author : Poul Anderson

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Sheriff of Canyon Gulch. 1951. = Heroes are Made

• Don Jones. 1957

• In Hoka Signo Vinces. 1953

• The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound. 1953

• Yo Ho Hoka!. 1955

• The Tiddlywink Warriors. 1955

Charles Edward Stuart, bookish son of a space captain, is off for a tour of Talyina in the charge of his Hoka tutor, currently being stuffy Oxford don Bertram Cecil Featherstone Smyth-Cholmondoley. It looks set to be a straightforward week, until they discover Talyina is ruled by a tyrant, and the Hoka takes it into his head that his young charge is the Prince of the Prophecy, and takes on the persona of Hector MacGregor, sworn man of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Charlie finds himself swept along by events, and maybe helping an even worse tyrant thean the one being overthrown.

This is fairly standard coming of age fare, enlivened mainly by the way Charlie manages to perform the Five Feats of the prophecy, and the chapter titles.

Three stories about the Hokas, a teddy-bear-like alien race that live out extreme fantasy lives. The authors keep explaining that the Hokas aren't mad, but I'm afraid I don't believe them.

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Full Pack (Hokas Wild). 1957

First the Hokas read The Jungle Book, then along come Shere-Khan and Kaa

• The Napoleon Crime. 1983

Someone is feeding the Hokas warlike histories, stirring up trouble. It's time for Hornblower and Wellington to fight back.

• Star Prince Charlie. 1975

[see Star Prince Charlie review]

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Wings of Victory. 1972

• The Problem of Pain. 1973

• How to Be Ethnic in One Easy Lesson. 1974. = How to Be Ethnic

• Margin of Profit. 1956

• Esau. 1970. = Birthright

• The Season of Forgiveness. 1973

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Day of Burning. 1967. = Supernova

• Wingless. 1973. = Wingless on Avalon

• Rescue on Avalon. 1973

• A Little Knowledge. 1971

• Lodestar. 1973

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Three-Cornered Wheel

• A Sun Invisible

• The Trouble Twisters. = Trade Team

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Hiding Place. 1961

• Territory

• The Master Key

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Earthman, Beware!. 1951

• Quixote and the Windmill. 1950

• Gypsy. 1950

• For the Duration. 1957

• Duel on Syrtis. 1951

• The Star Beast. 1950

• The Disintegrating Sky. 1953

• Among Thieves. 1957

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Time Patrol. 1955

• Brave To Be a King. 1959

• The Only Game in Town. 1960

• Delenda Est. 1955

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Time Patrol. 1955

• Brave To Be a King. 1959

• The Only Game in Town. 1960

• Delenda Est. 1955

• Gibraltar Falls. 1975

• Ivory, and Apes, and Peacocks

• The Sorrow of Odin the Goth

• Star of the Sea

• The Year of the Ransom

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Epilogue. 1962

• Turning Point. 1963

• Escape from Orbit. 1962

• The Critique of Impure Reason. 1962

• No Truce with Kings. 1963

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Poul Anderson. Tiger by the Tail. 1951

• Poul Anderson. The Warriors from Nowhere. 1954. = The Ambassadors of Flesh

• Poul Anderson. Honorable Enemies. 1951

• Poul Anderson. Hunters of the Sky Cave. 1959. = Handful of Stars / We Claim These Stars!

• Sandra Miesel. Lurex and Gold: Poul Anderson's Dominic Flandry Series. 1979

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Game of Glory. 1958

• A Message in Secret. 1959. = Mayday Orbit

• Plague of Masters. 1960. = Earthman, Go Home!

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Queen of Air and Darkness. 1971

• Home. 1966. = The Disinherited

• My Own, My Native Land. 1974

• Passing the Love of Women. 1974

• A Fair Exchange. 1974

• To Promote the General Welfare. 1975

• Our Many Roads to the Stars. 1975

Contents (possible spoilers)

• A Man to My Wounding. 1959. = State of Assassination

• The Horn of Time the Hunter. 1963. = Homo Aquaticus

• The High Ones. 1958

• The Man Who Came Early. 1956

• Marius. 1957

• Progress. 1962

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Memory. 1957. = A World Called Maanerek

• Brake. 1957

• The Sensitive Man. 1953

• The Moonrakers. 1966

• Starfog. 1967

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Kings Who Die. 1963

• Wildcat. 1958

• Cold Victory. 1957

• Inside Straight. 1955

• Details. 1956

• License. 1957

• Strange Bedfellows. 1964. = To Build a World

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Nothing Succeeds Like Failure. 1970

• The Rogue. 1963. = Industrial Revolution

• Say It with Flowers. 1965

• Ramble with a Gamblin' Man. 1970

• Que Donn'rez Vous?. 1963. = What'll You Give?

• Sunjammer. 1964

• Recruiting Nation. 1970

A fixup novel of four short stories, these are stories of a parallel world where the magic-quelling properties of cold iron have been overcome. The stories follow the adventures of Steve Matuchek, werewolf, and Virginia Graylock, witch, as they battle various spirits, elementals and demons. The first three stories are entertaining fluff, full of puns and wordplay that contrast features of the magical universe with our own; the fourth, longer one, whilst still full of the fun of the earlier ones, has more substance to it.

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Operation Afreet. 1956

Steve and Virginia meet during the American-Caliphate war, and battle the enemy's secret weapon

• Operation Salamander. 1957

Steve and Virginia are back at college on the GI bill, and battle the result of a student prank that gets out of hand

• Operation Incubus. 1959

On their honeymoon, Steve and Virginia face a test of their relationship

• Operation Changeling. 1969

Steve and Virginia have to rescue their daughter from Hell

It is interesting reading this directly after the earlier Operation Chaos. Again, there is lots of playful fun with names and sayings, but there is yet more substance to the tale. Set ten years or so after "Operation Changeling", Steve and Virginia are involved in the space race, building a vehicle to get to the moon. But someone, actually some rather dark thing, seems determined to sabotage the project, by any means possible. The race is on to find out why, and how, and to foil their plans. Structured like a detective story, this brings together myths and cultures from around the globe: Chinese, Japanese, various Native American, English, Norse.

I found it a little slow to start with (possibly because of the faster pace of the different stories in the earlier fixup novel), but once it gets going, the pace doesn't let up, and has twists and turns in every direction. The prose hints at being a tad too flowery in a few places (do 14-year-olds really use words like "yonder"?), but on the whole the wordplay, the myths, the magic, the characters, and the spaceflight, work wonderfully together.

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Queen of Air and Darkness. 1971

• Home. 1966. = The Disinherited

• The Alien Enemy. 1968

• The Faun. 1968

• In the Shadow. 1967

• Time Lag. 1961

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Visitor. 1974

A man has a surprisingly lucid dream of a little girl living alone in a house. What connection does it have to reality?

• Peek! I See You!. 1968

• Wings of Victory. 1972

• The Long Remembering. 1957

• Murphy's Hall. 1971

• The Pirate. 1968

• Goat Song. 1972

• Wolfram. 1975

A fictitious account of the etymology of tungsten's other name.

• The Peat Bog

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Ghetto. 1954

• The Sky People. 1959

• The Horn of Time the Hunter. 1963. = Homo Aquaticus

• Progress. 1962

• Windmill. 1973

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Longest Voyage. 1960

• The Barbarian. 1956

• The Last of the Deliverers. 1958

• My Object All Sublime. 1961

• Sam Hall. 1953

• The Fatal Fulfillment. 1970

• Hiding Place. 1961

• The Sky People. 1959

• Kyrie. 1968

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Ways of Love. 1979

• Starfog. 1967

• The Saturn Game. 1981

• The Bitter Bread. 1975

• The Voortrekkers. 1974

Maybe the only way to explore the stars will be to copy human personas into computers. But who will volunteer, and what will be the effect on them?

• Epilogue. 1962

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Poul Anderson. The Gate of the Flying Knives. 1979

• Poul Anderson. The Barbarian. 1956

• Poul Anderson. House Rule. 1976

• Poul Anderson. The Tale of Hauk. 1977

• Poul Anderson. Of Pigs and Men. 1979

• Poul Anderson. A Logical Conclusion. 1960

• Poul Anderson. The Valor of Cappen Varra. 1957

• Poul Anderson. On Thud and Blunder. 1978

• Poul Anderson. Interloper. 1959

• Poul Anderson. Superstition. 1952

• Poul Anderson. Fantasy in the Age of Science. 1981

• Poul Anderson. The Visitor. 1974

A man has a surprisingly lucid dream of a little girl living alone in a house. What connection does it have to reality?

• Poul Anderson. Bullwinch's Mythology. 1967

• Sandra Miesel. An Invitation to Elfland. 1981

• Poul Anderson. Pact. 1951

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Sensitive Man. 1953

• Marius. 1957

• Un-Man. 1953

• The Big Rain. 1954

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Brake. 1957

• Cold Victory. 1957

• Quixote and the Windmill. 1950

• The Troublemakers

• Holmgang. 1957. = Out of the Iron Womb

• What Shall It Profit?. 1955

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Poul Anderson. The Pirate. 1968

• Poul Anderson. Gypsy. 1950

• Poul Anderson. Star Ship. 1950

• Poul Anderson. Virgin Planet. 1957

• Poul Anderson. Teucan. 1954

• Poul Anderson. The Chapter Ends. 1953

• Sandra Miesel. Chronology of the Psychotechnic Series

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Call Me Joe. 1957

• The Voortrekkers. 1974

Maybe the only way to explore the stars will be to copy human personas into computers. But who will volunteer, and what will be the effect on them?

• Night Piece. 1961

• Eutopia. 1967

• Windmill. 1973

• Fortune Hunter. 1972

When only few wild places remain, jealously guarded, what might people do to go there?

• The Pugilist. 1973

• Gibraltar Falls. 1975

• The Sharing of Flesh. 1968

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Details. 1956

• Night Piece. 1961

• When Half Gods Go. 1953

• Peek! I See You!. 1968

• Captive of the Centaurianess. 1978

• Soldier from the Stars. 1955

• The Word to Space. 1960

• A Little Knowledge. 1971

• The Martyr. 1960

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Poul Anderson. Starfog. 1967

• Poul Anderson. The Star Plunderer. 1952

• Poul Anderson. Outpost of Empire. 1967

• Poul Anderson. A Tragedy of Errors. 1967

• Sandra Miesel. A Chronology of Technic Civilization. 1979

• Poul Anderson. The Sharing of Flesh. 1968

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Wildcat. 1958

• Welcome. 1960

• The Nest. 1953

• Eutopia. 1967

• The Little Monster. 1974

• The Light. 1957

• The Discovery of the Past. 1984

• Flight to Forever. 1950

Contents (possible spoilers)

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. The Innocent Arrival. 1958. = Innocent at Large

• Poul Anderson. Murphy's Hall. 1971

• Poul Anderson. Fairy Gold. 1982

• Karen Anderson. Haiku for Mars. 1982

• Karen Anderson. Think of a Man. 1965

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. Dead Phone. 1964

• Karen Anderson. Bela Lugosi. 1982

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. The Kitten. 1976

• Karen Anderson. Apollo 1. 1982

• Karen Anderson, Poul Anderson, Tim Courtney. Planh on the Death of Willy Ley. 1969

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. Single Jeopardy. 1958

• Karen Anderson. In Memoriam: Henry Kuttner. 1958

• Karen Anderson. Cyril M Kornbluth

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. Feast for the Gods. 1971

• Karen Anderson. Theoretical Progress. 1964

• Karen Anderson. Investigation of Galactic Ethnology. 1964

• Karen Anderson. Look Up. 1965

• Karen Anderson. The Sky of Space. 1963

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. Cosmic Concepts. 1961

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. Extract from the English Edition of a Guide Michelin. 1973

• Karen Anderson. Robert A Heinlein. 1982

• Karen Anderson. Treaty in Tartessos. 1963

• Poul Anderson. A Philosophical Dialogue. 1971

• Poul Anderson, Karen Anderson. Professor James. 1965

• Karen Anderson. Landscape with Sphinxes. 1962

• Karen Anderson. Alpha, Beta. 1982

• Poul Anderson. A Blessedness of Saints. 1962

• Karen Anderson. Origin of the Species. 1958

• Karen Anderson. Conjunction. 1982

• Karen Anderson. Adonis Recovered. 1982

• Karen Anderson. The Piebald Hippogriff. 1962

• Karen Anderson. The Coasts of Faerie. 1982

• Karen Anderson. Shanidar IV. 1982

• Karen Anderson. Six Haiku. 1962

• Poul Anderson. Ballade of an Artificial Satellite. 1958

Contents (possible spoilers)

• SOS. 1970

• A Chapter of Revelation. 1972

• The Life of Your Time. 1965

• Time Heals. 1949

• Conversation in Arcady. 1963

• Dialogue. 1976

• The Communicators. 1969

• Sister Planet. 1959

A collection of relatively recent short stories and non-fiction essays. The fictional premises verge on the 'hard' side of SF, rather than being fantasy. However, any science is kept mainly in the background, with the emphasis being on telling a story about people. There is some good stuff in here. I find the prose style in the fiction just slightly too lyrical for my liking -- but that probably says more about me than about Anderson (it's certainly infinitely preferable to some of the dreadfully clunky writing that gets published); Anderson has a real feel for language.

Contents (possible spoilers)

• The Voortrekkers. 1974

Maybe the only way to explore the stars will be to copy human personas into computers. But who will volunteer, and what will be the effect on them?

• The Visitor. 1974

A man has a surprisingly lucid dream of a little girl living alone in a house. What connection does it have to reality?

• Wolfram. 1975

A fictitious account of the etymology of tungsten's other name.

• Fortune Hunter. 1972

When only few wild places remain, jealously guarded, what might people do to go there?

• Neptune Diary. 1990

(essay) An account of a week spent at JPL during the Voyager fly-by of Neptune in August 1989.

• Strangers. 1988

Ak'hai'i asks help from the Night People, humans colonists on this planet, against the warring Charioteer race. The humans can help, but it costs both parties dearly.

• Requiem for a Universe. 1987

A holothete attempts to calculate the ultimate fate of the Universe, but suffers a breakdown on the way. What terrible thing did he discover?

• John Campbell. 1978. = Cambell in Memoriam

(essay) Eulogy for the SF editor John W. Campbell.

• In Memoriam. 1992

The long-term future history of the Earth, from the death of the last man after global catastrophe, to the collapse of the sun into a white dwarf.

• The House of Sorrows. 1991. = In the House of Sorrows

An alternate history story, where the Judaism never flourished.

• Uncleftish Beholding. 1989

A short treatise on Atomic Theory, as it might read if English were restricted to its Anglo-Saxon roots only. So we have tale rather than number, togethermelt rather than fusion, round-around board of the firststuffs rather than periodic table of the elements, and so on.

• Losers' Night. 1991

An Old Phoenix inn story. Tonight's guests may all be losers, one way or another.

• Science Fiction and History. 1988

(essay) What sort of societies might make realistic SF backgrounds?

• Rokuro. 1991

A SF story in the form of a Japanese No play. A priest pays a pilgrimage to a cometary mining colony where Saint Rokuro first sought enlightenment.

• Rudyard Kipling. 1988. = 'Beyond the loom of the last lone star...'

(essay) An appreciation of Kipling's works.

• The Forest. 1985

A Neolithic hunter searches for new land as the end of the Ice Age affects the climate.

• Johannes V. Jensen. 1981. = The Fantasy of Johannes V. Jensen

An appreciation of the Danish writer and poet.

• Wellsprings of Dream. 1993

The ideas of some scientists, including Freeman Dyson, Hans Moravec and Frank Tipler, that make much SF look positively pedestrian and conservative.

• expansion of "Genesis". 1995 -- in Far Futures