Late at night I switch from prose fiction to dvds or graphic fiction. After posting about Poul Anderson's
The Boat Of A Million Years, I reread a volume of
Hellblazer in which John Constantine meets the dead John Kennedy. I understand that the politician in Chapter XVIII
of
Boat is a satire of Kennedy. So that is coincidence or maybe synchronicity.
Fiction reflects reality. Reality includes public figures. Therefore, a politician can appear under a different name in a novel or as a ghost in a fantasy. The present Prince of Wales can become a King without a Parliament in an alternative history. There seem to be no limits to what authors can imagine and readers can accept in works of fiction.
The Kennedy in question in "Boat of a Million Years" is -Ted- Kennedy, though, not JFK.
ReplyDeleteMr Stirling,
DeleteThank you. I wasn't sure.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
DeleteHa! Mr. Stirling beat me to it! Poul Anderson modeled the Senator Moriarty we see in the "1975" section of THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS on Senator Edward Kennedy, whom he STRONGLY disliked.
Sean
Sean,
DeleteThanks. You had mentioned "Kennedy" earlier and I jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
DeleteI think you are correct. I do recall us discussing THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS, including comments about Senator Moriarty being based on Teddy Kennedy.
Sean