FORGOTTEN BOOKS #436: THE VAN RIJN METHOD By Poul Anderson


Recently, Bill Crider reviewed an upcoming Science Fiction anthology, Infinite Stars edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt. In his review, Bill wrote this about SF Titan Poul Anderson: “And there’s a good one by Poul Anderson, now nearly forgotten but a fixture in the digests of the ’50s when I was growing up. He wrote great space opera, fantasy, hard SF, historical novels, and more, and he was good at all of them. Now virtually forgotten, more’s the pity.” Those words motivated me to read The Van Rijin Method, an omnibus edition BAEN Books published back in 2008. It’s almost 700 pages of delight! The best part of this book is The Man Who Counts (aka, The War of the Wing-Men). Classic SF!

And, this volume includes one of my favorite Poul Anderson mystery stories, “Hiding Place,” where Van Rijn has to figure out who aboard a starship carrying zoo animals are the intelligent aliens (who disguised themselves in the cages). BAEN Books published six more omnibus volumes and I’ll be reviewing them over the next few months of FFB. Do you have a favorite Poul Anderson story? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
“PLANETS AND PROFITS: Introducing Nicholas Van Rijn and the Polesotechnic League” By Hank Davis

THE SATURN GAME

Introduction Wings Of Victory
WINGS OF VICTORY

Introduction Problem Of Pain
PROBLEM OF PAIN

Introduction Margin Of Profit
MARGIN OF PROFIT

Introduction How To Be Ethnic In One Easy Lesson
HOW TO BE ETHNIC IN ONE EASY LESSON

Introduction The Three-Cornered Wheel
THE THREE-CORNERED WHEEL

Introduction A Sun Invisible
A SUN INVISIBLE

Introduction The Season Of Forgiveness
THE SEASON OF FORGIVENESS

Introduction The Man Who Counts
THE MAN WHO COUNTS

Introduction Esau
ESAU

Introduction Hiding Place
HIDING PLACE

CHRONOLOGY OF TECHIC CIVILIZATION By Sandra Miesel

13 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #436: THE VAN RIJN METHOD By Poul Anderson

  1. Steve Oerkfitz

    Always liked the Man Who Came Early and No Truce With Kings but it has been a long time since I have read them. In longer works I like The Broken Sword.

    Reply
  2. Bill Crider

    Glad you got inspired to reread some Anderson. And glad to see that Hank Davis is putting these anthologies out there. If Baen’s doing these things, Anderson can’t be forgotten.

    Reply
      1. george Post author

        Pat, thanks for the correction on the New England Science Fiction Association whose work I admire. Sometimes my brain is fogged!

  3. Michael Padgett

    For about 20 years starting in the late 50s I read tons of SF, including an awful lot of Anderson, who was as good as he was prolific. It would be tough to pick a favorite, but I’d go with “The High Crusade”, in which aliens invade earth during the Crusades. Just wonderful stuff!

    Reply
      1. wolf

        George, I was a student already in the 60s but I agree with you re Poul’s work!

        In those days his ideas were really wild for a burgeois kid like me.
        Fond memories of my first Ace Doubles that I bought – several Anderson novels among them. And then in the 70s I started collecting th old SF magazines (If, Galaxy, F&SF etc) in London, looking for stories from Poul, Jack Vance, Fritz Leiber and the like – and evry copy was a kind of treasure trove.

        PS:
        I was “on the road” and had no time but now I’m back in Hungary in the quiet life – and of course also on your fantastic site!

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