red sun;
sheer mountains;
incessant winds;
gnarled, dwarfed trees;
moorlands;
ice plains;
salt oceans too dense for bodies to sink;
a peasant's house with a rope holding the roof against the gales;
his father's castle above a glacier;
hoofs in the courtyard;
bandits;
burned villages;
dead men;
smashed cannon.
Oh well, let's hope humanity does spread among the stars even if it takes burned villages and smashed cannon with it.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
The mention of how Raven's home planet has a RED sun reminded me of how most stars are various kinds if red suns, dimmer and cooler, but longer lasting than our Sun. So, of course I would expect humans to settle terrestroid planets orbiting such stars. Even tho I'm sure the original colonists would find it unpleasantly dim compared to Sol. The mixed Russo/Mongols who colonized Altai also had an "orange/red" sun, called Krasna. And I thin we would have to expect many planets of such stars, even when terrestroid, to come with drawbacks, such as being cold and partially glaciated. As was Altai, again, as seen in "A Message in Secret."
Sean
Incidentally, "Lochlann" was the Gaelic name for Norway (or the Viking countries in general) in the early medieval period.
I knew it came from somewhere!
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I wonder if "Lochlann" was used in Anderson/Broxon's collaboration THE DEMON OF SCATTERY? If so, yet another detail I've forgotten!
Sean
Sean: yes, it is used in that book -- but with the suffix denoting origin, "-ach"; Lochlannach, "folk of Lochlann".
That's from memory, but I'm fairly sure of it.
Dear Mr. Stirling,
I checked my copy of THE DEMON OF SCATTERY. You are right, the Irish did use "Lochlannach" in referring to the Norwegians/Scandinavians.
Sean
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