The History Of The Solar System

One comparison between Poul Anderson and Larry Niven is Technic History versus Known Space History. Sf fans can discuss which is more successful or significant as a future history series. A structural similarity is that each series became a future history when stories set in earlier and later periods were linked together. Both involve faster than light interstellar travel through (different versions of) "hyperspace."

Another comparison would be Anderson's Starfarers as against Niven's A World Out Of Time. In both of these novels, some characters depart from and return to the Solar System at different times but always travelling at sub-light speeds. Thus, time dilation is a major factor. (Anderson's time dilation classic is Tau Zero.) In addition, Niven's characters discover cloning, RNA transfer, suspended animation, temporal stasis and two different kinds of "young-forever." Corbell who died in 1970 is young again three million years later, having meanwhile experienced nearly everything else listed here, and has also learned a lot:

"'I can tell you most of the history of the solar system.'"

-A World Out Of Time, CHAPTER NINE, p. 256.

Niven presents two dates: 1970 when Corbell is frozen; 2190 when his memory RNA is injected into a brain-wiped criminal. Apart from that, both novels are dateless. In both cases, it is possible to extract from the text a history of the future of life on Earth involving long periods of time but without specific dates.

Comparing future histories has got me into rereading the chapters of James Blish's They Shall Have Stars that are set on Jupiter V but first let's have a Sunday walk and lunch.

Onward, upward and outward.