In Poul Anderson's Time Patrol story, "The Only Game In Town," Manse Everard's captor, Toktai, boasts that he drank twenty fellow Mongols senseless in Karakorum. Nevertheless, Everard incapacitates Toktai and his two guards by sharing with them his twentieth century whisky. Similarly, a commander in SM Stirling's Emberverse either boasts or complains that a Mongol is too mean, tough and hardy to get drunk before passing out in his own vomit. Strength involves knowing our limits, not denying them. Stirling might have remembered Toktai when writing
The Sky-Blue Wolves? - or might just have written about the all too common phenomenon of a loud-mouthed drunk.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember both of these examples of Mongol braggadocio! And how Manse Everard reflected that however hardened Mongols were to wine and kvass, they would not be used to such potent drinks as whisky--which was invented only later. And while Prince Dhzambul enjoyed drinking, he also knew his limits (unlike some of his fellow Mongols).
Se
I was definitely remembering the "Only Game in Town" story! 8-).
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And I enjoy watching out for Andersonian allusions in your stories! (Smiles)
Sean
From such things as Dan Carlin's "Wrath of the Khans" series in Hardcore History, I learned that a lot of the Mongol rulers had drinking problems. I guess Poul had read similar sources to what Dan used to get that information.
I do have the impression that generally people whose ancestors haven't had agriculture for a long time have problems dealing with alcohol. Long experience with plenty of fermentable material helps develop cultural practices and perhaps genetic traits that make one less vulnerable to alcohol addiction.
Kaor, Jim!
Makes sense to me. And one of those "practices" would be local cops hauling off disorderly drunks to sober up overnight in the drunk tank.
Ad astra! Sean
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