Friday, 15 March 2019

Far Future Endings

Several future history series are rounded off with a single installment set much later in time and usually also much further away in space.

Poul Anderson
The Psychotechnic History: "The Chapter Ends."
The Technic History: "Starfog."
The Kith History: "The Horn of Time the Hunter."
The Rustum History: "The Queen of Air and Darkness."
The Directorate History: "Time Lag."

Other Authors
Robert Heinlein, The Future History: Orphans Of The Sky.
James Blish, The Seedling Stars: "Watershed."
Larry Niven, The Known Space History: "Safe At Any Speed."

Anderson excels at my three favorite kinds of sf:

future histories;
time travel;
cosmological sf.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

As I'm sure you will recall, I'm still not convinced or satisfied that "The Chapter Ends" genuinely belongs with the Psychotechnic series. I would still argue "The Chapter Ends" is a stand alone, non series story. Nothing in that story has struck me as being even remotely "descended" from the Psychotechnic era. I still think Sandra Meisel shoe horned "Chapter" into that series. The story is best understood as one of the non series stories Anderson wrote in his early years as a writer.

I still hope that you will look up some time Avram Davidson's Ruritanian stories about the Triune Monarchy of Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania, set in an alternate Europe circa 1890-1910.

Sean