I am rereading "A Tragedy of Errors" not for the first time but find that I have completely forgotten most of it. Quite often, it is like reading the story for the first time. Roan Tom ingeniously sky-writes a message in Momotaroan phonograms that Dagny will be able to read, then awaits rendezvous ("togethering") in abandoned castle ("cave") where he remembers:
"...the still more ancient, vanished glory of the Empire, or the League before it..."
-Flandry's Legacy, p. 522.
The Technic History is a future history. Of its three parts, (what I call) the Extended Earth Book of Stormgate is in itself a complete future history, as is the third and last section, the Post-Imperial Age. The second and longest section, the Flandry Period, is set within the lifetime of a single person. Therefore, it does not of itself constitute a future history although it does cover historical events and turning points and also builds the Technic History by reflecting on the causes of the decline of the Polesotechnic League.
I doubt that I will be able to reread another installment of the Technic History as if for the first time but it always seems to be possible to find extra details to discuss.
Anderson's works refer to Sherlock Holmes. That is certainly a series in which it is possible to reread individual stories without any memory of a previous reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment