Sunday 8 March 2020

The Early Van Rijn Stories

I want to focus on Poul Anderson's six works that are just about Nicholas van Rijn but let us begin by putting them in their context yet again:

The Van Rijn Series (just about him)
"Margin of Profit"
The Man Who Counts
"Esau"
"Hiding Place"
"Territory"
"The Master Key"

Adzel (before he joined the trader team)
"How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson"

David Falkayn (before he led the trader team)
"The Three-Cornered Wheel"
"A Sun Invisible"

The Trader Team (founded by van Rijn)
"The Trouble Twisters" (van Rijn cameos)
"Day of Burning"

The Van Rijn and Trader Team series merge
Satan's World
"Lodestar"
Mirkheim

Other Polesotechnic League Stories
"The Season of Forgiveness"
"A Little Knowledge"

There are also three pre-League and twenty-four post-League works but I am not about to list all of those yet again. This puts the six works in question in their (complicated) context and paves the way for the next post later today. 

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

One thing to keep in mind about Adzel in "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" is that he almost certainly had no idea he would one day be working for Old Nick. As a student studying planetology he probably, rather vaguely, thought of doing contracted studies of planets or taking an academic post. It was probably the need for money for paying off debts which first drew him to working for Solar Spice & Liquors. As we know, Old Nick paid able employees very generously!

Ad astra! Sean

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I forgot to express again, my regret that we see Trillians only once, in "A Little Knowledge." Hmmm, did Flandry ever happen to meet Trillians?

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
Good point about Adzel's changed career plan. Van Rijn would be able to hire good scientists who would otherwise have worked in Universities or on government contracts.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree! And Adzel had enough of a sense of adventure to enjoy working for van Rijn.

Ad astra! Sean