Manse Everard and Karel Novak are in 1137alpha which is not yet very different from 1137 and shares its differences from later centuries.
(i) The stars are "...a brilliant horde...," (p. 317) rarely seen in the late twentieth century.
(ii) "The air lay cold and quiet, not a motor anywhere on Earth." (ibid.)
(iii) Sailors hug coasts...
(iv) ...and avoid long voyages late in the year.
Poul Anderson notices and records many such details whereas a lesser writer would just tell his readers that his characters were in 1137alpha, then proceed directly to action and dialogue.
We learn a lot about the past or at least what was reasonably hypothesized about the past at the time of writing.
1 comment:
Actually, that "hug coasts" thing is an observational artifact. For a long time, only wrecks in fairly shallow water could be investigated.
Since underwater drones have become available, lots and lots of deep-water wrecks have been found from the Roman period, for example.
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