In a brief introduction to this story, Anderson lists his influences:
John Kendrick Bangs;
Charles Erskine Scott Wood;
Hendrik Willem Van Loon;
Lord Dunsany;
Edmond Hamilton;
others;
a common daydream;
certain cheerful pubs.
On previous readings, I have skipped past this list. Skipping past anything is always a mistake with Anderson. Every word matters. That is quite a list.
Bangs and his houseboat for dead authors (see here) show up appropriately in Alan Moore's Promethea. Having recently heard the horns of Elfland, we now face the armies of Elfland and meet the King of Elfland's Daughter. Given enough time, we will mention every fantastic imagining on the blog.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And it was because of what Poul Anderson said about Lord Dunsany and Olaf Stapledon that I read some of their works. And I hope to read more of the works of Dunsany and Stapledon.
Sean
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