Friday, 23 October 2020

Serious Points And Post-Nuclear Recoveries

Poul Anderson's "Lodestar" begins with violent action but makes a serious point about economic injustice. Anderson's "The Sky People" features violent action but makes a serious point about the difference between scientific and non-scientific cultures. Anderson should not be written off as merely writing about violent action.

In Anderson's Psychotechnic History, rapid recovery from World War III is helped by the new science of psychotechnics. In his Maurai History, beginning with "The Sky People," slower recovery from the War of Judgment is helped by new technologies and paramathematical psychology.

See:

 
Maybe the fact that the Islanders who developed the new technologies had less metal to cannibalize than the mainlanders who were slower to recover also helps to meet an earlier objection? See here

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I get annoyed by how the more hoity toity types of critics tend to sneer at action and adventure in SF! Such stories should also be fun to read and not merely thinly disguised political or sociological tracts. Or, even worse, Politically Correct propaganda!

I'm still not convinced of the plausibility of metals being rare in the Maurai timeline. New Zealand alone, are islands which before the War of Judgment, must have been populous enough to have many cars and buildings with steel skeletons. So metal should still not be that rare.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

But literature encompasses many fictional narratives that are not action-adventure or tracts or propaganda.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I know, I agree! I was speaking out of irritation with a recent run in with one of those hoity toity PC types.

Ad astra! Sean