in "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson," James Ching and Adzel are students on Earth;
in "Margin of Profit," Captain Torres works for Master Merchant Nicholas van Rijn;
in "The Three-Cornered Wheel," David Falkayn is an apprentice to Master Polesotechnician Martin Schuster on Ivanhoe;
in "A Sun Invisible," Falkayn is van Rijn's factor on Garstang's;
in "The Season of Forgiveness," Juan Hernandez is an apprentice to Master Trader Thomas Overbeck on Ivanhoe;
in "Esau," Emil Dalmady is van Rijn's factor on Suleiman;
in "Hiding Place," Captain Bahadur Torrance works for van Rijn;
in "The Trouble Twisters," van Rijn asks Falkayn to lead a team that will include Adzel...
At last these three characters appear in a single story! And the rest is history... But the earlier stories are also history. Anderson builds a substantial future history by showing diverse facets of the Polesotechnic League involving many characters apart from the few who come to dominate the series.
7 comments:
Hi, Paul!
And it's become a habit of mine to read "The Season of Forgiveness" once a year at Christmas time. It's a very appropriate story to read at that time!
Sean
Sean,
Conan Doyle's "The Blue Carbuncle" is in the same category. It begins something like, "It was the day after Boxing Day..." and I first read it on that day.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Ha! Your comment inspired me to reread Dr. Watson's account of the singular case of "The Blue Carbuncle," which Sir Arthur was to later include in his edition of the good doctor's narratives. The story begins quite innocently and at first Sherlock Holmes thought no crime was involved, altho it did have "...points in connection with it which are not entirely devoid of interest and even of instruction."
The last paragraph of this story is worth quoting: "After all, Watson," said Holmes, reaching up his hand for his clay pipe, "I am not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies. If Horner were in danger it would be another thing; but this fellow will not appear against him, and the case must collapse. I suppose that I am committing a felony, but it is just possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong again; he is too terribly frightened. Send him to jail now, and you will make him a jailbird for life. Besides, it is the season of forgiveness. Chance has put in our way a most singular and whimsical problem, and its solution is its own reward. If you will have the goodness to touch the bell, Doctor, we will begin another investigation, in which, also a bird will be the chief feature."
In one of my letters to Poul Anderson I mentioned my habit of reading "The Season of Forgiveness" at Christmastime, he replied that he took the title from Conan Doyle's own Christmas story, "The Blue Carbuncle." All fans of Poul Anderson knows he was an enthusiastic admirer of the Sherlock Holmes stories, frequently sprinkling allusions to them in his own works.
And, in either 1995 or 1996 I even visited the Sherlock Holmes museum at 221B Baker Street! (Smiles)
Sean
Sean,
Wow. I am glad to have made a comment that led to your elucidation of the connection between these two stories. A strange little anthology could comprise "The Blue Carbuncle," "The Season of Forgiveness," whichever Holmes story referred to the singular contents of an ancient British barrow and "Time Patrol."
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Interesting, your suggestion that it might be of some interest to compile an anthology pairing Sherlock Holmes stories with the appropriate works of Poul Anderson. Off the top of my head it might be apt to pair "A Scandal in Bohemia" with "The Martian Crown Jewels." Altho I regret to say I don't recall which of the Holmes stories, if any, alludes to the singular contents of an Anglo Saxon barrow. I also thought of the Hoka Sherlock Holmes story, a Tokan rendering of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.
I made a small mistake in my second comment: it was "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," not the shorter form I used.
Sean
Sean,
I have read it. In the opening sentences of one story, Watson refers to the barrow as an untold case. It is this story that Everard reads in "Time Patrol."
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Thanks! Then it might be worthwhile of me to skim thru the opening paragraphs of the shorter Holmes stories to find the one mentioning the Anglo Saxon barrow Watson mentions. And compare the allusion to how it's used in "Time Patrol."
Sean
Post a Comment