Monday 29 November 2021

The Book That Spans, Illuminates And Completes A Future History

The contents of the Polesotechnic League Tetralogy can be summarized as three stories about Nicholas van Rijn, three stories about David Falkayn and two novels about both. However, in his third story and in the two novels, Falkayn has become the leader of van Rijn's first trader team, with van Rijn cameoing in the story to initiate the team. The eight PL installments collected in The Earth Book Of Stormgate can be summarized as two stories and one novel about van Rijn, one story about the trader team, one story about both van Rijn and the trader team and three stories about neither, although one of those three stories features Falkayn's crew member, Adzel, long before he joined the team.

The Tetralogy, The People Of The Wind and the Earth Book comprise:

8 PL installments
1 Ythrian novel
8 PL installments sandwiched between 4 Ythrian stories, all with introductions written by an Ythrian
 
Thus, it is literally true that the Earth Book "Spans, illuminates and completes the magnificent future history of the Polesotechnic League."

8 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

And I wondered just now if a Tigery historian on Imhotep could have done the same for Dominic Flandry, the man who well nigh singlehandedly saved the two intelligent races of Starkad from extinction. THE GAME OF EMPIRE shows Starkadians settled on Imhotep remembering Flandry with gratitude. Hmmmmm, THE BOOK OF DOMINIC FLANDRY? Or is that too blah a title?

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

THE IMHOTEP BOOK OF KURSOVIKI?

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Possibly, or maybe THE TOBORKOZAN BOOK OF IMHOTEP?

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Whatever.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Some kind of framing device for the Dominic Flandry stories, analogous to that of THE EARTH BOOK, or TALES OF THE FLYING MOUNTAINS, would have been interesting.

Ad astra! Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,

It would have made the Technic History even better than it already is.

Paul.

S.M. Stirling said...

Sigh... you're right, Paul. It would.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!

Both: A framing device showing us Flandry in his old age, as he reminisced about his past adventures, comes to mind!

Chapter X of A CIRCUS OF HELLS should have been expanded to show us more about the Wayland AI. And there should have been extra chapter in THE REBEL WORLDS telling us how Flandry and his XO rescued Kathryn McCormac from Snelund. It's likely that was because of his publishers insisting on strict word counts. Darn!

Ad astra! Sean