Originally introduced to be a standard collective continuing villain, the Merseians gained in complexity, becoming much better rounded and more multi-dimensional, after two of Poul Anderson's space opera series had merged into a long and solid future history. The greenskins or gatortails are helped in "Day of Burning," are resentful in Mirkheim, have become a rival empire and major threat by Dominic Flandry's time but are capable of much friendlier relationships in A Knight Of Ghosts And Shadows and must be very demoralized and disillusioned back on their home planet, albeit off-stage, during the Long Night.
As with the Ythrians, we want to know more.
3 comments:
Hi, Paul!
It does seem curious, that all four of the post Imperial stories written by Poul Anderson ("A Tragedy of Errors," THE NIGHT FACE, "The Sharing of Flesh," and "Starfog") says nothing about the major non human races we saw in the Technic History. I can understand why that was the case in "Tragedy," Roan Tom and his wives were desperately trying to assure their survival after being stranded on the human colonized planet Nike. Their lives and activities covered only a small volume of the space once held by the Empire. And THE NIGHT FACE, Anderson's sole post Imperial novel, covered only events on a long isolated human colonized planet.
But "The Sharing of Flesh" and "Starfog" came after interstellar civilization in the forms of first the Allied Planets and the much later Commonalty had arisen. It would not have been out of place for MORE than a bare mention of non human races existing in the latter story.
Sean
Sean,
Yes, long though the History is, we could wish that it had been many times longer.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Again, I agree, while also saying Anderson was probably right in believing it was time to go on to other ideas and topics after THE GAME OF EMPIRE. One of my favorite loose ends is wondering what happened to Leon Ammon following the events recorded in A CIRCUS OF HELLS. I'm sure you have your own puzzlements!
Greg Bear told me his father in law left behind boxes of papers after he died. I'm very eager to know if those boxes have publishable fragments, maybe even a short story or two which only needs a bit of editing before being published. Or possibly Anderson left behind notes and essays which could also be published?
Sean
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