|
|
Spam deleted by QuickTopic 10-28-2012 07:16
|
David "PiperFan" Johnson  12-26-2011
03:31 UT
|
~
Jon Crocker wrote:
>> Wouldn't it be more likely that a history
>> like Rise and Decline of the System States would be written
>> shortly after the end of the System States War rather than two
>> millennia later during the time of the first Galactic Empire?
>
> Yes, it's a long time afterward, but there is precedent.
>
[snip link]
>
> Edward Gibbon published "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
> starting in 1776, almost two thousand years after the subject
> matter.
I'm
sure Beam was familiar with Gibbon's opus but that's not really the
right model for a history of the System States. Now, someone writing a
history of the "Decline and Fall of the Terran Federation" during the
era of the first Galactic Empire would make a lot of sense. But in that
work the System States Alliance would play only a minor part. . . .
Don't be a New Year's present-peeker!
David
--
"Our
rulers are the barbarians among us. There isn't one of them . . . who
is devoted to civilization or anything else outside himself, and that's
the mark of the barbarian." - Otto Harkaman (H. Beam Piper),
_Space_Viking_
~
|
|
|
Spam deleted by QuickTopic 01-24-2014 06:09
|
|
Jim Broshot
12-25-2011
02:39 UT
|
On 12/24/2011 8:17 AM, QT - David PiperFan Johnson wrote:
> Here's another clue. We all know Beam was a Confederate history
> buff and had a certain sympathy for the Confederate States of
> America, in part because he likely had known Confederate
> veterans as a young person (one or more of these old folks
> probably was a bit like that old Alliance rebel, Klem Zareff).
> It seems clear that the rebellion of the System States Alliance
> was modeled on the Confederacy's efforts to break from the
> Union.
>
> After his release from a Union prison, former Confederate States
> President Jefferson Davis wrote a history of the Civil War
> titled Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, an apologia
> of sorts for the rebel cause. Might Davis' history have been
> Beam's spark for Franchard's Rise and Decline of the System
> States?
If
Beam knew of the work, did he ever read it? Its pretty long and
consists of two weighty volumes. And can be found and downloaded from
Internet Archive:
http://www.archive.org/details/risefallofconfed01daviuoft
http://www.archive.org/details/risefallofconfed02daviuoft
Merry Christmas to all!
Jim Broshot
|
David "PiperFan" Johnson 12-24-2011
14:17 UT
|
~
~
Who was Franchard?
"And the time he'd tried to get a copy of Franchard's Rise and Decline of the System States, which wouldn't be published until the Twenty-eighth Century, out of the college library."
That's
Ed Chalmers in "Edge of the Knife" musing about the different times
he'd allowed his "memories of the future" to slip into his actual life.
I think Beam is telling us more about the Terro-human Future History
here than this recounting of Chalmers' "slip ups" first suggests.
We know from the title that Rise and Decline
is a history of the rebellion of the System States Alliance against the
Terran Federation in the 9th Century of the Atomic Era. But when was
this history written? Beam has Chalmers tell us "in the Twenty-eighth
Century" without any indication of the dating system in which this "28th
Century" is marked.
The 28th Century of the Atomic Era, a period
well into the era of the first Galactic Empire, is nearly two millennia
after the System States War. This seems an odd period in which to
write such a specific bit of "ancient" history, though it's true the
rebellion of the Alliance was a key step in the eventual collapse of the
Terran Federation (and, as any Empire era historian would know, in the
origin of the Space Vikings).
But Chalmers is a pre-Federation
era Terro-human. He uses Christian Era dating in his own life and work.
Though he marks other "memories of the future" with Atomic Era dating
(like the native Uprising on Uller) the date for Franchard's Rise and Decline is simply placed in "the Twenty-eighth Century."
The
28th Century of the Christian Era, Chalmers' own dating system, ends in
857 Atomic Era, just three years after the end of the System States
War. Wouldn't it be more likely that a history like Rise and Decline of the System States
would be written shortly after the end of the System States War rather
than two millennia later during the time of the first Galactic Empire?
Here's
another clue. We all know Beam was a Confederate history buff and had a
certain sympathy for the Confederate States of America, in part because
he likely had known Confederate veterans as a young person (one or more
of these old folks probably was a bit like that old Alliance rebel,
Klem Zareff). It seems clear that the rebellion of the System States
Alliance was modeled on the Confederacy's efforts to break from the
Union.
After his release from a Union prison, former Confederate
States President Jefferson Davis wrote a history of the Civil War titled
Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, an apologia of sorts for the rebel cause. Might Davis' history have been Beam's spark for Franchard's Rise and Decline of the System States?
If
so, then Franchard may be much more than merely some late Federation
era (or first Empire era) historian. He may have been the leader of the
System States Alliance!
Remember Ashmodai! Remember Belphegor!
David
--
"You
know, it's never a mistake to take a second look at anything that
everybody believes." - Rodney Maxwell (H. Beam Piper), "Graveyard of
Dreams"
~
|
David "PiperFan" Johnson 12-17-2011
04:51 UT
|
~
Apologies to those of you who recently received some spam messages
from the Piper mailing list. We've deleted them from the forum and are
updated our spam filter.
By way of further apology, here's a pointer to Fred Pohl's remembrance of Beam:
http://www.thewaythefutureblogs.com/2010/01/h-beam-piper/
Pohl
was Piper's agent early in his career. He once tried to sell a short
story by Piper, "Hour of Indecision" that apparently was never published
and appears to be lost:
http://www.zarthani.net/Images/hour_of_indecision.pdf
Enjoy,
David
--
"You
know, it's never a mistake to take a second look at anything that
everybody believes." - Rodney Maxwell (H. Beam Piper), "Graveyard of
Dreams"
~
|
| |
Messages 918-916 deleted by author between 12-16-2011 09:01 AM and 12-16-2011 09:00 AM |
|
John F. Carr
12-02-2011
20:21 UT
|
Hi Friends: I've been selling copies Siege of Tarr-Hostigos
in large multiples, from 2 to 8 copies! I couldn't figure out why until I
talked with Fred Ramsey who went on Amazon and checked it out. Right
now Amazon, with their Sell Back program, is paying $106.00 per copy in
"good" condition of Siege of Tarr-Hostigos (Incidentally, I'm selling
new ones there for $46). I've already traded my limit (4 books) and now I'm passing it on to you. The
trick is to return your book before the 50 odd copies I've sold in the
last 2 days reach their buyers. According to Fred Ramsey, there's a
cut-off point on these deals. So if you want to act, act now. Also,
Amazon doesn't pay cash, but they give you a gift certificate worth the
full amount. Since I buy a lot of stuff on Amazon this works out very
well -- most of my X-mas shopping is now going to be on Amazon! Now,
after you sell your copy, you can go to my website (or Amazon) and buy a
brand new replacement copy for half of what you're getting! Now, that
my friends, is a win, win! I'm now down to two boxes (32 copies)
of the first edition Siege of Tarr-Hostigos books. So anyone who wants a
first edition this is the time to buy one. The second edition will be a
trade hardcover instead of the deluxe first edition. Happy Holidays, John F. Carr www.PequodPress.com Edited 12-02-2011 20:22
|
|
|
Deleted by topic administrator 12-01-2011 13:24
|
David "PiperFan" Johnson 11-26-2011
05:52 UT
|
~
Jackson Russell wrote:
> Question: do the little egg-shaped shuttles use gravity
> generators?
Not
sure what "shuttles" you have in mind. There were egg-shaped,
single-person air cavalry "mounts" described in both ~Cosmic Computer~
and ~Space Viking~ but these are conventional contragravity craft,
apparently not intended for exo-atmospheric work. None was ever
mentioned and I doubt they had any internal pseudogravity fields.
Remember Ashmodai! Remember Belphegor!
David
--
"Naturally. Foxx Travis would expect a soul to be carried in a holster." - Miles Gilbert (H. Beam Piper), "Oomphel in the Sky"
~
|
|
|
New Topic
My Topics
Views:
35310
(Unique:
9358
) / Subscribers:
27 | What's this?