The Okies future history
The pantropy future history
The "Haertel Scholium" of branching future histories
The After Such Knowledge Trilogy (ASK)
A Case Of Conscience is both a Haertel overdrive novel and Volume III of ASK.
Each of these bodies of work is short enough to collect in a single volume and all but the Scholium have been.
Poul Anderson's First Two (Of Eight) Future Histories
The Psychotechnic History
The Technic History or History of Technic Civilization
Although the Psychotechnic History has been collected in three volumes, I think that it could more appropriately be collected in just two, covering the interplanetary and interstellar periods. The Technic History has been collected in seven volumes. This alone is enough to demonstrate the difference in output between Blish and Anderson.
Blish's Okies conduct mining and engineering operations on extra-solar planets. See here. In the Technic History, Polesotechnic League companies synthesize heavy isotopes on Satan and the Supermetals Company mines heavy metals on Mirkheim. In both series, FTL interstellar trade is a major economic activity. However, Anderson presents considerably more detailed scientific information about the processes on Satan and Mirkheim than Blish does about the Okies' industrial activities.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I don't know if you would agree, but I would include Anderson/Dickson's Hoka/Interbeing League stories as one of those speculative future histories. Altho I think only a relatively short period of time elapses in those tales.
And besides Satan and Mirkheim, there is also Wayland. That mineral rick moon would also be a source for many of the resources an interstellar civilization would need.
Sean
Sean,
I think that a future history needs more than one generation of characters.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I mostly agree. But I do get the impression that STAR PRINCE CHARLIE is set later than the other Hoka stories. The Hoka in that novel was a graduate of Oxford University and seems to have been of mature years. I don't recall any Hokas in the short stories being yet even students on Earth.
Sean
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