic Way"

A few weeks back, I passed some quality time with a proof copy of Phil Pullman's "Once Upon a Time in the North", latest addition to 'His Dark Materials' saga.

Story: Texan balloonist Lee Scoresby's first meeting (on White Sea Island Novy Odense) with the armoured bear, Iorek Byrnison.

They team up to help a Dutch merchant whose cargo has been illegally impounded.

Today I read an interview with Pullman where he says of the b'ar/balloonist duo that:

"I stole the idea from The Magnificent Seven.

There's a moment there when the two main characters, Yul Brunner and Steve McQueen, who've never met before, join forces in this sort of laconic way, to get something done."

I dislike it intensely when people read aloud ("Listen to this ...") and expect to instantly distract you from your part of the paper. I so enjoyed that line that I broke my rule. My companion got it in one and was forgiving:

"'Laconic way'. Neat. At heart, isn't that what Life should be about?"