Although the Roman Empire is unravelling, as in Poul and Karen Anderson's The King Of Ys, Hanno, now Lugo, lives comfortably in Burdigala/Bordeaux with his young wife, Cordelia, and their children. However, he hears of a man called Rufus who still looks young even after his wife has died of old age. Lugo rescues Rufus from a mob. The two trade stories. It seems that Rufus is a young immortal. Lugo is about twelve hundred years old. They must join forces. Therefore, they must travel to Britannia, where Lugo buried money several generations previously, and must not return. Lugo has already made financial provision for Cordelia in case he ever fails to return...
Hanno/Lugo must gather immortals and find out what they can do together. In this respect, he exactly parallels Jack Havig, the mutant time traveler in Poul Anderson's There Will Be Time. Although we do find some such parallels, these works differ considerably. Of necessity, many chapters of Boat are taken up with the handful of immortals finding each other. Each historical period is realized in detail, as in Anderson's Time Patrol series.
Eventually, Hanno's immortals and Havig's time travelers will make a big difference to the galaxy in their respective timelines.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Britannia seems a slightly odd choice as a new home for Lugo and Rufus. I would have thought Constantinople or Egypt better choices. Because of being wealthier and more populous. And, unbeknownst to them, much nearer another immortal (sic): Gnaeus Patulcius.
Ad astra! Sean
One point Poul makes is that other than being immortal, the immortals are a random selection.
OTOH, if they're truly stupid (like Rufo) they won't last all that long. Rufo only lasted as long as he did because Hanno was looking out for him.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Partly true, I agree. But when Aliyat tried to have Hanno killed in Constantinople he survived because Rufus had a more realistic estimation of Aliyat's character, and acted accordingly. And, yes, Rufus still lived as long as he did because of Hanno.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean: yeah, Rufo had some working-class "common sense" about people in Aliyat's profession -- that they disliked men, for example.
From Sean:
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Easy to see why, prostitutes generally see men at their worse. Aliyat would have far too much experience of that!
Ad astra! Sean
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