Hloch's introduction refers to the Terran War on Avalon, thus to the events of the previous volume, The People Of The Wind;
"Wings of Victory" describes first contact with Ythri;
"The Problem of Pain" describes Ythrian-human exploration of Avalon;
"How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson" describes Adzel's student days on Earth;
"Margin of Profit" is the first van Rijn story;
"Esau" - van Rijn and the planet Babur, a prequel to Mirkhem;
"The Season of Forgiveness" - Christmas on Ivanhoe, a sequel to the first David Falkayn story;
The Man Who Counts - van Rijn on Diomedes, a planet later visited by Dominic Flandry;
"A Little Knowledge" - problems in the Polesotechnic League;
"Day of Burning" - the trader team of Falkayn, Adzel and Chee Lan on Merseia, thus a prequel to the Flandry series;
"Lodestar" - more problems in the League, also van Rijn and the trader team at Mirkheim, thus another prequel to Mirkheim;
"Wingless" - Falkayn's grandson on Avalon during the colonization of the Hesperian Islands;
"Rescue on Avalon" - an ancestor of Daniel and Christopher Holm on Avalon during the colonization of the Coronan continent;
Hloch's introductions to individual stories impart other information, e.g., about the origin of the Solar Commonwealth.
The Earth Book, although mainly about the Polesotechnic League, begins and ends with human-Ythrian interactions, from the discovery of Ythri to the full colonization of Avalon.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And might Hloch had included some quotes from an ENCYCLOPAEDIA TERRESTRIA if Anderson had thought of using a fictional encyclopedia?
I agree with what you said about THE EARTH BOOK as a single collection. But, if we ever get a COMPLETE COLLECTED WORKS OF POUL ANDERSON, the stories in the THE EARTH BOOK will need to be redistributed among the other Technic stories in the volumes containing them. Preferably in internal chronological order, as was done by Hank Davis for Baen Books. And Hloch's prefaces should be kept, with some explanatory editorial notes, if needed.
If "The Saturn Game" had already existed before THE EARTH BOOK was published, that story would probably had been included with it.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I would prefer a technology that enabled us to print out the Technic History BOTH in its original reading order, which I reckon as 17 volumes with the EARTH BOOK as Vol. VII, AND in chronological order of fictional events, as in THE TECHNIC CIVILIZATION SAGA.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
That might be possible, with "print on demand" technology now used for some books. My personal preference leans more to collecting the Technic stories in internal chronological order, as seen in Baen Books TECHNIC CIVILIZATION SAGA.
Only three more pages of MOONRAKER left, then I will feel ready to start EXTRATERRESTRIALS IN THE CATHOLIC IMAGINATION. Been trying to watch out for that plot inconsistency in Fleming's book that you told me about.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Inconsistencies are a feature of Fleming's works. Someone could study them and try to iron them out as fans do with Holmes.
You have passed the inconsistency. Surely that submarine should not have been able to travel so fast that it could get into the rocket target area before the rocket returned to Earth? (Fleming wanted the "villain destroyed by his own weapon" motif.)
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Dang! I did note that "mystery" submarine. But I was thinking more of how it could have openly surfaced to pick up Drax and his men without setting off all kinds of alarm bells from the Royal Navy.
I don't know enough about submarines and how fast and far a high quality sub could go before entering the target area originally meant for the Moonraker to land in (instead of smashing into London, as Drax had planned).
I would not be surprised if there are James Bond fans who debate about inconsistencies or alleged inconsistencies in the stories. We see that with fans passionate about the Sherlock Holmes stories or THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
Or the works of Anderson, for that matter!
Ad astra! Sean
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