Robert Heinlein
technological advances
solar energy
moving roads
nuclear energy
an escape velocity rocket fuel
a first Moon flight
a space station
Lunar colonization
Isaac Asimov
robots
hyperspace
antiagathics
anti-gravity
Poul Anderson
exploration of the Solar System
first contact with Ythri
exploration of Avalon
the Polesotechnic League
early references to Hermes, Woden, Cynthia, Aeneas and Gorzun
Nicholas van Rijn
the Wodenite Adzel as a student
the Hermetian David Falkayn as an apprentice
Falkayn as a journeyman
Falkayn as a newly qualified Master Merchant leading Adzel and the Cynthian Chee Lan as van Rijn's first trade pioneer crew
exploration of the Solar System
organ transplants
colonization of the Asteroid Belt
UN world government
In the case of the first three, Campbellian, future historians, it may be easier to continue the summaries and thus to complete an overview of the series:
Heinlein
interplanetary colonization and exploitation
social conflict on Earth
the Covenant
the breaking of the Covenant
interstellar travel
the first mature culture
overpopulation
urbanization
extrasolar colonization
Empire
Fall
attempts to rebuild
the intergalactic question
Blish
the Okie civilization
the end of that civilization
intergalactic travel
the end of the universe
new universes
4 comments:
Hi, Paul!
I agree with you in finding Poul Anderson's Technic Civilization series the most detailed and carefully worked out "future history" among the five you listed. I would have included as well Pournelle/Niven's CoDominium/Empire of Man stories as a sixth item in your list.
I think I can say I like all six of these "future histories" except Asimov's Robot/Foundation series. I've come to consider Asimov's work the weakest and most unsatisfactory of these "future histories." Far too often, I've found his writing and characters too flat, colorless, even boring. I still remember how disappointed I was when I reread the original three Foundation books a few years ago.
Sean
Sean,
I would include CoDominium but I have less clear memories of what are its "foundations." Would you be able to list them for us?
Paul.
Hi, Paul!
Fortunately, that has already been done. If you go to "Space Monkey Science Fiction Timeline Site (www.chronology.org) you will find a detailed outline of Pournelle/Niven's CoDominium/Empire of Man series arranged in internal chronological order.
This particular timeline is complicated because of how the authors allowed other writers to add their own contributions to it (including a story by Poul Anderson himself called "The Deserter"). The CoDo/Empire series actually comprises three different subseries--with PA's contribution being found in the "War World" subseries.
Sean
Thank you.
Post a Comment