Poul Anderson's Technic History begins off Earth. We see explorers on Iapetus, on Ythri and on Gray/Avalon before seeing Nicholas van Rijn, James Ching and Adzel on Earth in the Solar Commonwealth period. FTL interstellar travel has begun in the second story. Ironically, it is Hloch of Stormgate Choth on Avalon who informs us of the establishment of the Solar Commonwealth in his introduction to the third story.
Anderson follows and transcends Heinlein.
Between Future and Technic Histories, Anderson's Psychotechnic History begins on Earth in the aftermath of World War III, differing little as yet from the aftermath of WWII. Space travel and post-nuclear war used to be the two kinds of sf story.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I would have said, rather, that Anderson's Pyschotechnic series was inspired by Heinlein's work. And we should remember that, as time passed, he became dissatisfied with the Psychotechnic stories. And what became the Technic series only happened from Anderson "impulsively" linking two originally distinct series about Nicolas van Rijn and Dominic Flandry.
Ad astra! Sean
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