The Ythrian Collection

After one van Rijn collection, one Falkayn collection, two van Rijn-Falkayn novels and one novel set centuries later on Falkayn's colony planet, Avalon, The Earth Book Of Stormgate collected twelve remaining works set before, during and after the van Rijn-Falkayn period with new introductions written as if by an Avalonian Ythrian.

In The Technic Civilization Saga, Volumes I-III, the twelve Earth Book installments, now published for the first time in chronological order of fictitious events, are not only separated from each other by other installments of the Technic History but also are presented in a slightly different order. For example, "Margin of Profit," introducing van Rijn, comes before instead of after "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson," introducing Falkayn's crew member, Adzel.

I prefer the original order in which:

 

the first, second, eleventh and twelfth installments are about human-Ythrian interactions;

 

the third installment refers briefly to Ythri whereas the tenth features an Ythrian spaceship crew;

 

thus, six works making no reference to Ythri are sandwiched between six that do make such references!

 

The Earth Book is not only an Ythrian collection but also a synthesis between the Ythrian and Polesotechnic League threads in the Technic History, the latter thread mainly, though not entirely, comprising the activities of van Rijn and Falkayn. Thus, having celebrated their grand finale in their second joint novel, these guys show up again in stories set earlier in the Earth Book.

 

That brief reference (see above):

"Wild wings above Ythri!"

-Poul Anderson, "How To Be Ethnic in One Easy Lesson" IN The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), pp. 49-67 AT p. 56.

-Poul Anderson, "How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" IN The Van Rijn Method (Riverdale, NY, 2009), pp. 175-197 AT p. 183.