Could there have been a city that was never mentioned in any written records, that very few outsiders visited and that was completely physically destroyed, even its ruins dismantled, so that its very existence has been forgotten except as a legend? This fictional premise is not fantasy. So far, The King of Ys Tetralogy is historical fiction. There is a fantasy element. The gods exist. But they remain off-stage and are known only by their magical/miraculous manifestations. Then they withdraw. So The King of Ys differs significantly from those Andersonian works that feature Odin and other deities and supernatural beings as regular characters. Poul Anderson's works fill a literary spectrum: heroic fantasy; historical fantasy; historical fiction; historical fiction with fantasy elements; historical science fiction; science fiction; science fiction future histories etc.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
An interesting cover image! It looks like one of the coins minted by one of Diocletian's recent predecessors: Claudius II, Aurelian, Probus, etc. These were the Emperors who hammered the Empire back together and laid the foundations for Diocletian's own efforts.
Ad astra! Sean
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