Sunday 2 June 2019

Discrepancies

When discussing Poul Anderson's History of Technic Civilization, we cite various authorities:

Poul Anderson;
Sandra Miesel;
Hloch of the Stormgate Choth;
Donvar Ayeghen;
Michael Karageorge.

Sandra Miesel comments on "Sargasso of Lost Starships":

"'Sargasso of Lost Starships' is an account filled with discrepancies, nevertheless it shows the early Empire defeudalizing Ansa to good effect."
-Sandra Miesel, "Afterword: The Price of Buying Time" IN Poul Anderson, A Stone In Heaven (New York, 1979), pp. 237-251 AT pp. 240-241.

Thus, the Imperial annexation of Ansa is historical even if the journey to the Black Nebula is fictional. This comment by Miesel synthesizes the messages of two recent posts:

Fiction Within Fiction?
Historical Continuity

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I don't object to "feudalism" if we understand that to simply mean most planets of the Empire managed their own, local affairs according to their own laws and customs. And I recall Flandry saying or thinking that "feudalism" would give civilization something to fall back on during the chaos of the Long Night after the Empire fell.

Sean