Monday, 24 February 2025

Wind On Two Planets

Poul Anderson, Maurai And Kith (New York, 1982), pp. 215-239.

Instead of making the abrupt transition from Kenri Shaun back to the crew of Envoy, let's stay with the Kith and read about Kenri's friend, Jong Errifrans of the Golden Flyer. Both "Ghetto"/Starfarers 21 and "The Horn of Time the Hunter" inform us that Jong is a Kithman of the starship Golden Flyer. 

In "Maurai And Kith," Kenri's story, "Ghetto," ends on p. 214 while Jong's story, "The Horn...," begins on p. 215. "Ghetto" ends not with:

"...the cold night wind of Earth."

- as in Starfarers 21 (see here) but with:

"...the cool damp night wind of Earth." (p. 214)

I surmise that Poul Anderson changed "cool" to "cold" to reflect the coldness of Kenri's reception by the Terrestrial social class into which he had hoped to marry.

Jong's story begins when he hears a sound like a blowing horn. His friend suggests that it is a trick of the wind, adding:

"'The damned wind is always hunting here.'" (p. 215)

So we pass directly from Kenri and the wind to Jong and the wind! That damned wind is always hunting in Poul Anderson's universes.

1 comment:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Our old friend the wind!

Ad astra! Sean