Brian Aldiss wrote somewhere years ago that sf writers work hard for a living. A contemporary novelist imagines a group of characters and describes their interactions. An sf writer - if he is doing his job properly - imagines a star of a particular type and size with a planetary system, then calculates the orbit, rotational period, atmosphere, surface conditions, ecology and inhabitants of a planet in that system, then describes those inhabitants' interactions. Aldiss did not add then but did know that, to a bad sf writer, an extrasolar planet is just a blank stage where human or human-like characters do what they could have done anywhere else. Poul Anderson surpasses many others in describing future and alien environments and also in recounting interesting events that occur in those environments.
Emil Dalmady walks across the roof of the Winged Cross and on the planet Suleiman. On the latter, he must wear an airsuit that has to counteract hydrogen seeping in. The star Osman is a white spark and red clouds drift in a murky sky where there are three moons. The sea is liquid ammonia and the horizon is too far away to be seen. But there is more information in the linked blog posts.
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Also, of course, a SFnal society is not necessarily like the contemporary West.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: Absolutely! Also, Anderson put far greater thought and effort in speculating on how non-human intelligent could be like/unlike humans than many SF writers.
Mr. Stirling: But if that SFnal society includes mankind as a major part of it, as we see in Technic civilization, we should expect to see some things that we would recognize. Because humans are not going to change in many basic, crucial ways.
Ad astra! Sean
Also it is highly likely that any future human civilization will be descended from current western civilization.
Jim: likely, but not inevitable.
Kaor, Jim and Mr. Stirling!
Both: This is a bit complicated, even if a hostile China or a theocratic jihadist Arabic caliphate conquers the world in a century, they would still have been influenced in major ways by the West. Civilizations to their future would be less and less affected by the West.
Ad astra! Sean
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