Thursday, 18 February 2016

Asborg

When an sf novel involves regular FTL interstellar travel, I would like to be told:

the galactic positions of the inhabited planets;
the distances between them;
the velocity of the FTL drive.

In the opening chapters of Poul Anderson's For Love And Glory (New York, 2003), Lissa returns from Jonna to Asborg via Gargantua and Xanadu whereas Hebo returns directly from Jonna to Earth. Hebo's companion, a Rikhan, may have returned to her home planet. So where are all these planets and how far apart are they?

Asborg is Sunniva III, thus the third planet of a star called Sunniva, just as Earth is Sol III.

Lissa is Lissa Davysdaughter Windholm of Asborg. Her father, presumably David or Davy, "'...has a major voice in Windholm's space operations.'" (p. 44) Windholm, Seafell and other Houses hold land on Asborg and "'...share in its governance...'" (p. 45) So what form does that governance take? Houses have different traditions and styles. Seafell's is commercial whereas Windholm's is communal. We have not been told much but it has not become necessary as yet.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

My quick, off the top of my head recollection of Asborg is that it is governed by a kind of corporate feudalism. And that the internal arrangements of these "corporations" vary.

Sean