All that I can say so far about the dating of
Satan's World is that its events occur shortly before the first part of "Lodestar," therefore when Falkayn is thirty two or thirty three. There must also be some relationship to van Rijn's age. That individual says in
Mirkheim, Prologue, Y minus 9, that he is thirty years older than Falkayn. (
Rise Of The Terran Empire, p. 17) Accordingly, Sandra Miesel's Chronology has van Rijn born in 2376 and Falkayn in 2406 whereas Sean M Brooks gives 2421 and 2451, respectively. We can see that the thirty year difference is consistent with the text of
Mirkheim but not necessarily why any particular year dates are specified.
Meanwhile, while rereading a text for clues about characters' ages, we also enjoy other details. The Ikranankans ride not quadrupeds but large, leaping bipeds, I suppose like kangaroos. That is the sort of imaginative difference that we expect from a creative sf writer. This book cover shows Adzel carrying Falkayn who is shooting at a lance-wielding Ikranankan riding a zandara. The Ikranankans are too far away for us to discern their beaks, ruffs or
corvine beaks.
4 comments:
Paul:
And there's also the problem that van Rijn may have been using "thirty" as the nearest round number to the actual age difference, which would make dating their births even fuzzier.
David,
Indeed.
Paul.
Kaor, DAVID and Paul!
David, true, the possibility of merely round numbers being used is why the dates both I and Sandra Miesel have proposed will always remain "unconfirmed." I simply that I believe many of my dates were more "accurate," if that word can be used. For instance, Old Nick simply could not have attended the Council of Hiawatha because that would have made him well over 100 years of age. The Council was a CENTURY before the events in MIRKHEIM, where van Rijn was aged eighty. Hence my proposal that he was born in AD 2421 (I kept Miesel's dating of the Council to 2400).
Sean
Sean,
Do you have a page reference for when van Rijn was 80?
Thanks,
Paul.
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