"'...have you ever perchance heard of Admiral Flandry?'"
-Poul Anderson, A Stone In Heaven IN Anderson, Flandry's Legacy (Riverdale, NY, June 2012), pp. 1-188 AT I, p. 16.
This question closes that chapter so we do not read a response.
Flandry's daughter tells the Wodenite, Axor:
"'Oh, my father's Dominic Flandry. You may have heard of him. He's become an Admiral of the Fleet...'"
-The Game of Empire, CHAPTER ONE, p. 212.
Axor responds in part:
"'I have, yes, I have encountered tales of Admiral Flandry's exploits...'"
-ibid., p. 213.
We remember Coya Conyon following the exploits of the Muddlin' Through crew.
Before reading either of these two novels, both collected in Flandry's Legacy, we have "heard of" Dominic Flandry but he had not become an Admiral until now. In fact, he is a Vice Admiral in the first and a Fleet Admiral in the second. His rise and rise continues - having started as an ensign over forty years previously.
Poul Anderson has earned the right to reintroduce his character in this way, as talked about by others. We are familiar with the name and so, by now, are many of his contemporaries. Unfortunately, we will not see him again after he has shared his view of the game of empire or life and has offered to fund Diana and her team at the end of this novel.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
For a long time Flandry was content with the fairly modest rank of Captain. It was only after A KNIGHT OF GHOSTS AND SHADOWS that Flandry accepted promotion to Admiral's rank.
Albeit, to counterbalance what was said about Flandry's fame, this bit from Chapter X of KNIGHT should be remembered, after Kossara Vymezal felt some surprise "Kluwych" did not know of him: "Hoy? Chives said Flandry is famous...No. How many light years, how many millions of minds can fame cover before it spreads vanishingly thin?" (Italicized in the original)
Ad astra! Sean
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