Two Directions

After rereading Poul Anderson's "The Queen of Air and Darkness," there are at least two directions to move in next:

there are two sequels by other authors (see Pastiches And Sequels);

"Home" is the remaining short story in the Anderson collection, New America.

New America presents "The Queen of Air and Darkness" and "Home" as if they were two accounts of further extra-solar colonization after the settlement of the planet, Rustum. I will try to reread "Home" without preconceptions to ascertain whether it can be read in this way although, on the basis of previous readings, a different conclusion is more likely. Some themed collections by Anderson address concepts like future wars, alien contacts or interstellar travel and the inclusion of "Home" in New America makes more sense on that basis, i.e., yes, it is another story about extra-solar colonization but, no, it is not set in the same timeline as the Rustum stories.

Contemporary novels about computer technology read like science fiction to anyone who started to read sf decades ago. If and when space travel gets properly off the ground, it will become one part of the background of what will then be contemporary fiction. Even now, contemporary novels can and maybe do refer to the International Space Station. Will there finally be novels that read like installments of twentieth century future histories?