Poul Anderson

[Fried Egg]

I loved "The Broken Sword", and pretty much everything else I've read by Poul Anderson. I think he is a brilliant author and writes in a style that I can really engage with.

I also read and enjoyed "Tao Zero", "Planet of no Return" and "The Byworlder". I've got "The Rebel Worlds" lined up in my to read pile.

 

[AE35Unit]

I have Tau Zero on my wishlist,just waiting for it to become available.

 

[Fried Egg]

"Tao Zero" is a great book. It does a good job of exploring the implications (both psycological and physical) of Einstein's theory of relativity on near light speed space travel.

 

[Omphalos]

Such said, obviously I disagree with your assessment, Omphalos. While Anderson as a whole is not among my favorite writers, several of his books I would argue are anything but poorly done; they are tightly written while often maintaining a certain poetic surge to the language (especially in some of his fantasies or his sf that shows the influence of his heritage), both deeply rational and deeply emotional; and provide a powerful example of what one can do with traditional tropes when used by an original imagination. I'd still say that Brainwave, for example, remains a very strong book more than half a century since its first publication....

Well, I dont think that I said that Tau Zero was loosely written, though I thought that Anderson missed the boat stylistically with The Saturn Game. And even though there are things to admire in some of his writing, those one or two elements in my opinion do not make them great works. My personal opinion is that Tau Zero is though of as a classic of the genre only because of its Stapledonian elements. Authors that succeed in carrying that kind of thing off get kudos for that and that alone, even if the rest of the book suffers. And Tau Zero suffers for poor characterization. All of those character were quite flat, and rooted also in outdated views of gender differentiation. IOW, they dont stand up to time very well. For a better example of a book that makes great use of Stapledonian elements and manages to squeeze in some great characters (particularly in the second novella) take a look at George Zebrowski's Macrolife. Here is a review of that:

Omphalos' Book Reviews: Book Info

 

[Dave]

As it happens I'm currently about half-way through Tau Zero. While the tale of the ship unable to stop accelerating is excellent, I must fully agree with Omphalos' linked-to review concerning the male-female relationships, the Earth government and politics, and the strange composition of a crew chosen to colonise a new planet. Even given that the book was written nearly 40 years ago, there are still many things that would be implausible even then.

On the other hand, I there are few Hard Science Fiction novels I have read that didn't contain something that would win that annual literary prize awarded for so-called "bad sex", or at the very least contained some sordid little affair. I read Hard Science Fiction for those great ideas expressed, so I'm not sure quite what the need is to add poorly written human relationships. Larry Niven, having studied psychology, gets his relationships right, but all of his Rishathra does little for me either.

 

[AE35Unit]

I stared reading Brain Wave earlier, its from the 50s but has some cutting edge ideas. I do find that with books from the 40 and 50s the language and lifestyles a bit strange compared to todays!

 

[Omphalos]

Omphalos: Are you saying that you review every book you read just in case.

Wish I'd done that. Still, no time like the present although of course it may be a waste of time now given the short...

I just started doing this in 2006, and now I try to review every book I read, but some of them just arent worth the time. Last year I read 118 or so, and reviewed 98. That seems to be the ratio, about 4/5, that I take the time to write about. But since this is new, Im going back and rereading a lot of my favorites.

Even if the end really is nigh, give it a shot. Its a lot of fun, I think.

 

[Fried Egg]

In defence of the characterisation in "Tao Zero", I would say that there is such a large cast of characters involved that it would have been quite difficult to develop them to a larger degree than he did in what was a fairly short novel where the focus was not only on the characters but the physics as well.

The characters that were focused on more heavilly did have progression and some depth to them so I wouldn't really describe them as flat. They could have been drawn better perhaps but it is worth while noting that the focus was on the psycological problems they encountered on their a journey rather than the character development as such. And in that respect I think Anderson did quite a good job. The characterisation was merely adequate and in science fiction, when you've got a good story and are exploring interesting concepts, that's all you need.

Holding SF up to the same literary standards in terms of characterisation as conventional fiction is unfair because SF literature has to achieve things that conventional fiction doesn't aspire to.

 

[merritt]

Try Slave Ship, I read it years ago & I liked it.

Pretty hazy memory though, I'm gettin older.

 

[j d worthington]

Omphalos: no, you didn't. My comments were more directed at your general statements in your post (though taking your linked reviews into account as well), while my comment on Anderson's "tight" writing was an observation of my own in describing his work, rather than a response to anything in particular you had said.

F.E.: I'm not entirely sure that's true. I think sf can often be held to the same standards -- especially when you look at a broader range of the "standards" of literature, which often have their own flaws, yet are nonetheless "great books". SF may sometimes have different flaws, or flaws that this particular field are prone to, but from my reading, this tends to be the case with many branches of literature; each tends to have their strengths and weaknesses, but they often transcend them. I would argue that Anderson, also, has sometimes transcended the weaknesses noted above -- not surprising; the man was quite prolific -- and wrote quite a few books which will, I think, stand the test against the above accusations, and the test of time....

 

[Fried Egg]

J.D.

All I'm really saying is that I didn't think the character weaknesses of "Tao Zero" (such as they are) detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel. If I had read it without regard for the concepts and science involved, I might have had more of a problem with the characterisation.

I know that some in the "literary establishment" have lambasted many great works of fantasy & SF quite unfairly (IMHO) because they are looking for the same things that they look for elsewhere and are (perhaps) failing to grasp what SF&F offers that they don't normally get elsewhere.

Obviously, I realise that Omphalos is a SF fan and I comments don't really apply to him.

 

[j d worthington]

J.D.

All I'm really saying is that I didn't think the character weaknesses of "Tao Zero" (such as they are) detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel. If I had read it without regard for the concepts and science involved, I might have had more of a problem with the characterisation.

I know that some in the "literary establishment" have lambasted many great works of fantasy & SF quite unfairly (IMHO) because they are looking for the same things that they look for elsewhere and are (perhaps) failing to grasp what SF&F offers that they don't normally get elsewhere.

Obviously, I realise that Omphalos is a SF fan and I comments don't really apply to him.

Correction noted. I had taken your statements in a broader, more general sense; my apologies.

 

[Connavar]

Did PA write several S&S novels,novellas ?

I read a good S&S story of his in Mammoth book of Short Fantasy Novels.

I of course know about Broken Sword and just found out a novel called Three Hearts and Three Lions.

I want to read Sword and Sorcery fantasy of his next.

 

[j d worthington]

Poul's outright fantasy output was rather small, but often notable. In addition to The Broken Sword and Three Hearts and Three Lions, he also wrote Hrolf Kraki's Saga (a novel based on the original Danish king and the disparate tales about him); A Midsummer Tempest, which is a blending of sf and fantasy and thoroughly entertaining, I thought; a four-volume King of Ys, with his wife Karen: Roma Mater (1986), Galicenae (1987), Dahut (1988), The Dog and the Wolf (1988); and Mother of Kings (2003), which I believe (though I'm not certain) was his final novel. He also had scattered fantasy short stories through the years, some of which were collected together in his book entitled, simply, Fantasy (1981). (The title of this last is somewhat misleading, as it also contains sf... but sf heavily tinged by fantastic elements and certainly strongly related to the sort of fantasy he wrote.) He also wrote a Conan novel, Conan the Rebel (1980), which, while certainly not Robert E. Howard, is nonetheless a rather good book of its own, and for those intrigued by the characters of Bêlit and her brother, adds a good deal more to their tale....

He also did some critical writing on Howard and fantasy now and again, usually quite perceptive (and certainly very favorable to Howard), but those articles are scattered throughout a rather lengthy career....

 

[Connavar]

Poul's outright fantasy output was rather small, but often notable. In addition to The Broken Sword and Three Hearts and Three Lions, he also wrote Hrolf Kraki's Saga (a novel based on the original Danish king and the disparate tales about him); A Midsummer Tempest, which is a blending of sf and fantasy and thoroughly entertaining, I thought; a four-volume King of Ys, with his wife Karen: Roma Mater (1986), Galicenae (1987), Dahut (1988), The Dog and the Wolf (1988); and Mother of Kings (2003), which I believe (though I'm not certain) was his final novel. He also had scattered fantasy short stories through the years, some of which were collected together in his book entitled, simply, Fantasy (1981). (The title of this last is somewhat misleading, as it also contains sf... but sf heavily tinged by fantastic elements and certainly strongly related to the sort of fantasy he wrote.) He also wrote a Conan novel, Conan the Rebel (1980), which, while certainly not Robert E. Howard, is nonetheless a rather good book of its own, and for those intrigued by the characters of Bêlit and her brother, adds a good deal more to their tale....

He also did some critical writing on Howard and fantasy now and again, usually quite perceptive (and certainly very favorable to Howard), but those articles are scattered throughout a rather lengthy career....

I liked that he used scandinavian characters,Norse myths etc. Living up here im very interested with that kind of stories.

Are most of those fantasy S&S or Heroic Fantasy ? I want to start with those. I know he didnt write much fantasy but the ones i read about sound very interesting. Having already had taste of a fantasy story of his im very interested in reading more with even higher quality.

 

[j d worthington]

S&S or Heroic Fantasy? As far as I'm aware, the difference is often negligible; but if you mean High Fantasy... I suppose they might be made to fit that at a stretch, though the style and structure are closer to the former.....

 

[Connavar]

S&S or Heroic Fantasy? As far as I'm aware, the difference is often negligible; but if you mean High Fantasy... I suppose they might be made to fit that at a stretch, though the style and structure are closer to the former.....

No i meant if most of the fantasy you mentioned are S&S or the modern version which is heroic fantasy without the wierd tales,sorcery part.

I used both names cause his career was so long from the high days of S&S to days where Heroic fantasy was the more name used more often. Some of his fantasy are from 50's and some from the 80's and 90's.

Not interested in High fantasy or other type fantasy cause i was impressed by a S&S novelette of his.

 

[j d worthington]

No i meant if most of the fantasy you mentioned are S&S or the modern version which is heroic fantasy without the wierd tales,sorcery part.

I used both names cause his career was so long from the high days of S&S to days where Heroic fantasy was the more name used more often. Some of his fantasy are from 50's and some from the 80's and 90's.

Not interested in High fantasy or other type fantasy cause i was impressed by a S&S novelette of his.

That being the case, I would imagine these would be to your taste. Note: I've not yet read (even at this late date) the King of Ys set... I got them during a complicated time in my life, and they've been in storage for quite some time. I've heard both good and bad things about them, though as time goes on, I hear more and more positive responses... just for what it's worth.

The others, however, I can recommend....

By the way... it was this set below (or the first two, anyway, as those were the only ones out at the time) that got me to looking at S&S a good deal more; for all Carter's faults, they're enjoyable books, and you might well find them to your taste, if you can find copies:

Flashing Swords - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia!

 

[GOLLUM]

I've seen copies in second hand book stores but was never moved enough to purchase them....

 

[Connavar]

I just came home with a beutiful new edition trade paperback of The Broken Sword.

I asked my the guy in my bookshop if they had any PA at all so i was lucky they had it, it being one of his most famous works