Rick Robinson brought Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson’s Worlds to my attention (you can read Rick’s blog post here). Somehow, Multiverse slipped past my radar. I quickly ordered a copy and when it arrived, I read Multiverse in one day.
Tribute anthologies vary in quality. Multiverse is one of the best. I was a big Poul Anderson fan while growing up. The first Poul Anderson SF novel I read was Vault of the Ages, a volume in the classic Winston Science Fiction series aimed at Young Adults. Then, I discovered Poul Anderson was being published in ACE Doubles format. Later, I read many of Anderson’s works in SF magazines.
The best parts of Multiverse are the reminiscences of Poul Anderson’s family and friends. They all loved Anderson and write about the influence he had on their lives, personally and professionally. It’s rare when one person can touch so many lives so positively. Anderson helped rookie writers get started and pros perfect their craft. Anderson was natural story-teller.
My favorite story in Multiverse is David Brin’s “Latecomers,” a tale with a very Poul Anderson flavor. The characters find themselves under attack by a combat robot (think Berserker!). Their battle for survival, and the other secrets the characters find on an ancient asteroid, capture the essence of Poul Anderson’s style of story. Marvelous!
The stories, commentaries, and remembrances make Multiverse a superior tribute anthology. If you’re a Poul Anderson fan, Multiverse is a must-read! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- “Introduction: My Friend Poul” by Greg Bear — 1
- “Outmoded Things” (the planet Roland, from “The Queen of Air and Darkness“) by Nancy Kress — 7
- “The Man Who Came Late” (the alternate Earth of Three Hearts and Three Lions) by Harry Turtledove — 27
- “A Slip in Time” (the alternate timelines of the Time Patrol) by S. M. Stirling — 55
- “Living and Working with Poul Anderson” by Karen Anderson — 85
- “Dancing on the Edge of the Dark” (the Terran Empire of Dominic Flandry) by C. J. Cherryh — 99
- “The Lingering Joy” (a sequel to “The Long Remembering”) by Stephen Baxter — 123
- “Operation Xibalba” (the alternate Earth of Operation Chaos)) by Eric Flint –143
- “Tales Told” by Astrid Anderson Bear — 177
- “The Fey of Cloudmoor” (the planet Roland, from “The Queen of Air and Darkness“) by Terry Brooks — 181
- “Christmas in Gondwanaland” (the alternate timelines of the Time Patrol) by Robert Silverberg — 207
- “Latecomers” (a story in Brin’s own “Existence” series) by David Brin — 243
- “An Appreciation of Poul Anderson” by Jerry Pournelle — 273
- “A Candle” (the Terran Empire of Dominic Flandry) by Raymond E. Feist — 281
- “The Far End” (the alternate timelines of the Time Patrol) by Larry Niven — 303
- “Bloodpride” (the alien Ythri culture from the Polesotechnic League of Nicholas van Rijn) by Gregory Benford — 315
- “Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participation Ribbon in Science)” (the alternate Earth of Three Hearts and Three Lions) by Tad Williams — 339
Someday I am going to read some science fiction.
Patti, there are many sub-genres in Science Fiction. Some you might like…others, not so much.
Patti, you already have…not least Kazuo Ishiguro’s NEVER LET ME GO, as I recall. And, Poul Anderson wrote fantasy, a fair amount of science fantasy (and space opera and planetary romance) and crime and historical fiction.
Things are rarely cut and dried in art. (Or even among tree limbs in one’s driveway.)
Todd, I have a weakness for Time Travel stories.
In my early days as an SF reader Anderson seemed to be everywhere, and seemed to have a story in every issue of every magazine. I loved the Dominic Flandry stories, but of all the Anderson I read my favorite was “The High Crusade”.
Michael, I read a ton of Poul Anderson ACE Doubles and SF magazine stories. You’re right: Anderson was everywhere. I need to reread THE HIGH CRUSADE.
I reread The High Crusade last year and was disappointed. It read like a much longer book that had been edited down leaving the plot and action and removing the characterizations.
Steve, that’s the danger of reading books one read decades ago.
Sorry to hear that, Steve, because I’ve been considering a reread. I read it in paperback and don’t recall whether there was a magazine version, or any version other than the one I read. Of course, this was around 60 years ago. It’s not always a great idea to revisit old favorites.
Michael, some books hold up over time…and some don’t.
I think it does hold up, Steve may have been expecting too much from it.
Rick, I’ll have to dig out THE HIGH CRUSADE and reread it.
Some of his most ambitious work leaves Something On the Table, as Anderson was a restless talent…TAU ZERO has such a remarkable concept, for example, that it would be difficult for the novel to sustain itself at the level of its primary events, and it doesn’t, quite. While in his more comfortable zone, Anderson is easy to enjoy, whether writing hard sf, space opera, some combination of the two (foreshadowing the space opera resurgents of the last few decades, or, really, serving as one of their models) , or, as noted above, writing in other forms. Seems like a fair amount of his crime fiction was in collaboration with his wife, Karen, and some of the fantasy fiction…one of the items I wouldn’t mind reading at all in this anthology would be the memoirs of Karen Anderson, their daughter Astrid Anderson Bear and her husband, Greg Bear.
Todd, I grew up reading Poul Anderson’s Flannery stories. Great fun!