-copied from here.
The Earthbook Of Stormgate was published in a three-volume edition although I have only ever seen and owned the original one-volume version. The above Book Description more or less confirms my conjecture about the contents of the three volumes. Since Volume II comprises the single novel, The Man Who Counts, Volume I should contain six stories and III five.
In that case, Volumes I and II could be read before Trader To The Stars and III before The People Of The Wind. This puts the stories and novels more nearly, although not exactly, into chronological order but Hloch's Earth Book Introduction, at the beginning of Volume I, refers to the Terran War which is described in The People Of The Wind. Also, "Day of Burning," about Falkayn, and "Lodestar," about both van Rijn and Falkayn, continue to be read after, instead of before, Mirkheim.
Baen Books' seven-volume The Technic Civilization Saga, compiled by Hank Davis:
collects the entire Technic History in chronological order of fictitious events;
includes two previously uncollected stories;
retains the Earth Book Introduction and interstitial passages although these are now scattered between other works.
What I called the Polesotechnic League Tetralogy and two Avalonian volumes correspond only to Saga Vols I-III.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
If a readers wants to read the entire Technic Civilization series in strictly chronological order, it makes sense to prefer the Baen Books edition. But if you want to see how Technic civilization appeared to Ythrian eyes, then it also makes sense to have THE EARTH BOOK OF STORMGATE. Readers who are completists will have both.
Sean
Sean,
It is amazing to have two equally valid reading orders - three if we count the 3-vol EARTH BOOK.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And it also feels more "organic," more "natural" that way. As tho they were parts of an actual history arranged in different ways by different editors.
Sean
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