Category Archives: science fiction

Shield, by Poul Anderson

Posted on April 1, 2019 by pete

If there was one trait Anderson became famous for by the end of his career, it was his enthusiasm for marrying mythological and scientific ideas. His well-known “logical fantasy” novels The High Crusade and Three Hearts and Three Lions are … Continue reading →

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After Doomsday, by Poul Anderson

Posted on March 29, 2019 by pete

My survey of early Poul Anderson novels continues with After Doomsday, a 1962 novel that begins with the end of the world. At the time of the nuclear holocaust, several spaceships of humans are engaged in various trading and exploration … Continue reading →

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Star Ways, by Poul Anderson

Posted on March 27, 2019 by pete

Much of Poul Anderson’s prolific output belonged to a handful of loosely-connected “future history” series, where the scientific, political and cultural trends of his time were projected into the future. The Psychotechnic League was the first attempted future history, comprised … Continue reading →

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Virgin Planet, by Poul Anderson

Posted on March 25, 2019 by pete

Prior to writing his major “Technic History” titles (including the Flandry books), Poul Anderson constructed another extensive “future history” series out of novels and short fiction pieces. This sequence is known as the Psychotechnic League series, ranging from the 1950 … Continue reading →

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two Rudyard Kipling stories about technocracy

Posted on March 22, 2019 by pete

Presently, Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is scarcely acknowledged as a pioneer of imaginative fiction. His contributions have escaped attention from the so-called “retro” awards, and his reputation seems too unsettling for contemporary genre editors. After years of chasing down 1950s SF … Continue reading →

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Ensign Flandry, by Poul Anderson

Posted on March 18, 2019 by pete

Poul Anderson might be best known today as the author of some early hard SF (Brain Wave, Tau Zero) and fantasy (The Broken Sword, Three Hearts and Three Lions) classics, much of his very prolific output was the result of … Continue reading →

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Vault of the Ages, by Poul Anderson

Posted on March 9, 2019 by pete

Being a straightforward “juvenile” paperback with very small typesetting, Vault of the Ages (1952) sat in my collection for years before I had any desire to pick it up and read it. After encountering some positive words about it, I … Continue reading →

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Strangers from Earth, by Poul Anderson (part 3)

Posted on March 6, 2019 by pete

The Poul Anderson collection Strangers from Earth concludes with three more stories from the 1950s. In my first two reviews of this collection, I covered idea-driven pieces dominated by dialogue, and then action-driven stories that made their political and cultural … Continue reading →

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Strangers From Earth, by Poul Anderson (part 2)

Posted on March 2, 2019 by pete

This article continues our look through Strangers from Earth, the collection of early (1950-1957) Poul Anderson stories. The first three featured interesting ideas about man’s place in the universe of the future: our biological place with respect to a telepathic … Continue reading →

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Strangers from Earth, by Poul Anderson (part 1)

Posted on February 26, 2019 by pete

Poul Anderson (1926-2001) an acknowledged “grandmaster” of science fiction, had a writing career than spanned several decades, from the late 1940s to the end of the 20th century. As was typical of his generation, he established his name with a … Continue reading →

Posted in books, science fiction, short fiction | Tagged | 5 Comments