It has been a privilege to reread and post about Poul Anderson's
World Without Stars. However, those premises require much more than just a single short novel. An ideal Poul Anderson multiverse would contain not only an indefinitely extended Time Patrol series and Technic History but also several long series spinning off from (at least)
World Without Stars,
After Doomsday and the Old Phoenix and the pre-history of Ys.
But, in order to write all that, Poul Anderson would require the antithanatic. And, with an indefinitely extended lifespan, a man like Anderson would probably, after several centuries, turn his attention away from writing to other pursuits including, if meanwhile an equivalent of the hyperdrive or space jump had been developed, exploration of the real universe.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Ha! I too would have loved it if Poul Anderson had been able and willing to further extend and develop his best known series. Including expansions of themes seen only in one offs like WORLD WITHOUT STARS. But that would have needed something like the antithanatic seen in WORLD!
Yes, if Poul Anderson could have lived in a time which has a FTL drive, with or without an antithanatic, I think he might well have stopped writing, preferring to explore the real universe. I can imagine him joining the First or Second Grand Surveys or Old Nick's Solar Spice & Liquors Company in the Technic Civilization timeline.
Sean
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