Merseians
Tigeries
a Donnarian
Irumclagians
Shalmuans
a Wodenite
a Cynthian
These eight species appear or are mentioned in the first two chapters of Poul Anderson's The Game Of Empire. Members of each of these species have already played active roles in earlier instalments of Anderson's Technic History. The species interact in interesting or entertaining ways. In CHAPTER TWO, Targovi, a Tigery, visits an inn owned by Ju Shao, a Cynthian, and, later, interviews Fodaich Eidhafor the Bold of the Vach Dathyr, a Merseian.
Ythrians, although important in the Technic History, are not mentioned in this novel.
This is how a future history series works. Details accumulate, become parts of the narrative background and interact with each other until history goes beyond them into remoter futures.
2 comments:
Poul does handle mutliple aliens well.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
I agree, Anderson gave his readers more speculatively convincing depictions of what non-humans might be like than similar efforts by most other SF writers.
I think Niven and Pournelle gave us an interesting alien race, the Moties, in THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE and THE GRIPPING HAND.
I was reminded of how, in your book DRAKON, we see the villainous Gwen Ingolfson recalling how Draka explorers discovered a planet with intelligent life. But aside from reports stating it was believed these non-humans could be broken to the Draka yoke, nothing more was said about that species.
The Draka and the Samothracians had been slowly colonizing other planets by STL since the end of THE STONE DOGS.
Ad astra! Sean
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