The opening view is from a spaceship:
"Stars crowded darkness, unwinking and wintry." (p. 52)
Will our old friend, the Milky Way, put in an appearance? Sure it will:
"...the clotted silver of the Milky Way..." (ibid.)
"...clotted silver..." is a new comparison. The passage continues:
"...and the sprawl of Sagittarius. There, behind dust clouds where new suns were being born, lay the galaxy's heart." (ibid.)
Of course, the Andersonian hero yearns for those new suns and the galactic center but we soon learn that this is to be a story of disappointment. At this stage in history, colonists are being directed to return from the home that they have made on an extra-solar planet back to their home planet, Earth - "Earthman, come home," to quote James Blish - and certainly not to venture any further into space. It need not always be like that but Poul Anderson considers every possibility.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree "Home" is a story of disappointment, but even this narrative offers us a glimmer or two of hope, as I think you will find as you read it. "Murphy's Hall," by contrast, is a story of unmitigated failure.
Yes, Anderson gave us many stories of hope as well. But, as you said, he examines every possibility, as "Home" and "Murphy's Hall" shows.
Sean
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