Saturday 17 September 2022

Historical And Literary Connections

In the previous post, I missed one set of connections which, however, takes us in an entirely different direction through the organic interconnectedness of Poul Anderson's Technic History. The Baburites first appear in "Esau" which is not so much a Nicholas van Rijn story as an Emil Dalmady story with the framing device of a conversation between Dalmady and van Rijn. Furthermore, Dalmady's daughter, Judith Dalmady/Lundgren moved with Falkayn to Avalon where she wrote historical fiction that was published in the periodical, Morgana, named after the Avalonian moon. Three of Judith's stories, "Esau," "The Season of Forgiveness" and "Wingless," were among the twelve works collected by Hloch as The Earth Book Of Stormgate. "The Season of Forgiveness" is set on the planet, Ivanhoe, previously visited by Falkayn, and "Wingless" is about Falkayn's grandson, Nathaniel, growing up on the Hesperian islands of Avalon. The Technic History is not only future history but also future historiography, particularly at the mid-point of Rise Of The Terran Empire where Hloch concludes the Earth Book, then Donvar Ayeghen introduces an extract from the Memoirs of Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves, Imperial Solar Navy. This is the transition point between the two main parts of the Technic History.

2 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Poul was very good at tossaway connections between different stories set in the same milieu -- not important if you've only read that story, but adding layers of complexity if you read them all.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

And in somewhat different ways you have mastered that technique as well. Albeit you favor doing so in novels rather than short stories.

Ad astra! Sean