Thursday 6 June 2019

Recurrent Surnames

Recurrent surnames establish future historical continuities.

In Robert Heinlein's "It's Great To Be Back" (Future History), The Rolling Stones (Juvenile Future History) and The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress:

Stone on the Moon.

In Poul Anderson's works:

Falkayn and Holm on Avalon;
Kittredege on Vixen;
Davisson on Esperance;
Telander in "Pride" and Tau Zero.

Any more?

2 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

At least one more! We see de Tournevilles in both ROGUE SWORD and THE HIGH CRUSADE. And both MOTHER OF KINGS and THE LAST VIKING is about the same ruling dynasty of Norway: the Ynglings.

Sean

David Birr said...

Paul and Sean:
I have to quibble. Recurrent surnames don't necessarily establish historical continuity; they could just be coincidence. I read a David Drake story once in which one of the 27th century soldier characters was a woman named Kuykendall. Within a week, I saw a soldier on post whose uniform, marked with her name, read ... Kuykendall. [This looks like a job for Obvious-Man!] A curious coincidence, but nothing more.