Sunday, 27 September 2026

Forwards And Backwards In Time

In Poul Anderson's Alight In The Void:

on p. 102, a man who has been transformed into a tiger confronts a woman, many centuries in our future;

on p. 103, "They had buried Pharaoh..."

p. 102 concludes an sf story whereas p. 103 opens a historical fiction story. In a Poul Anderson collection, we can jump forwards or backwards by many centuries just by concluding one narrative and commencing another. The next story after these two, "Flight to Forever," is again sf and is about time travel, which enables the characters themselves to traverse centuries and millennia. Anything is possible.

See:

Son Of The Sword Spoilers

Street Life

History And Monotheism

The Past

Past And Future

- as preparation for another rereading of "Son of the Sword," the story that begins just after Pharaoh's burial.

Onwards (and sometimes pastwards).

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