Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Comparisons

Recent posts (here and here) have compared SM Stirling's Draka History with Poul Anderson's:

History of Technic Civilization;
The Corridors Of Time;
"Eutopia";
"The House of Sorrows";
"Delenda Est";
"Amazement Of The World."

("Delenda Est" was the culmination of the original Time Patrol collection whereas "Amazement Of The World" is the culmination of the Time Patrol novel.)

(i) Technic Civilization is a fictitious future, more specifically a future history;

(ii) The Corridors Of Time, covering past, present and future, is a time travel novel set in an immutable timeline;

(iii) the Time Patrol, also covering past, present and future, is a time travel series set in a mutable timeline where divergent histories must be prevented;

(iv) "The House of Sorrows" is a short story set in a single divergent history;

(v) the Draka History is a tetralogy set in a divergent history - which I have yet to read to its conclusion;

(vi) "Eutopia" is a short story about travel between divergent histories.

Thus, six works by two authors present a conceptual sequence from future history to time travel to alternative histories to travel between alternative histories. As I have previously commented about Poul Anderson's works, there is a systematic exploration of every possibility: space, time, times and timelines.

Addendum, 6 Oct, ' 15: Including a few more works lengthens this sequence. Thus:

(vi) Stirling's Conquistador is a novel about regular travel between two divergent histories and the discovery of a third;

(vii) "Eutopia" is about regular travel between many alternative histories;

(viii) three works by Anderson feature a meeting place between alternative histories.

Again, we get the impression that the authors have ransacked every possibility.

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I think you forgot to mention THE DANCER FROM ATLANTIS. If my memory is correct, that story uses the immutable timeline concept, similar to what we see in THE CORRIDORS OF TIME and THERE WILL BE TIME.

I agree, between them, along with some of Harry Turtledove's works, Poul Anderson and S.M. Stirling have THOROUGHLY covered the time traveling/alternate universe theme.

Sean

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I've been wondering, have you been paying attention to Andrew von Shrakenberg in UNDER THE YOKE? Like his cousin Eric, he more and more seems to have doubts about the RIGHTNESS of what the Draka do. When we first see him in UNDER I particularly noted the distaste he had for the Security Directorate.

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
Andrew doubting the Draka way? Not from what I have seen of him so far. There is rivalry between Military and Security in any case.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

But, you were eventually a little surprised by Andrew von Shrakenberg.

Yes, there was rivalry between the Citizen Army and the Security Directorate. But I still got the impression that some regular army soldiers came close to having a MORAL distaste for the "head hunters."

Sean