Multiverse

by Greg Bear (editor), Gardner Dozois (editor), Bob Eggleton (illustrator)

Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson’s Worlds. Poul Anderson (1926-2001) was one of the seminal figures of 20th century science fiction. Named a Grand Master by the SFWA in 1997, he produced an enormous body of standalone novels (Brain Wave, Tau Zero) and series fiction (Time Patrol, the Dominic Flandry books) and was equally at home in the fields of heroic fantasy and hard SF. He was a meticulous craftsman and a gifted storyteller, and the impact of his finest work continues, undiminished, to this day.

Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson’s Worlds is a rousing, all-original anthology that stands both as a significant achievement in its own right and a heartfelt tribute to a remarkable writer—and equally remarkable man. A nicely balanced mixture of fiction and reminiscence, Multiverse contains thirteen stories and novellas by some of today’s finest writers, along with moving reflections by, among others, Anderson’s wife, Karen, his daughter, Astrid Anderson Bear, and his son-in-law, novelist and co-editor Greg Bear. (Bear’s introduction, “My Friend Poul,” is particularly illuminating and insightful.).

The fictional contributions comprise a kaleidoscopic array of imaginative responses to Anderson’s many and varied fictional worlds. A few of the highlights include Nancy Kress’s “Outmoded Things” and Terry Brooks’s “The Fey of Cloudmoor,” stories inspired by the Hugo Award-winning “The Queen of Air and Darkness;” a pair of truly wonderful Time Patrol stories (“A Slip in Time” by S. M. Stirling and “Christmas in Gondwanaland” by Robert Silverberg); Raymond A. Feist’s Dominic Flandry adventure, “A Candle;” and a pair of very different homages to the classic fantasy novel, Three Hearts and Three Lions: “The Man Who Came Late” by Harry Turtledove and “Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And A Participation Ribbon in Science)” by Tad Williams. These stories, together with singular contributions by such significant figures as Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, and Eric Flint, add up to a memorable, highly personal anthology that lives up to the standards set by the late—and indisputably great—Poul Anderson.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: My Friend Poul by Greg Bear
Outmoded Things by Nancy Kress
The Man Who Came Late by Harry Turtledove
A Slip in Time by S. M. Stirling
Living and Working with Poul Anderson by Karen Anderson
Dancing on The Edge of The Dark by C. J. Cherryh
The Lingering Joy by Stephen Baxter
Operation Xibalba by Eric Flint
Tales Told by Astrid Anderson Bear
The Fey of Cloudmoor by Terry Brooks
Christmas in Gondwanaland by Robert Silverberg
Latecomers by David Brin
An Appreciation of Poul Anderson by Jerry Pournelle
A Candle by Raymond E. Feist
The Far End by Larry Niven
Bloodpride by Gregory Benford
Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participation Ribbon in Science) by Tad Williams

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Anthologies, Short Stories, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

400 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2014

About the author

Greg Bear was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), parallel universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin’s Radio, and Darwin’s Children). His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.

(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a partial review, in that this book is a collection of short stories from various authors set in worlds created by Poul Anderson, and I've read three of them: specifically, the ones that show up free online at Baen.com as free samples of this book (sometimes I'm cheap that way, especially with SF/F short stories. There are so many good freebies online that I hardly ever pay for a collection).

These three are worth reading, even if you're not familiar with the particular Poul Anderson stories that they're based on.

4 stars for "Outmoded Things" by Nancy Kress. Review first posted on Fantasy Literature:

In “Outmoded Things,” Nancy Kress pays tribute to Poul Anderson’s Nebula and Hugo award winning 1971 novelette/novella The Queen of Air and Darkness, exploring what happened after that story ends. To briefly recap and, necessarily, spoil Anderson’s story, since Kress’ story does as well: On the colony planet Roland, children have periodically gone missing. An investigation eventually discloses that a previously unknown intelligent species on Roland has limited mind-reading and -controlling abilities, including the ability to project illusions, using human superstitions and religious beliefs to make their reptilian bodies appear as beautiful beings like faeries or angels, attracting the children away from their homes and families.

As “Outmoded Things” begins, Dr. Luke Silverstein is engaged in therapy sessions with some of the children who have been recovered from the aliens (about half of those who disappeared have been found and returned). The older reclaimed children are having trouble readjusting to their life in the frontier town of Christmas Landing: Terry is angry at the natives for fooling him with illusions, while some others, like Carolyn, long to return to them. Carolyn insists on going by the name the natives gave her, Shadow-of-a-Dream, and has a disconcerting habit of running around naked. Gradually it becomes clear to Luke that the situation with the alien natives, and with the children and teens who had been living with them, is more complex than anyone had realized.

I wish I had been able to read Anderson’s story first, but Kress quickly grounded me in this world and opened up new avenues of thought, new ways of viewing what at first seemed straightforward. Among other things, Kress explores illusion and reality, and how there may sometimes be deeper truths in illusion … but also the danger of self-deception. There are some fascinating twists to this bittersweet tale. I think Anderson would approve.

4 stars for "The Man Who Came Late" by Harry Turtledove, a "30 years after" story set in the fantasy world of Three Hearts and Three Lions, an alternative world to ours. Alianora, once the Swan Maiden, is married to a village blacksmith, and they have three grown children (one of whom, their 18 year old daughter, likes to wear Alianora's magical swan dress). Then one day the warrior Holger shows up in her village, back from our world, and still searching for Alianora after all these years, remembering the love they once had. This is a bittersweet, poignant tale that will be most meaningful to those who've read Three Hearts and Three Lions, but I think it's enjoyable by all.

3.5 stars for "A Slip in Time" by S.M. Stirling, a story set in Anderson's world of the Time Patrol series. Time Patrol members are time travelers who (I gather) fix mistakes in the past to keep our world on track. The story begins with one Gavrilo Princip, all set to assassinate an archduke in 1914, when he quietly slumps to the ground and dies. Manse Everard, an immortal member of the Time Patrol, is planning on taking a vacation trip to 1926 Vienna with his wife Wanda. What they find when they arrive is far different that what they were planning on, and very soon Manse is in a pickle.

This is a fun, fast-paced adventure tale. Even though I'm not familiar with the Time Patrol novels, I still enjoyed it. Stirling leaves a significant loose end in this story: who killed Princip and why?. I'd like to know whether he's written more in this world to tie that up.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cut my teeth reading fantasy & SF written by Anderson, so it's great to see such a tribute to him. I've read stories by most of the authors listed & like most. I have some trepidation since I don't care much for the work of either of the editors, Gardner Dozois or Greg Bear. Both like long, rambling stories a lot more than I do.

Anderson is a grand master & created many memorable characters & worlds. He also wrote the essay "On Thud & Blunder" which EVERY fiction author should have tattooed on the backs of their hands & arms. He's most directly addressing heroic fiction, but he carried it into other genres.
(It's free here: https://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/on-thud-...)

The most annoying thing is the listing of each author's complete works prior to each story & most of them have been writing for decades so the lists were L-O-N-G. It would be easy to skip in print, but it's a PITA in audio. I was also disappointed that more of his worlds weren't visited. A lot of Time Patrol, "Queen of Air & Darkness", Flandry plus a couple of "Three Hearts & Three Lions". The authors mentioned one of my favorites "Brain Wave" & other stories often, but didn't write in them. He had so many worlds that went untouched.

Overall, it was enjoyable, but not quite a 4 star read.

Table of Contents -
Introduction: My Friend Poul by Greg Bear - shorter & better than I expected. Lucky guy! He married Poul's daughter, Astrid.

Outmoded Things by Nancy Kress - not very well named from what I got out of the story, but a good update on "the Queen of Air & Darkness".

The Man Who Came Late by Harry Turtledove - certainly had the makings of a great story, but his depiction of Carl/Holger didn't ring true at first which spoiled it for me. It got better & ended well, though.

A Slip in Time by S. M. Stirling - was OK, another chapter of the Time Patrol. They were never favorite stories of mine, but this is another fast, decently done one.

Living and Working with Poul Anderson by Karen Anderson - interesting bio of Poul by his wife.

Dancing on the Edge of the Dark by C. J. Cherryh - is a story about Flandry's kids. It's OK, but lacked any tension.

The Lingering Joy by Stephen Baxter - I didn't make it through this one.

Operation Xibalba by Eric Flint - was a lot of fun. Again, not much tension, but going to Hell can be a dangerous thing to do.

Tales Told by Astrid Anderson Bear - Poul was a master of childhood bed time stories. Who would have guessed? Lucky girl & it was fun to hear about the author as a father.

The Fey of Cloudmoor by Terry Brooks - unexpectedly good! I'm not a fan of Brooks' writing generally. He did a good job continuing the story of "The Queen of Air & Darkness"

Christmas in Gondwanaland by Robert Silverberg - another Time Patrol story which wasn't bad overall, but very repetitive in the points. Not a great bio for all they were long time friends.

Latecomers by David Brin - a really good SF story out in the asteroids.

An Appreciation of Poul Anderson by Jerry Pournelle - a fun bio with a filk song in it.

A Candle by Raymond E. Feist - another Flandry story, so rousing adventure. Again, no tension, but I enjoyed it, especially the end.

The Far End by Larry Niven - another Time Patrol story of a different sort than usual. I liked it.

Bloodpride by Gregory Benford - a story about the Ythrian from The People of the Wind. Interesting & well done SF.

Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participation Ribbon in Science) by Tad Williams - a farcical look at what might have happened if they had gotten the wrong guy from our world. It was ridiculous & fun. Really enjoyed it.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a few short stories by Poul Anderson but am not familiar with his oeuvre so to experience his fictions second hand with Multiverse: Exploring Poul Anderson’s Worlds was interesting. A man with his long career who won seven Hugo Awards and three Nebulas and was made A Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America should inspire good stories in his colleagues. He did.

In ‘Outmoded Things’ Nancy Kress explores the world of The Queen of Air and Darkness. In a barren outpost on an alien world, the natives can transmit illusions which lure some children away from the human settlement. Four are recaptured but they have to be persuaded to stay. An interesting meditation on the worth of dreams and fables which is particularly relevant to us fiction readers.

‘The Fey of Cloudmoor’ by Terry Brooks is another based on The Queen of Air and Darkness. Jimmy Cullen was taken by the Fey as a baby but his mother eventually rescued him. However, he couldn’t cope with human civilization and ended up as a drug addict. His girlfriend dies in the gutter and he takes their baby daughter back to the Fey for a better life. However, his mother wants to rescue them again. Brooks is a well-known bestseller so I was surprised to find this slow-moving and atmospheric with lots of description. It worked. It worked fine.

Time Patrol stories commence with ‘A Slip in Time’ by S.M. Stirling. The Time Patrol wanders through history, making sure it all happens as it should. They were founded by the Darnellians, highly evolved humans from the distant future. I haven’t read the series but it seems very similar to Asimov’s End of Eternity, no plagiarism implied. Once the concept of time travel became common currency the idea of a police force to prevent misuse was a logical extension of it. Both books came out in 1955. Anyway, when someone sabotages the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, World War One fails to happen and history is greatly changed. Manse Everard stumbles across the changes while on vacation in the period and has to sort it out. It’s okay as an action-adventure yarn. Not so sure about the history. The assassination triggered WW1 but the great power conflicts were set to go off anyway with Germany seeking it‘s ‘place in the sun‘. I think some other trigger would have occurred. But no one knows, which is why you can have such fun with alternatives.


Another Time Patrol story with ‘Christmas in Gondwanaland’. Robert Silverberg is a contemporary of Poul Anderson in the field and probably about as prolific. Here Everard Manse and colleagues have to save the Patrol itself. The Founding Convocation which set up the organization has been blown up by terrorists from 9999A.D. In the modern Silverberg way, it’s a bit slow but thoughtful and interesting. Gondwanaland was the single continent on Earth before they drifted apart, also known as Pangaea. Funnily enough, I recently read an essay by Anderson, written in the seventies I think, in which he wondered why, given his literary talents, Silverberg didn’t just go mainstream and make a lot more money. I guess he just loves the field he started in, luckily for us. Manse Everard crops up again in ‘The Far End’ by Larry Niven. He’s a long way into his personal timeline now and is getting bored as there are few crises left to solve. The protagonist is a beginner in the Time Patrol. This was short and sweet.

Anderson’s hero Dominic Flandry worked to keep the Terran Empire from falling to hold back another dark age. In ‘Dancing on the Edge of the Dark’ by C.J.Cherryh his descendants undertake the same task. Dialogue driven, this was an easy read and I enjoy political stories. I also believe that empires are the shapers of history and it’s better to be in one than outside, a local debate we’re having in the UK at the moment. Surely any SF fan/Trekkie believes in world government? In another one based on the Flandry series a hero battles Alcan slavers. Raymond C. Feist delivers a nice action-adventure yarn with an unusually long, slow but interesting conclusion.

In a sequel to Anderson’s ‘The Long Remembering’ author Stephen Baxter has a Ms Armand visiting an ancestor’s mind using Temporal Psycho Displacement. She can take no control over what happens but thinks and feels along with her early feminist ancestor as that worthy hunts a Neanderthal man. Quite interesting with a religious undercurrent. My ginger beard indicates that I might have some Neanderthal blood so I empathise with them and so will you homo sapiens when a new race of sub-mariners takes over the flooded Earth.

Taking Anderson’s novel Operation Chaos as his template, Eric Flint has Anibal from the Department of Infernal Affairs venture into Hell. It’s dangerous but he is a were-dinosaur, which helps. He is accompanied by the resourceful Sophia Loren from the State Department. ‘Operation Xibalba’ is an entertaining romp that keeps you interested.

David Brin’s story ‘Latecomers’ isn’t set in an Anderson world but is a tribute. Long ago Brin showed Anderson a story called ‘Lungfish’. Poul opined that he had succeeded in achieving a haunting, elegiac tone and so forth but that it would be better with more action. Brin rewrote it thus and here it is. It features Gavin, a humaniform robot that’s more sarcastic than most humans and Tor Povlov, a lady who looks like a robot after most of her was destroyed in an accident. They are exploring a planetoid for more artefacts of an ancient alien civilisation. Featuring speculation on the nature of humanity, a great space battle and a fascinating finale, this was my favourite dramatic story in the book. Brin handles both technology and characters well.

‘Bloodpride’ by Gregory Benford is based on Poul Anderson’s The People of the Wind. The flying Ythrians, come to the solar system in search of an ancient artefact. The aliens are well portrayed and the story developed nicely with a librarian learning to relate to them. They are contemptuous of ground animals but this is set on the moon where the low gravity enables one to fly a bit with fitted wings, an idea originally mooted by Heinlein in his short story ‘The Menace from Earth.’

Harry Turtledove, maestro of alternative history contributes ‘The Man Who Came Late’, set in the world of Three Hearts and Three Lions. Holger the hero has been wandering the universes for thirty years doing good but finally tracks down his true love from that adventure. Unfortunately, she is now married to the village smithy and has children. Turtledove has several good turns of phrase. On sagging chins in the elderly: ‘The earth dragged you down towards it, and then dragged you down into it.’ On the hero’s dalliances with other women: ‘A knight errant spent his nights erring.’ On beer: ‘Sometimes the world needed a bit of blurring.’ The ending was good if you’re a man. Persons identifying with the female in the story might not like it so much.

I laughed out loud frequently while reading ‘Three Lilies and Three Leopards (And a Participating Ribbon in Science)’ by Tad Williams. . Quidprobe works in the Crossover Division of the Department of Fictional Universes. When a shoe shop manager instead of a military hero is shunted to the mediaeval France of Poul Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions it’s a major crisis. The highly entertaining plot is enlivened by similes worthy of P.G. Wodehouse. I also enjoyed Quidprobe’s exclamations: ‘By the Peerless Punctuation of Poe!’ and ‘Excrement of Ellison!’ among others. The principles of retail management can be adapted to heroic questing, it seems. This story alone is worth the price of the book, certainly if you include the dramatic one by David Brin.

There is some non-fiction here. The introduction entitled ‘My Friend Poul‘ is by Greg Bear, one of the editors of this volume, who married Anderson‘s daughter Astrid and was his son-in-law for twenty years or so. ‘Living and Working with Poul Anderson’ is an interesting memoir by his wife Karen that does what it says in the title. There are a couple of pages by Astrid Anderson Bear praising the bedtime stories she had as a child. There‘s ‘An Appreciation of Poul Anderson’ by Jerry Pournelle, another SF writer who became a friend. Each story has an Afterword by the author and several of them knew Anderson a little. They generally have nice things to say about him both as a major writer and a person. I’m sure he was a splendid fellow and I believe he would appreciate this worthy tribute from his peers.

[Mark Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, as I am a fan of Poul Anderson, but the story quality was uneven.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of Poul Anderson way back when - so long ago that I didn't remember any of the worlds that the stories in this book are based on. He wasn't a particular favorite, but his books were well thought out and included lots of interesting ideas and world-building.

The writers who contributed stories to this book are some of the most recognizable names in the field. They all had some connection with Anderson; some were very close to him. For their stories, each chose one of Anderson's worlds and often some of his characters, and went from there. All the stories were written very well. Several writers chose the Flandry series or the Time Patrol series, and I enjoyed all of those stories. Some of the others were just not my style.

Each writer shared their reminiscences about Anderson, and those are what moved the book from three to four stars for me. His wife and daughter didn't write fiction for the book, but wrote movingly about their times with him. Greg Bear, the editor, was his son-in-law. This all meshed well with the stories, all added up to a history of a major branch of science fiction writers/fans/books. Fascinating!

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories by several well-known scifi authors, which are set in the various universes created by Poul Anderson. A couple of the stories rate 5 stars, and several of the stories are OK, but held my interest enough to finish. I enjoyed the introduction and afterword to each story, in which the editor introduced each author. And the author then describes his/her relationship to Poul Anderson.

I found it interesting that many of these authors read Poul Anderson's books as teenagers, as did I.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Help me read more books

Very interesting collection of stories. Some are extremely funny, others are just strange. (of course, I'd expect nothing less, considering the wide array of contributors here.
If you like Frederick Poul, then you likely don't want to miss this collection of stories dedicated to his memory and worlds, it's a good experience.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of a slog since most of the good stories are near the beginning and it's disheartening to trudge through (or give up on) the bad ones. OTOH, I wasn't a Poul Anderson fan and am reconsidering that for at least some of his series after this.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven book. Some stories are definitely better than others. But if you are a Poul Anderson fan, you should get this. I listened to the audiobook version.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

About half the stories are 4* or better and the rest 2*

[Spencer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like the structure or the content of this book, but I also have never read Anderson. 🤷‍♂️

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is perhaps inevitable with an anthology of this nature, the quality of the stories varied although the love and respect of the authors for Poul Anderson shines through.
Whilst the stories can be enjoyed without a knowledge of Poul Anderson's own stories they are clearly enhanced by that knowledge. For example, I really enjoyed Terry Brooks' story The Fey of Cloudmoor but, not having read Anderson's The Queen of Air and Darkness, I clearly missed many of the nuances of the story.
Nevertheless a solid collection well worth reading.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

My second DNF in a row. I got through most of this audio book, and then wondered why I stuck with so long, before finally throwing in the towel. This was not to my taste at all. Perhaps if I had been familiar with Poul Anderson's work I may have enjoyed it, but I found these stories filled with characters and stories I did not care about at all, and could relate to less. Live and learn.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Poul Anderson tribute, most stories are missing that bit of humor that Poul would insert into his earlier works. I also guess that women were not inspired by his writing, since there are only a couple of female authors in the collection, or is it Baenal?

[Charl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the stories were quite good, and worthy homages to Poul's works, but I found each author's afterword, telling there own interactions with him, the most rewarding part of all.

A must-read for any Anderson fan.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some wonderful reminiscenes and a few stories based in Anderson's worlds. Made me want to reread some of my favourte pieces by Anderson.

[Lee Schlesinger · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most tedious book I've read this year. Mediocre stories, uninspired introductions, and lots of editing mistakes.

[Norman Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent tribute to Poul Anderson's work. The quality varies. Some of the tales capture the tone of the originals, while others reflect the originality of Anderson's vision. I think Poul would have liked the latter.