One certainty is that Anderson's History of Technic Civilization cannot possibly fit into a single volume. I think that Baen Books has the number of volumes right, seven, although I would rearrange some of the contents.
Anderson's historical and even prehistorical works could be presented in chronological order. The alternative histories connected to the Old Phoenix belong together. Anderson's future histories progress from the Psychotechnic History, which could be complete in two volumes, pre-FTL and FTL, to Genesis, a single volume.
Blish's main works or bodies of work could be collected in just four volumes although I now think that each branch of his Haertel Scholium deserves its own separate volume. His complete works, of course, are more voluminous.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
But you do agree with the listing, in terms of internal chronological order, of Anderson's Technic Civilization stories as given by Sandra Miesel and taken over by Hank Davis for Baen Books' republishing of the stories? But I do agree the contents of some volumes could be usefully rearranged, as long as they follow Miesel's listing.
As you know, I found an unexpected connection linking ROGUE SWORD to THE HIGH CRUSADE. The CONTRAST between the very grim historical novel ROGUE SWORD with the far lighter hearted CRUSADE is interesting and striking.
You would advocate collecting THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS, A MIDSUMMER TEMPEST and the two Old Phoenix stories "House Rule" and "Losers' Night" in one volume? Next would come collecting OPERATION CHAOS and OPERATION LUNA in a single volume? They are all connected because we see Holger Danske and Valeria Matuchek at the Old Phoenix Inn in A MIDSUMMER TEMPEST.
I hope any collecting of the Pyschotechnic Institute stories in a COMPLETE COLLECTED WORKS comes with a note prefacing "The Chapter Ends" that commentators disagree on whether that story belongs in the series. I don't, as you know!
In the last sentence of this blog piece I think you meant to write "Anderson's complete works, of course, are more voluminous."
Sean
Sean
I agree with the order in the Chronology although I would publish "How To Be Ethnic..." before "Margin of Profit," as they are in THE EARTH BOOK.
My order for the Old Phoenix multiverse would be:
THREE HEARTS...
OPERATION CHAOS
OPERATION LUNA
A MIDSUMMER TEMPEST
The two short stories
I meant that Blish's complete works are more voluminous than Blish's 4 main bodies of work, not that Anderson's complete works are more voluminous than Blish's.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Since both "Margin of Profit" and "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" are set in the same year in both versions of Sandra Miesel's Chronology, I have no objection to placing "How" before "Margin."
In a complete COLLECTED WORKS I would argue for placing THREE HEARTS and the first OPERATION book in one volume, with the other two novels and the Old Phoenix short stories in the next volume.
Understood, what you meant about the works of Blish!
Sean
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