-Poul Anderson, "Tiger By The Tail" IN Anderson, Agent of the Terran Empire (London, 1977), pp. 7-36 AT p. 9.
"When Captain Flandry opened his eyes, he saw metal."
-Poul Anderson, "Tiger By The Tail" IN Anderson, Captain Flandry: Defender of the Terran Empire (Riverdale, NY, February 2010), pp. 241-276 AT p. 241.
Two versions of an opening sentence. Two versions of a text: original and revised. Two slightly divergent fictional timelines.
In the first case, imagine that we are reading about this "agent of the Terran Empire" for the very first time. In the second case, imagine that we have already read the two "Young Flandry" novels followed by two non-Flandry works set in the same period and are now reading about Dominic Flandry after his promotion to Captain. Next, try to keep both perspectives in mind while reading. We can remember Flandry as Ensign, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander and Commander but can then forget - like closing one eye - that we ever knew any of this.
How much can we learn about the Terran Empire from this single story without referring to any of its later-written prequels? Both versions of the text refer to Catawrayannis so that strangely named city has been part of Technic History continuity since January 1951. Reread with fresh eyes and find new aspects of Poul Anderson's narratives.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
And that is exactly what happened to me! The first time I read any of Anderson's stories was the 1965 Chilton Books edition of AGENT OF THE TERRAN EMPIRE, containing the original texts of the Flandry stories later revised by Anderson.
Ad astra! Sean
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