winged, therefore not human;
seafarers;
at war with another group called the Flock;
members of an aristocratic society such that an ennobled family may remain despised for its lowly origins;
discussing what the reader recognizes as a downed spaceship - a shimmering floating object longer than the longest canoe, carrying wingless, tailless but clothed animals;
able to deduce first that the mysterious object has not come from the Deeps because its occupants, although only four-limbed, resemble flightless animals, not fish or sea mammals, and secondly that it can only have fallen from the sky.
Chapter II begins on the floating "skycruiser" with the point of view of Eric Wace, whose name informs us that he is human. Thus, Poul Anderson sets the scene for a novel of human-alien interaction but what happens next remains to be seen because, at nearly 1.55 AM, after a day with a funeral followed by an sf group gathering, I am going to bed.
9 comments:
Hi, Paul!
Interesting, the recent mentions by you of belonging to a small SF club in the city of Lancaster. I'm sure and your friends have discussed the works of Poul Anderson. And what are some of the other SF writers your friends are keen fans of? S.M. Stirling comes to mind; or David Wingrove, to cite a British writer!
Sean
Sean,
Sometimes people meet thru sf and continue to socialize more generally, still calling themselves an sf group. My main contacts read a lot but not necessarily sf. Kevin, whom I have known since 1976, used to be a big fan of Michael Moorcock and Philip Jose Farmer. Current sf passes us by. I keep telling them how good PA is plus certain time travel works like Heinlein's and THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Oh, certainly, SF fans don't have to read ONLY science fiction. We can and should read works in other genres as well.
I've tried to read Moorcock's "Elric" stories, but somehow they never "grabbed" me. And finding out how hostile Moorcock was to JRR Tolkien's works didn't exactly endear him to me!
I can see why much of what passes as current SF doesn't particularly appeals to you and your friends. Simply recall the brouhaha over the SFWA cracking down on writers who refuse to be Politically Correct as one example of why much of current SF is, frankly, boring.
Am I right thinking your friends tend to prefer Golden or Silver age SF? That is, authors such as A.E. van Vogt, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur Clark? I would add other writers as well: Poul Anderson (of course!), Alfred Bester, James Blish, C.S. Lewis, Walter Miller, Avram Davidson, Cordwainer Smith, etc.
I think it's safe to say SF written in the UK tends to be either Stapledonian or Wellsian in tone, while SF in America favors the mood or outlook we see in Jules Verne. With many exceptions and gradations of tone and mood, of course!
Poul Anderson, for example, knew how to write Stapledonian SF, as we can see as early in his career as BRAIN WAVE. And the HARVEST OF STARS books, STARFARERS, and GENESIS shows him returning to a Stapledonian mode of writing in his later years. And posthumous stories like FOR LOVE AND GLORY, "Pele", and "The Lady of the Winds" shows him as being fully capable of writing fine "hard" SF and fantasy.
In fact, I have to argue that even Anderson's "Stapledonian" SF, as we see it in both BRAIN WAVE and the late works I listed, remains very "Vernian." We still see Anderson's interest in science and technological developments in those works. And his speculations on how they might be either wisely or foolishly used. We still see his concern for the characters he created, good or bad, wise or foolish, and how they reacted to the problems they faced.
Sean
Sean,
We are certainly more familiar with older sf writers.
I do not let an author's views out me off enjoying his works. I would miss out on a lot if I did that!
Paul.
I came across copies of THE LOST FLEET series by Jack Campbell, a military sf series by an ex-Naval man whose experience in aircraft and subs gives him some experience of three-dimensional combat.
Space combat is only one of many aspects of the Technic History.
Hi, Paul!
I agree with that principle: an author's views doesn't have to prevent you from enjoying his books. But I tried to read Moorcock BEFORE finding out about his hostility to Tolkien. So, I don't think I was being unfair in saying I did not find his "Elric" stories appealing.
I hope some of your friends in the SF club will leave their own comments here!
Sean
Hi, Paul!
Thanks! Altho I've never heard of Jack Campbell before you mentioned him. Another writer to keep in mind!
Again, I'm reminded of the space battle we see in ENSIGN FLANDRY. It certainly felt convincing to me! And I think real warfare in space will be much like what we saw in that book.
Hmmm, I don't think Anderson has ever written what we can call a WHOLLY military novel, tho. Parts of novels, yes, such as ENSIGN FLANDRY and short stories like "Kings Who Die" and "No Truce With Kings." Or am I being too strict in defining "military science fiction"?
Jerry Pournelle, David Drake, S.M. Stirling, and others (including PA) have written interesting stories about futuristic warfare in both the Co-Dominium/Empire of Man and the Man/Kzin wars series created by Pournelle and Larry Niven. I would recommend Pournelle/Stirling';s GO TELL THE SPARTANS and PRINCE OF MERCENARIES, as two examples.
Sean
Sean,
It turns out THE LOST FLEET has an interesting premise: the hero is found in space in suspended animation a hundred years after he was thought to have died. In that time, he has become a legend and is expected to live up to that legend even though he must argue against reckless military tactics that are attributed to him.
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
That does make Jack Campbell's works seems interesting. A hero objecting to some of the ideas falsely attributed to him. Sober realism about war is always necessary. And I have read both Sun Tzu's THE ART OF WAR and Clausewitz's ON WAR. And various other works.
Sean
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