(i) Anderson addressed every major sf theme, including alternative history, both fantastic (the Operation... volumes) and realistic (the counterfactual speculations and discussions in the Time Patrol series). Harry Turtledove and SM Stirling have specialized in alternative history and thus have gone further with it.
(ii) The ability to write a long novel with a large cast of diverse characters, each individually interesting to the reader? Within this, many chapter sections each opening by naming a different character, thus immediately catching the reader's attention? As an example, in Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest (London, 2010), Chapter 15:
"Salander..." (p. 357);
"Berger..." (p. 359);
"Holmberg..." (p. 360);
"Erika Berger..." (p. 362);
"Figuerola..." (p. 363);
"Berger..." (p. 364);
"Lisbeth Salander..." (p. 365);
"On Friday morning Jonasson was faced with an obviously irritated Inspector Faste..." (p. 366);
"Bublanski..." (p. 368);
"Edklinth..." (p. 368);
"Figuerola..." (p. 369);
"The Prime Minister..." (p. 374);
"...Salander..." (p. 380);
"Trinity..." (p. 381).
Ten characters. Someone is missing. However, Chapters 16 and 17 both begin:
"Blomkvist..." (pp. 389, 411)
Anderson presents many fascinating characters but maybe not as many as this in a single text?
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree with what you said in your point (i) about Anderson, Turtledove, and Stirling. I think it was L. Sprague De Camp who pioneered the alternate universe subgenre of SF and F, with Anderson and then the other two authors you listed developing it further.
Eventually, however, I became dissatisfied with Turtledove's works in the alternate history genre. Largely because I came to think he was modeling his alternate timelines too closely or too obviously derivatively on what happened in our timeline. But I did like best his Basil Argyros stories, about an Intelligence officer of an Eastern Roman Empire which never had to engage in life and death struggles for survival with jihadist Islam (Mohammed did not found Islam, instead he became a Christian saint and bishop!). Which gave the Empire the time, strength, and energy needed to take a much more active role in western Europe.
As regards your point (ii) I would say that for many years Anderson was content to write fairly short novels. BUT he packed an amazing amount into those relatively short books (about 125-50 pages). But that did not mean he could not write long novels with many characters in them. Examples being the massive four volume THE KING OF YS, ORION SHALL RISE, THE BOAT OF A MILLION YEARS, the four HARVEST OF STARS books, STARFARERS, and GENESIS, etc.
Sean
Sean,
You are quick off the mark with comments this morning or, for you, I should say this evening.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That's because I'm a night owl! It's early morning here in Massachusetts and I really should soon be going to bed!
Sean
Post a Comment