Sunday 17 May 2015

...And Stars As Sand Or Stage

One relevant title that I overlooked in the previous post was The Currents Of Space by Isaac Asimov. I am fairly certain that a Poul Anderson short story about interplanetary space travel includes two Asimov titles, the phrases "...the currents of space..." and "...the end of eternity...," in a single paragraph. I also thought that I had posted about the proximity of these phrases in one paragraph but have not found the post on a blog search.

Gregory Benford's Sailing Bright Eternity has now been listed both as one of several sf titles incorporating "Eternity" and as one of many sea-space comparisons. That three word title is rich in meaning and connotation.

If space is metaphorically a sea, what are the bodies occupying it? Planets are a Pebble In The Sky (Asimov) or A Stone In Heaven (Anderson). Larger heavenly bodies are The Stars Like Dust (Asimov) or Galaxies Like Grains Of Sand (Aldiss). (Just think about that for a second.)

However, the galaxy can be a "...river..." (previous post), The Stars Are Also Fire (Anderson), ...And All The Stars A Stage (Blish).

(Blish also has the phrase "...the sands of the stars...," quoted in the previous post.)

We do not usually think of titles, especially of works by different authors, as forming a sequence or as presenting alternative perspectives on the universe. In fact, book titles are often used just as labels for the works to which they refer rather than as meaningful phrases in their own right. However, sf writers often need to use cosmological terminology and also of course to avoid repetition. Thus, some interesting although unintended sequences can emerge.

6 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I'm rereading "Genius," a story which, as you know, I believe to be a rare false start or "mistake" by Poul Anderson. But it does contain some evocative lines, even as early as 1948. This bit comes to mind (from page 201 of CALL ME JOE, NESFA Press, 2009): "An uncounted host of stars blazed against the infinite blackness, a swarming magnificent arrogance of unwinking hard jewels strewn across the impassive face of eternity."

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
"...host of stars...," "...face of eternity." Right!
I will have to reread "Genius" to see why it is a false start.
Paul.

David Birr said...

The reference to *Galaxies Like Grains of Sand" by Aldiss reminded me that Samuel R. Delany also wrote a book with a very similar title, *Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand*. Unfortunately, I haven't read that one, but the title always stuck in my mind.

Paul Shackley said...

Sometimes just a title is part of our heritage. We know of works without having read them.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Dear Mr. Birr,

And your comment belatedly reminded me of another author with an evocative title for his book: THE STARS, MY DESTINATION, by Alfred Bester. My belief is that his works are of very high quality.

Sean

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

My rereading has, so far, convinced me that the critic whose name and words I can't satisfactorily recall was right in his or her criticisms of the story. In "Genius" Anderson had both major characters saying things he would very soon come to absolutely disagree with.

Sean