Anderson, Poul 1926–2001
Anderson, Poul 1926–2001
(Poul William Anderson, A.A. Craig, Michael A. Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders)
PERSONAL: Born November 25, 1926, in Bristol, PA; died of prostate cancer, July 31, 2001, in Orinda, CA; son of Anton William and Astrid (Hertz) Anderson; married Karen J.M. Kruse, December 12, 1953; children: Astrid May. Education: University of Minnesota, B.S., 1948.
CAREER: Freelance writer, except for occasional temporary jobs, beginning 1948.
MEMBER: Institute for Twenty-first Century Studies, Science Fiction Writers of America (president, 1972–73), American Association for the Advancement of Science, Mystery Writers of America (northern California regional vice chair, 1959) Scowrers (secretary, 1957–62), Baker Street Irregulars, Elves, Gnomes, and Little Men's Science Fiction Chowder and Marching Society, Society for Creative Anachronism.
AWARDS, HONORS: First annual Cock Robin Mystery Award, 1959, for Perish by the Sword; Guest of Honor, World Science Fiction Convention, 1959; Hugo Award, World Science Fiction Convention, for best short fiction, 1961, for "The Longest Voyage," 1964, for "No Truce with Kings," 1969, for "The Sharing of Flesh," 1972, for "The Queen of Air and Darkness," 1973, for "Goat Song," 1979, for "Hunter's Moon," and 1982, for "The Saturn Game"; Nebula Award, Science Fiction Writers of America, 1971, for "The Queen of Air and Darkness," 1972, for "Goat Song," and 1981, for "The Saturn Game"; August Derleth Award, British Fantasy Society, 1974, for Hrolf Kraki's Saga; Mythopoeic Award, 1975; J.R.R. Tolkien Memorial Award and Gandalf Award, 1978; Grand Master of Fantasy, World Science Fiction Convention, 1978; Grandmaster, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, 1997; Grand Master Award, Science Fiction Writers of America, 1998; Strannik Award, Congress of Fantasy Writers, 1999; inducted into the Science Fiction Fantasy Hall of Fame, 2000; John W. Campbell Award, 2001, for Genesis.
WRITINGS:
Perish by the Sword (novel), Macmillan (New York, NY), 1959.
Murder in Black Letter (novel), Macmillan (New York, NY), 1960.
The Golden Slave (novel), Avon (New York, NY), 1960.
Rogue Sword (novel), Avon (New York, NY), 1960.
Murder Bound (novel), Macmillan (New York, NY), 1962.
Is There Life on Other Worlds? (nonfiction), Crowell (New York, NY), 1963.
Thermonuclear Warfare (nonfiction), Monarch (New York, NY), 1963.
The Infinite Voyage: Man's Future in Space (nonfic-tion), Macmillan (New York, NY), 1969.
The Road of the Sea Horse, Zebra (New York, NY), 1980.
SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS
Vault of the Ages (for children), Winston (Philadelphia, PA), 1952.
Brain Wave, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1954, reprinted, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1985, I Books (New York, NY), 2005.
The Broken Sword, Abelard-Schuman (New York, NY), 1954, revised with an introduction by Lin Carter, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1971.
No World of Their Own (bound with The 1,000 Year Plan by Isaac Asimov), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1955, published separately as The Long Way Home, Gregg (Boston, MA), 1978.
Planet of No Return, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1956, published as Question and Answer, Ace (New York, NY), 1978.
Star Ways, Avalon (New York, NY), 1957, published as The Peregrine, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1978.
War of the Wing-Men, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1958, published as The Man Who Counts, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1978.
The Snows of Ganymede, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1958.
Virgin Planet, Avalon (New York, NY), 1959.
The Enemy Stars, Lippincott (Philadelphia, PA), 1959, expanded edition, Baen Books (New York, NY), 1987.
The War of Two Worlds, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1959.
We Claim These Stars! (bound with The Planet Killers by Robert Silverberg), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1959, expanded edition, Baen Books (New York, NY), 1987.
Earthman, Go Home! (bound with To the Tombaugh Station by Wilson Tucker), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1960.
The High Crusade, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1960, reprinted, I Books (New York, NY), 2003.
Twilight World, Torquil (New York, NY), 1960.
Mayday Orbit (bound with No Man's World by Kenneth Bulmer), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1961.
Three Hearts and Three Lions, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1961, reprinted, I Books (New York, NY), 2004.
The Makeshift Rocket, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1962.
After Doomsday, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1962.
Shield, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1963.
Let the Spacemen Beware! (bound with The Wizard of Starship Poseidon by Kenneth Bulmer), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1963, published separately as The Night Face, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1978.
Three Worlds to Conquer, Pyramid Publications (New York, NY), 1964.
The Star Fox, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1965.
The Corridors of Time, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1965.
Ensign Flandry, Chilton (Philadelphia, PA), 1966, reprinted, I Books (New York, NY), 2003.
World without Stars, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1966.
Satan's World, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1969.
The Rebel Worlds, Signet (New York, NY), 1969, published as Commander Flandry, Severn House (London, England), 1978.
A Circus of Hells, Signet (New York, NY), 1970.
Tau Zero, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1970.
The Byworlder, NAL (New York, NY), 1971.
Operation Chaos, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1971.
The Dancer from Atlantis, Signet (New York, NY), 1971.
There Will Be Time, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1972.
Hrolf Kraki's Saga, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1973.
The Day of Their Return, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1973.
The People of the Wind, Signet (New York, NY), 1973.
Fire Time, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1974.
A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1974, published as Knight Flandry, Severn House (London, England), 1980.
A Midsummer Tempest, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1974.
(With Gordon Ecklund) Inheritors of Earth, Chilton (Radnor, PA), 1974.
The Worlds of Poul Anderson (contains Planet of No Return, The War of Two Worlds, and World without Stars), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1974.
(With Gordon Dickson) Star Prince Charlie (for children), Putnam (New York, NY), 1975.
The Winter of the World, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1975.
Mirkheim, Berkley (New York, NY), 1977.
The Avatar, Berkley (New York, NY), 1978.
Two Worlds (contains Question and Answer and World without Stars), Gregg (Boston, MA), 1978.
The Merman's Children, Berkley (New York, NY), 1979.
A Stone in Heaven, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1979.
The Devil's Game, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1980.
The Road of the Sea Horse, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1980.
Conan the Rebel #5, Bantam (New York, NY), 1980.
(With Mildred D. Broxon) The Demon of Scattery, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1980.
The Last Viking: Book One, The Golden Horn, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1980.
The Sign of the Raven, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 1980.
Cold Victory, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1982.
The Gods Laughed, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1982.
Maurai and Kith, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1982.
New America, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1983.
The Long Night, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1983.
Orion Shall Rise, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1983.
Agent of Vega, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1983.
Conflict, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1983.
Time Patrolman, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1983.
Bat-Twenty-One, Bantam (New York, NY), 1983.
(With Gordon Dickson) Hoka!, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1983.
(With wife, Karen Anderson) The Unicorn Trade, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1984.
Dialogue with Darkness, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1985.
The Game of Empire, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1985.
The Psychotechnic League, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1985.
(With wife, Karen Anderson) The King of Ys, Baen (New York, NY), Book 1: Roma Mater, 1986, Book 2: Gallicenae, 1988, Book 3: Dahut, 1988, Book 4: The Dog and the Wolf, 1988, four volumes revised and published together, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1996.
The Year of the Ransom, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1988.
(With Larry Niven and Dean Ing) Man-Kzin Wars, Baen Books (New York, NY), 1988.
Conan the Rebel #17, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1989.
No Truce with Kings (bound with Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1989.
The Boat of a Million Years, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1989, reprinted, Orb Books (New York, NY), 2004.
The Shield of Time, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1990.
(With Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and S.M. Sterling) Man-Kzin Wars III, Baen Books (New York, NY), 1990.
Inconstant Star (contains Man-Kzin Wars and Man-Kzin Wars III), Baen Books New York, NY), 1991.
How to Build a Planet, Pulphouse (Eugene, OR), 1991.
Kinship with the Stars, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1991.
Murasaki: A Novel in Six Parts, Bantam (New York, NY), 1992.
A Harvest of Stars, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1993.
The Stars Are Also Fire, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1994.
Harvest the Fire, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1995.
The Fleet of Stars, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1997.
War of the Gods, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1997.
Starfarers, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1998.
Operation Luna, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1999.
Genesis, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2000.
Mother of Kings, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2001.
Going for Infinity, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2002.
For Love and Glory, Tor Books (New York, NY), 2004.
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
(With Gordon Dickson) Earthman's Burden, Gnome Press (New York, NY), 1957.
Guardians of Time, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1960, revised edition, Pinnacle Books (New York, NY), 1981.
Strangers from Earth: Eight Tales of Vaulting Imagination, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1961.
Orbit Unlimited, Pyramid Publications (New York, NY), 1961.
Un-Man and Other Novellas (bound with The Makeshift Rocket), Ace Books (New York, NY), 1962.
Trader to the Stars, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1964.
Time and Stars, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1964.
Agent of the Terran Empire (includes We Claim These Stars!), Chilton (Philadelphia, PA), 1965, reprinted, I Books (New York, NY), 2004.
Flandry of Terra (includes Earthman, Go Home! and Mayday Orbit), Chilton (Philadelphia, PA), 1965, reprinted, I Books (New York, NY), 2004.
The Trouble Twisters, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1966.
The Horn of Time, Signet (New York, NY), 1968.
Beyond the Beyond, Signet (New York, NY), 1969.
Seven Conquests: An Adventure in Science Fiction, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1969, published as Conquests, Granada (London, England), 1981.
Tales of the Flying Mountains, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1970.
The Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories, Signet (New York, NY), 1973.
The Many Worlds of Poul Anderson, Chilton (Philadelphia, PA), 1974, published as The Book of Poul Anderson, DAW Books (New York, NY), 1975.
Homeward and Beyond, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1975.
Homebrew, National Education Field Service Association Press (Cambridge, MA), 1976.
The Best of Poul Anderson, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1976.
The Earth Book of Stormgate, Berkley (New York, NY), 1978.
The Night Face and Other Stories, Gregg (Boston, MA), 1978.
The Dark between the Stars, Berkley (New York, NY), 1980.
Explorations, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1981.
Fantasy, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1981.
Winners, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1981.
Starship, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1982.
Past Times, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1984.
(With wife, Karen Anderson) The Unicorn Trade, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1984.
Dialogue with Darkness, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1985.
(Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh) Time Wars, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1986.
Space Folk, Baen Books (New York, NY), 1989.
The Saturn Game (published with Iceborne, by Gregory Benford and Paul A. Carter), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1989.
The Longest Voyage (published with Slow Lightning, by Fritz Lieber), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1991.
Alight in the Void, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1991.
Loser' Night, Pulphouse (Eugene, OR), 1991.
The Time Patrol (contains "Star of the Sea"), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1991.
The Armies of Elfland (contains "The Queen of Air and Darkness"), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1992.
OTHER
(Editor) West by One and by One: An Anthology of Irregular Writings by the Scowrers and Molly Maguire's of San Francisco and the Trained Cormorants of Los Angeles County, privately printed (San Francisco, CA), 1965.
(Adaptor) Christian Molbech, The Fox, the Dog, and the Griffin, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1966.
(Editor) Nebula Award Stories Four, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1969.
(Author of introduction) The Best of L. Sprague de Camp, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1978.
(Translator) The Method of Holding the Three Ones: A Taoist Manual of Meditation of the Fourth Century, A.D., Humanities Press (Atlantic Highlands, NJ), 1980.
(Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh) Mercenaries of Tomorrow, Critic's Choice (New York, NY), 1985.
(Editor, with Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh) Terrorists of Tomorrow, Critic's Choice (New York, NY), 1986.
(Editor, with wife, Karen Anderson) The Night Fantastic (anthology), DAW (New York, NY), 1991.
All One Universe (contains short stories, essays, and a play), Tor Books (New York, NY), 1996.
Contributor to books, including All about the Future, edited by Martin Greenberg, Gnome Press (New York, NY), 1955; The Day the Sun Stood Still: Three Original Novellas of Science Fiction, Thomas Nelson (Nashville, TN), 1972; Science Fiction: Today and Tomorrow, edited by Reginald Bretnor, Harper (New York, NY), 1974; The Craft of Science Fiction, edited by Reginald Bretnor, Harper (New York, NY), 1976; Turning Points: Essays on the Art of Science Fiction, edited by Damon Knight, Harper (New York, NY), 1977; Swords against Darkness, edited by Andrew J. Offutt, Zebra Books (New York NY), Volume 1, 1977, Volume 3, 1978, Volume 4, 1979; The Blade of Conan, edited by L. Sprague de Camp, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1979; Space Wars (short stories), edited by Charles Waugh and Martin H. Greenberg, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1988; and Three in Time: Classic Novels of Time Travel.
Also contributor to anthologies, including Possible Worlds of Science Fiction, edited by Groff Conklin, Vanguard, 1951; A Treasury of Great Science Fiction, edited by Anthony Boucher, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1959; The Hugo Winners, edited by Isaac Asimov, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1962; Space, Time, and Crime, edited by Miriam Allen de Ford, Paperback Library (New York, NY), 1964; Masters of Science Fiction, Belmont Books (New York, NY), 1964; The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, edited by Ben Bova, Doubleday (Garden City, NY), 1973; and The Future at War, edited by Reginald Bretnor, Ace Books (New York, NY), 1979. Contributor of short stories, some under pseudonyms A.A. Craig and Winston P. Sanders, to Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Galaxy, Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and other publications.
Anderson's manuscript collection is housed at the University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg.
ADAPTATIONS: The High Crusade was produced as a film in 1994.
SIDELIGHTS: Although often referred to as a writer of "hard" science fiction—science fiction with a scrupulously accurate scientific basis—Poul Anderson was also known for his creation of plausible fantasy worlds, often based on Nordic mythology. His "recognition of the inevitability of sorrow and death and of the limitations of human powers (but not human spirit) in the face of the immense inhumanity of the universe," Russell Letson of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review believed, "lifts Anderson's fiction above its flaws." "It is increasingly clear," wrote Michael W. McClintock in the Dictionary of Literary Biography, "that [Anderson] is one of the five or six most important writers to appear during the science-fiction publishing boom of the decade following the end of World War II."
The novel Tau Zero is considered one of Anderson's best works of hard science fiction. It presents a simple scientific possibility—a space ship uncontrollably accelerating at a steady one gravity—and develops the consequences in a relentlessly logical and scientifically plausible manner. Sandra Miesel, writing in her Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson, found the novel's structure a key to its effectiveness. "To convey the numbing immensities of the time and distance traversed [during the novel]," Miesel noted, "Anderson begins slowly, letting a few hours elapse at the normal rate in the first chapter. Thereafter, the tempo quickens at an exponential rate until eons fleet by in heartbeats and the reader unquestioningly accepts all the marvels described." James Blish called Tau Zero "the ultimate 'hard' science fiction novel." In his review of the book for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Blish went on to say that "everybody else who has been trying to write this kind of thing can now fold up his tent and creep silently away…. Overall, [Ta u Zero] is a monument to what a born novelist and poet can do with authentic scientific materials. And as is usual with recent Anderson, the poet is as important as the novelist."
Anderson's scientific accuracy is reflected in the carefully constructed backgrounds he created for his stories. He set about fifty of his science fiction novels and short stories in a consistent "future history" of his own devising. This history concerns the exploration of outer space by the Technic Civilization, and each story explores a different event within this history. Although other science fiction writers have also used the future history idea, McClintock said Anderson "utilized it more extensively—and arguably to better advantage—than any other writer."
In his fantasy works, too, Anderson constructed imaginary worlds that are logical and coherent. These worlds are often based on Nordic sagas or contain elements from Nordic history. His prize-winning story "The Queen of Air and Darkness" is set in an arctic wilderness that is, Miesel stated, "a scientifically plausible Elfland." The story is included in an eight-tale collection published under the title The Armies of Elfland, which Kliatt contributor Karen L. Ellis called an "entertaining anthology." In Operation Chaos, Miesel noted, magic is "a perfectly rational, orderly activity." The novel The Merman's Children is based on a medieval Danish ballad about the decline of the world of Faerie. Set in Denmark in the Middle Ages, the novel tells of the struggle between the mermen and the Christian church. The conflict arises because the mermen, an older and less developed species, do not possess souls.
The three adventures in The Shield of Time also showed Anderson's interest in ancient and medieval history. They take place in 200 B.C., the Pleistocene era, and twelfth-century Naples. For this book, Anderson resurrected the "Time Patrol" (a squad he first created in the 1950s), whose job it is to travel through time to make sure history is not tampered with. "Anderson play[s] nicely with the idea that history may pivot on one lone individual, though the identity of that individual may not be at all obvious," noted Tom Easton in Analog: Science Fiction/Science Fact. Tom Whitmore remarked in LOCUS: "Anderson has looked closely at several historical points where a small nudge would have made a big difference, and his historical settings (as always) feel grittily believable. But the story struck me as ultimately futile." A new novella, "Star of the Sea," and Anderson's other stories about the Time Patrol are compiled in the book The Time Patrol. The stories relate the people and places throughout history that agent Manse Everard encounters during his career. "There is an indefinable 'period' feel to the earlier tales, a 1950s sensibility different from the bleak [vision of] the stories from the 1980s," Russell Letson wrote in LOCUS.
In his fiction, Anderson dealt with "overpopulation, conflict between cultures, humankind's biological im-peratives, and depleted natural resources," wrote Michael Pottow in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review, "but in the final analysis each of the stories is about people." A recurring theme in his work is the importance of individual liberty and free will. Anderson once admitted to Jeffrey M. Elliot in Science Fiction Voices #2: "If I preach at all, it's probably in the direction of individual liberty, which is a theme that looms large in my work." Miesel saw Anderson as primarily concerned with the question, "How should mortal man in a finite universe act? Rejecting passivity, [Anderson] asserts that free action is both possible and necessary…. Mortals must resist entropy in both its guises, tyrannical stasis or anarchic chaos. The fight is all the more valiant for its utter hopelessness."
In Quadrant, Hal G.P. Colebatch elaborated on the author's use of conflict in his fiction. While Anderson "has many a good-versus-evil epic," he stated, "his stories very frequently contain what may be the more complex and potentially greater tragedy of a conflict of goods. It is typical (though by no means invariable) the villains or antagonists try to do the right thing and are even kindly by their own lights. This is a refreshing change from the hide-bound conventions of much adventure and fantasy writing."
In Harvest of Stars, pilot Kyra Davis travels to North America to rescue her boss, Anson Guthrie, who now exists as a downloaded personality. The continent is governed by religious fanatics known as Avantists, aiming to take over Fireball Enterprises. The book also introduces Earth's intelligent nonhuman species, the Keiki, and the bioengineered human species, the Lunarians. Critics claim the book changes from an adventure to a vision. In the New York Times Book Review, Gerald Jones wrote: "Harvest of Stars is overwritten, under-imagined and fatally flawed with self-satisfied musings on life-according-to-Guthrie that read suspiciously like the author's own self-justifications." Letson noted in LOCUS: "[The book] has more of Anderson's strengths than his weaknesses," including "a genuinely poetic feeling for the physical universe" and "a capacity for the elegiac and the tragic that are rare in sf."
As The Stars Are Also Fire opens, Dagny Beynac, a descendant of Anson Guthrie, works to preserve peace on the Moon where she lives with her genetically adapted children. In the second part, two individuals search for the secret to unlocking the Peace Authority's control of their way of life. The two intertwined stories in the book span centuries and multiple worlds. Harvest the Fire features the rivalry between humans and cybernetic organisms, while in The Fleet of Stars, Anson Guthrie returns to Earth as a personality downloaded onto his spacecraft's computer. On Earth he seeks the secret that keeps artificial intelligences in power. Publishers Weekly called the book "an exciting culmination to an ambitious saga about the future of human evolution."
Anderson provided a running commentary to connect nine stories, six essays, a play, and two other pieces that compose All One Universe. Noted a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, "Readers tolerant of potpourri may go for this, but Anderson's most pungent work it isn't." However, a reviewer commented in Rapport, "On the whole, All One Universe is a collection which does its creator proud while delighting his fans."
As the twentieth century drew to a close, Anderson continued to produce novels for sci-fi and fantasy readers. Starfarers, a 1998 release, is set in the new millennium. A deep-space message uncovers the existence of galaxy-faring aliens, and a starship is sent to take Earth representatives to meet the extraterrestrial neighbors. The space-time continuum, however, deems that the decade spent by the crew aboard ship will translate into thousands of years back on Earth. The voyage is a success, but "when and if the crew returns," noted Eric Robbins in Booklist, "it is a gamble that they will come back to a recognizable home planet." Robbins praised the work of "master storyteller" Anderson in his review, an opinion that was echoed by a Publishers Weekly contributor, who deemed it a "spectacular novel written in [Anderson's] classic manner" and, comparing the book favorably to Tau Zero, called Starfarers the author's "best work in some time."
In Genesis, another well-received entry, the author "flings his long-time audience [beyond Starfarers] into a far-future extrapolation of human destiny that sings praises to the power of human love," according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Astronaut Christian Bran-nock volunteers to have his personality uploaded into an artificial-intelligence machine that will travel the galaxy on a billion-year exploration. The virtual Bran-nock's return to a vastly evolved Earth brings him into contact with the meaning of human existence. Jackie Cassada of Library Journal pointed to that theme as giving Genesis a "surreal, allegorical feel." The fantasy-skewed Mother of Kings, a Norse epic, was released corresponding with Anderson's death from prostate cancer in August 2001.
The occasion of Anderson's death brought revelations into the author's standing among his fans and peers. As David Kipen quoted her in a San Francisco Chroniclepiece, Anderson's widow, Karen, said that in the waning hours of her husband's life, "messages poured in from strangers who told how they had learned honor and courage from his writing, courtesy and kindness from his personal example." Such tributes, she added, "cannot be awarded, but only earned."
When asked to comment on the role of science fiction in relation to other types of literature, Anderson once told CA: "I have written quite a lot of it, and am proud to have done so, because science fiction is and always has been part of literature. Its long isolation, strictly a twentieth-century phenomenon, is ending; its special concepts and techniques are becoming common property, employed not only by the mass media but by some of our most respected writers; in turn, it is shedding artistic parochialism and thus starting to communicate beyond a small circle of enthusiasts." He continued, "This is good, because the particular concerns of science fiction never have been parochial; they have included, or tried to include, all of space, time, and fate. Not that I wish to make exaggerated claims. I merely set forth that science fiction is one human accomplishment, among countless others, which has something to offer the world. Lest even this sound too pompous let me say that at the very least it is often a lot of fun."
BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:
BOOKS
Benson, Gordon, Jr., Poul Anderson, Myth-Master and Wonder-Weaver: An Interim Bibliography (1947–1982), G. Benson, Jr. (Albuquerque, NM), 1982, 5th revised edition published as Poul Anderson, Myth-Master and Wonder-Weaver: A Working Bibliography, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1990.
Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series, Volume 2, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1985.
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 15, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1980.
Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 8: Twentieth-Century American Science-Fiction Writers, Thomson Gale (Detroit, MI), 1981.
Elliot, Jeffrey M., Science Fiction Voices #2, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1979.
Miesel, Sandra, Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson, Borgo (San Bernardino, CA), 1978.
Peyton, Roger C, A Checklist of Poul Anderson, privately printed, 1965.
Platt, Charles, Dream Makers, Volume 2: The Uncommon Men and Women Who Write Science Fiction, Berkley (New York, NY), 1983.
Stever, David, and Andrew Adams Whyte, The Collector's Poul Anderson, privately printed, 1976.
Walker, Paul, Speaking of Science Fiction: The Paul Walker Interviews, Luna Publications (Oradell, NY), 1978.
PERIODICALS
Algol, summer-fall, 1978.
Analog: Science Fiction/Science Fact, February, 1991, p. 176; December, 1993, p. 163; March, 1996, p. 146; January, 1998, review of War of the Gods, p. 145; November 1, 1998, Tom Easton, review of Starfarers, p. 132; March, 1999, Tom Easton, review of Starfarers, p. 132; October, 1999, review of Operation Luna, p. 132; June, 2000, Tom Eas-ton, review of Genesis, p. 132.
Booklist, October 1, 1995, p. 254; February 15, 1996, p. 981; November 1, 1998, Eric Robbins, review of Starfarers, p. 477; July, 1999, Roland Green, review of Operation Luna, p. 1929; February 15, 2000, Roland Green, review of Genesis, p. 1090.
Books and Bookmen, August, 1972.
Globe and Mail (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), November 18, 1989.
Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1995, p. 1146; December 1, 1995, p. 1671; October 1, 1998, review of Starfarers, p. 1420; June 1, 1999, review of Operation Luna, p. 840; September 1, 2001, review of Mother of Kings, p. 1252.
Kliatt, September, 1991, p. 19; September, 1992, p. 18; January, 1995, p. 12.
Library Journal, October 15, 1995, p. 91; November 15, 1996, p. 42; October 15, 1998, Jackie Cassada, review of Starfarers, p. 103; June 15, 1999, Jackie Cassada, review of Operation Luna, p. 111; February 15, 2000, Jackie Cassada, review of Genesis, p. 202; October 15, 2001, Jackie Cassada, review of Mother of Kings, p. 12.
LOCUS, August, 1990, p. 27; May, 1991, p. 45; October, 1991, p. 19; June, 1993, p. 29; November, 1994, p. 25; June, 1999, review of Operation Luna, p. 25.
Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2000, Michael Harris, review of Genesis, p. E3.
Luna Monthly, June, 1972.
Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, March, 1971; December, 1971; December, 1992, p. 31; February, 1998, Robert Killheffer, review of Three in Time: Classic Novels of Time Travel, p. 42; March, 1998, Mike Resnick, review of Tau Zero, p. 82.
National Review, January 2, 1964.
New York Times Book Review, October 28, 1979; September 12, 1993, p. 36.
Publishers Weekly, September 20, 1991, p. 124; July 26, 1993, p. 62; July 18, 1994, p. 239; January 22, 1996, p. 61; February 24, 1997, p. 69; September 28, 1998, review of Starfarers, p. 76; July 5, 1999, review of Operation Luna, p. 63; February 14, review of Genesis, p. 179; September 10, review of Conan the Rebel and Mother of Kings, pp. 66-67.
Quadrant, June, 2001, Hal G.P. Colebatch, "Poul Anderson: An Appreciation," p. 56.
Rapport, Volume 19, number 3, 1996, p. 31; Volume 20, number 3, 1998, review of War of the Gods, p. 26.
School Library Journal, April, 1992, p. 170.
Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review, April, 1982.
Science Fiction Chronicle, April, 1998, review of War of the Gods, p. 53; October, 1998, review of Starfarers, p. 51; August, 1999, review of Operation Luna, p. 39.
Science Fiction Review, May, 1978.
Tribune Books (Chicago, IL), December 30, 1990, p. 6; October 27, 1991, p. 6.
Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1995, p. 343; June, 1999, review of Starfarers, p. 119.
Washington Post Book World, February 24, 1980; May 29, 1983; August 26, 1990, p. 8; March 31, 1991, p. 12; January 24, 1999, review of Starfarers, p. 8.
Wilson Library Bulletin, January, 1995, p. 90.
OBITUARIES:
PERIODICALS
Daily Telegraph (London, England), August 7, 2001.
Guardian (London, England), August 4, 2001, p. 20.
Los Angeles Times, August 3, 2001, p. B10.
New York Times, August 3, 2001, p. A23.
San Francisco Chronicle, August 3, 2001, p. A24.
Times (London, England), September 3, 2001, p. 17.