Two strong miners clear the way for an arrogant, brightly clad engineer;
a wizard wearing an astrological cloak makes faces at a droning, bead-counting, yellow-robed priest;
one vendor cries fruit and rice;
another calls passersby about his rugs;
a mother snatches her child from the unfenced precipice;
a squatting woman cooks over a brazier;
another woman propositions a jungle yokel outside "...a jabbering joy cave..." (VIII, p. 70);
a smith sings as he tempers a knife in a solenoid;
a bird of prey, gold in the sunlight, soars.
Open any book by Poul Anderson and all human - and some non-human - life is there.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Mention of that wizard with his astrological cloak was a bad sign, because it's another indication of the regression of Unan Besar, as it sank deeper into superstition.
And that yellow robed priest with made me wonder if there was some Buddhism mixed into what look like the Hindu derived religion of Unan Besar.
It was reassuring to see that smith, because practical knowledge of how to use and work metals shows the planet has not yet completely regressed!
And I recall how many times we see hunting birds, both on and off Terra.
Ad astra! Sean
Yup. His descriptions are masterful.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And I have seen similar list/descriptions in many of your own books. Plainly, you took that technique from Anderson's stories.
Ad astra! Seam
Definitely learned a great deal.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I could tell! And the very first of your books that I read, even tho out of sequence, was because of a blurb Anderson wrote for UNDER THE YOKE. I figured any book Anderson thought so well of was probably worth reading. And it was!
Ad astra! Sean
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