Veleda, my favorite Poul Anderson character, plays a prominent role in two timelines:
warlike in a prevented timeline;
warlike, then peaceful, in the Time Patrol timeline.
"Star of the Sea" is a short novel although it has never been published as a single volume. Written later, it is inserted into a central position in the series. Everard meets and has a relationship with Janne Floris, Veleda's "goddess," but cannot stay with Janne because we know that he will meet Wanda Tamberly later that same year, 1986.
The Time Patrol series, now complete in two long volumes, could be reorganized as a thematic tetralogy:
The Guardians Of Time;
The Gods Of Time;
The Thieves Of Time;
The Shield Of Time.
The Gods Of Time would be "The Sorrow of Odin the Goth" and "Star of the Sea." The latter completes a diptych about Northern European mythology and immediately precedes the introductions both of Wanda and of the Exaltationists.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I had not hitherto known Veleda was your favorite character created by Poul Anderson. After all, she appears only in one short novel "Star Of The Sea." If I had thought about it, I would have guessed Manse Everard would be a special favorite of yours.
I'm not sure I would agree with your suggested reorganizing of the Time Patrol stories. I think two long volumes in a COMPLETE COLLECTED WORKS OF POUL ANDERSON would work best. But I do agree that it would be better to place "Death And The Knight," the last Patrol story, as part of the second volume, after THE SHIELD OF TIME.
Sean
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