The Prologue is six pages:
pp. 1-3 are headed VENUS June 14, 1962
pp. 4-6 are headed Baikonaur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, USSR June 14, 1962
"The morning sun was still low, casting the seven runners' shadows before them and turning the clouds to the color of raw gold." (p. 1)
"The land before the dozen-strong war party was gently rolling..." (p. 2)
"...a half-dozen figures pushed through the brush and stood staring at the probe." (p. 5)
Observations:
Knowing what we do both of space exploration in the 1960's and of Venus, we instantly recognize that this novel is set in an alternative Solar System. We do not even expect the Sun to be visible on the surface of Venus.
The number in this group seems to vary from seven to twelve to six? - although "half-dozen" could loosely mean "about six."
On pp. 5-6: the Yanki Martian probe will land next month. Thus, the sequel, In The Courts Of The Crimson Kings, will be simultaneous, not subsequent.
Words that we might need to google:
"...samovar..." (p. 4);
"...knobkerrie..." (p. 5);
"...prognathous..." (p. 5).
Any reader who does not immediately turn to Chapter One is not an sf fan.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I loved S.M. Stirling's two "Lords of Creation" books! And I certainly wished the Venus and Mars we see in those books were like our actual Mars/Venus. Instead, alas, as early as Poul Anderson's "The Big Rain," we were coming to undertand how hostile to life Venus is. But that Anderson story also speculated about how Venus could be terraformed, to become humanly habitable. An idea which Jerry Pournelle took up and developed in greater length and detail in his non fictional article of the same name (most conveniently found in his book A STEP FARTHER OUT, 1979).
I strongly recommend finding a copy of this Pournelle book, old tho it is. It's still relevant because so MUCH of what he recommends or speculated has not even been tried. Meaning we don't have a data base of actual success/failure, costs/benefits on which to base any analysis of the benefits of a REAL space program.
I only wish SOME of the ideas Anderson and Pournelle speculated about were actually tried out! It's my view that even a partial success would do us all far more good than all the welfare programs, pork barrel projects, or "earmarks" so characteristic of government action these days!
Sean
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