Reading on, we confirm that Bill Svoboda is of the same generation as Dan Coffin.
We get the impression that the town on Rustum was named "Anker" after the fictional philosopher of that name but that the spelling was later changed to "Anchor" because that seemed to mean something. (See Anchor Or Anker.)
We post about subtle nuances in Poul Anderson's texts because they recur in many of his works. Thus, Eva Spain pauses in mid-sentence and asks:
"'What is it?'" (p. 59)
- because Dan Coffin has stiffened while she was addressing him.
In the two ensuing sentences, two familiar phenomena occur. First, Dan expresses a sudden realization and, secondly, the wind emphasizes his comment. The two sentences are:
"'That could be the clue we need.' The night wind boomed under his words." (p. 60)
- and those two points exactly cohere with much that we have previously written about Andersonian story-telling techniques.
I certainly did not notice details like these on my earliest readings of Poul Anderson's works but those works bear endless rereading and analysis.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
That first town on Rustum might have been named/renamed "Anchor" because it was the anchor point of the colony during its first most difficult and struggling days. There were times during its few years when it might have failed, died out.
Ad astra! Sean
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