Sunday, 26 July 2026

Interplanetary SF

One way to write interplanetary sf is to catalogue the Solar System. Characters travel to the Moon, Mars, Venus etc. Robert Heinlein's Scribner Juveniles begin with Rocket Ship Galileo about going to the Moon. His Future History begins with The Man Who Sold The Moon although the first four stories in that collection are about different technological advances pre-space flight.

By the time Poul Anderson was writing sf, the Solar System was taken for granted. His Technic History began with interstellar exploration although a later-written story set earlier describes the exploration of the outer Solar System. Larry Niven's Known Space future history begins with exploration of Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Mars and technological advances on Earth, to be followed by colonization not of Mars but of the asteroids. (Which is the more substantial future history, the Technic History or Known Space? I have my opinion.)

Two trilogies: 

the volumes of CS Lewis' Ransom Trilogy are set on Mars, Venus and Earth;

the first three volumes of SM Stirling's Lords Of Creation series are set on Venus, Mars and -? (I don't know. I haven't read it yet!)

There is always something new.

2 comments:

S.M. Stirling said...

Study of Exoplanets has revealed that the Solar System isn't typical -- nothing is!

Anonymous said...

Kaor, Mr. Stirling!

And we know now that many huge exoplanets orbit near their stars rather than further away, as earlier theorists thought would be the case.

Ad astra! Sean