Chapter III, set on Mars, imparts a considerable amount of information but here I will address just two points. First, the "Years Of Madness" appear in Poul Anderson's text after they have appeared in one of Sandra Miesel's interstitial passages. Secondly, we learn that a man called Stefan Rostomily has died on Mars. A man called Stefan appeared in "Marius" and Miesel informed us that his surname was Rostomily but we have not yet been told his relationship to the mysterious Un-Men.
I would have preferred if this future history had stayed longer with the story of the UN's struggle against the forces of social chaos. After a few stories, chaos triumphs although not in the longer term.
See also:
On Mars (an earlier post)
The Early Years Of Two Future Histories
Mars In An Early Future History
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
But don't forget Anderson's discussion in that "Afterword" he wrote for THE PSYCHOTECHNIC LEAGUE for why became dissatisfied with the series. Including his complete disillusionment with and contempt for the useless UN.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I remember and the UN would not be my way of changing the world either but they started out as the good guys in this series. It is a bit sickening that there was interplanetary war later on.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
In this series, yes. And I was not in the least war broke out in space later on in the series. I EXPECT human beings to have conflicts, conflicts sometimes leading to war. It's simply what people ARE.
Ad astra! Sean
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