Friday, 8 September 2023

Wildness And Un-Men

In Poul Anderson's "Sargasso of Lost Starships," Basil Donovan chooses domesticity with Helena instead of wildness with Valduma. He thinks that he has made the right choice but feels that he has lost something. Sure but Valduma's wildness was destructive: conquering and causing chaos. Compare Diana Crowfeather's choice here.

"Sargasso..." refers to humanoid male Arzunians not as men but as "..un-men..." (VII, p. 431), a term resonant in Anderson's works and elsewhere. See here.

Brief posts between other activities.

(The Arzunians have captured "...a small fast Comet-class scoutboat." (ibid.) Spaceship types are consistent throughout the Technic History.)

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7 comments:

  1. Sean M. Brooks8 September 2023 at 19:09

    Kaor, Paul!

    Yes, but "Sargasso" was a very early story by Anderson, written before he had thought out, adopted, or coined better ways of referring to non-humans. I mean terms like "xenosophonts," "sophonts," or even just plain "aliens."

    Ad astra! Sean

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  2. paulshackley2017@gmail.com8 September 2023 at 22:19

    I think he was emphasizing that, although they looked like men, they were not.

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  3. Sean M. Brooks8 September 2023 at 22:31

    Kaor, Paul!

    I agree that too is a possibility, even if using "un-men" in this sense seems rather awkward and clunky to me.

    Ad astra! Sean

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  4. S.M. Stirling12 September 2023 at 18:18

    Sean: yes, because that in turn would depend on contingent, accidental factors.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sean M. Brooks13 September 2023 at 08:03

    Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

    Exactly!

    Ad astra! Sean

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  6. Keith29 October 2023 at 08:28

    Possibly unfortunate that Poul Anderson would use the term. In the January 1953 Astounding he published a novella titled UN-MAN where un-man referred to united nations man. I found it quite readable.

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  7. Sean M. Brooks29 October 2023 at 17:42

    Kaor, Keith!

    I agree "UN-man" did make sense in that context. Shorthand for "United Nations man."

    Ad astra! Sean

    ReplyDelete