in Three Hearts And Three Lions, Poul Anderson tells us that Holger Carlsen wants to return to the Carolingian universe;
in A Midsummer Tempest, Anderson tells us that it takes some time for Holger to find his way between universes;
in "The Man Who Came Late," Harry Turtledove tells us that a lot of time elapses before Holger finds his way back to the Carolingian universe.
"And that was thirty long years ago now, even if it sometimes seemed like yesterday. It might seem so, but seeming was not reality."
-Harry Turtledove, "The Man Who Came Late" IN Greg Bear and Gardner Dozois, Eds., Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson's Worlds (Burton, MI, 2014), pp. 33-60 AT p. 41.
Thus, this sequel is about the passage of time, one of the main themes in world literature.
CS Lewis' fragment, "After Ten Years," presents three surprises:
gradually, we realize that the dark confined space occupied by Yellowhead and his comrades is inside the Trojan Horse;
Yellowhead Menelaus sees that Helen has aged during her ten years in Troy;
Agamemnon tells Menelaus that the real reason for the Trojan War was economic!
Menelaus' two shocks are to see Helen after ten years and to learn that her abduction was not the cause of the war. Holger's shock is to see Alianora with her husband and three grown-up children after thirty years.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Turtledove's "The Man Who Came Late" was well written and interesting to read. But I'm enough of a sentimentalist to find it emotionally unsatisfactory. I would far rather Holger had managed to return to the Carolingian universe when only one or two years had passed for Alianora (and somewhat longer for Holger, to keep it interesting). Also, that would fit in better with what we see in A MIDSUMMEER TEMPEST, where Holger was advised by Valeria Matuchek on how to travel more accurately and "swiftly" between alternate worlds.
Ad astra! Sean
My objection to Harry's story was that everyone in it was far too reasonable. Holger's life has been turned into a bad joke and he just sort of sighs and shrugs.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
You are right. I wish I had thought of that! I don't think most of us would have behaved so "sensibly" in similar circumstances.
Ad astra! Sean
Particularly not a man who's been a desperate adventurer for decades, in kill-or-be-killed situations, all in the service of something that's suddenly presented to him and then taken away.
A psychotic break would be more credible.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree. SOMETHING more vehement or violent would be more plausible.
Ad astra! Sean
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