Sunday, 2 November 2025

Three American Future Historians

Robert Heinlein wrote the five-volume Future History. Also, five of his Scribner Juvenile novels comprise a Juvenile Future History.

Poul Anderson imitated the Future History, then wrote seven other future histories.

James Blish wrote two future histories, Cities In Flight and The Seedling Stars, and also a non-linear future historical sequence in which later works refer to common earlier works despite diverging from each other.

See:

James Blish And Poul Anderson

The Haertel Scholium

I know that there are other future historians but I focus on these three!

(Right now, I am pleased with my succinct summary of Blish's complicated Haertel Scholium. About to walk out for Sunday lunch.)

2 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Poul was sensible enough not to put much detail about the -immediate- future into his SFnal future history.

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

(Except for the Psychotechnic History.)

That makes for a good contrast with Heinlein.