However, I have read Poul Anderson's and Gordon R. Dickson's Star Prince Charlie only once. The opening paragraph of its Prologue reads:
"Seen from Earth, the sun of the planet which men have named New Lemuria lies in the southern constellation of Toucan. Of course, it is not seen from Earth except through powerful telescopes, for it lies more than 200 light-years away. A Sol-type star is nowhere near bright enough to reach the naked eye across such a distance."
-Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson, Star Prince Charlie (New York, 1976), Prologue, p. 5.
A fictional narrative is a combination of truths and untruths although the latter are not lies and usually should be both plausible and consistent with what is known. There can be exceptions. Plausibility is not a priority in superhero fiction. Alternative history fiction by definition contradicts known history. In both cases, it is entertaining to read clever rationalizations of any divergences from reality.
The opening paragraph of Star Prince Charlie is skillfully written fiction. There is a Toucan constellation but the telescopes powerful enough to show the sun of New Lemuria have not been built yet. The star is there (of course) but we cannot see it (yet).
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And I remember the comments you wrote about STAR PRINCE CHARLIE at the time you first read that book by Anderson and Dickson. Basically, it was better than you had expected from a story featuring one of their Hokas. Also, you found more that was worthy of thought than you had expected from that book.
I know you are not particularly fond of Anderson/Dickson's Hoka stories (see EARTHMAN'S BURDEN and HOKA!). But I liked them!
Sean
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