Is "Lodestar" a pivotal story in Poul Anderson's Technic History? (See "Further Repercussions Of 'Lodestar,'"
here, and its combox.) Yes. The story was written to end a saga. In it, David Falkayn and Coya Conyon independently realize that the Polesotechnic League has gone bad. Coya's disagreements with her grandfather, van Rijn, and Falkayn's conflict with his employer, that same van Rijn, dramatize the scale of the problem. An Ythrian sees the shadow of God the Hunter across van Rijn's way of life. This foreshadows the civil war in the following installment,
Mirkheim. Meanwhile, van Rijn has all but retired. His grown granddaughter sees that he is indeed old. The van Rijn series at least approaches its end.
The installment after Mirkheim, "Wingless," which immediately follows "Lodestar" in the Earth Book, is about David's and Coya's grandson on Avalon, far removed from the Polesotechnic League. When, after just one more Avalonian story, Hloch tells us that The Earth Book Of Stormgate is ended, his AFTERWORD is followed by an INTRODUCTION written by a very different historian. Donvar Ayeghen, President of the Galactic Archeological Society, discusses the Memoirs of Rear Admiral John Henry Reeves, Imperial Solar Navy, which depict the legendary Founder of the First Empire. We are reading not only a future history series but also the works of its historians.
Will there be a post tomoz? See:
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
It took me some effort to grasp your point, but I agree "Lodestar" is a pivotal story in the sense that the best days of the Polesotechnic League were past and shadows were indeed closing in on it and Old Nick's way of life.
Nicholas van Rijn was an old man in MIRKHEIM, but he refused to be pitiable and was determined to remain as energetic and active as possible for a long time! I recall how he was planning to spend his last years in a final, truly long journey of exploration. Alas, we never got any account of that!
We have both read and reread "The Star Plunderer," and one thing that has impressed me is how little in that story conflicts with the rest of the Technic series, despite it being written so early in Anderson's career, in 1951. But "Sargasso of Lost Starships" presents us with more difficulties.
Ad astra and Merry Christmas! Sean
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