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Technic Civilization Saga #1
The Van Rijn Method
The Buck Starts Here!Think there's an unbridgeable gulf between human and alien thought Not so! There's a common tongue, all right -- and Nicholas Van Rijn speaks it TRADE. For behind the buffoonish blarney and bawdy bonhomie of the Falstaffian Van Rijn is a man who gets things done. A born wheeler-dealer who usually leaves both sides better off in the bargain. (While pocketing a hefty cut of the profits himself, of course!)With The Man Who Counts and a passel of other tales included, this is the first of three volumes set to contain the complete cycle of “Polesotechnic League” books and stories by transcendently-gifted science fiction master (how does seven Hugos and three Nebula Awards strike you ) Poul Anderson – and starring Nicholas Van Rijn, his most famous character of all!At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (DRM Rights Management).
645 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2008
90 people are currently reading
935 people want to read
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,618 books1,100 followersPseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.
Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]
Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.
Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 27, 2009
Baen is re-releasing all of Poul Anderson's "Technic Civilization" stories. The first of 5 projected volumes is "The Van Rijn Method", focusing on the early stages of the inter-stellar civilization and on Nicholas Van Rijn, a merchant and bon-vivant who played a large role in some of the early stories. I wasn't really familiar with Poul Anderson before, and to be honest, I probably still couldn't say I am --- apparently he was one of the most prolific writers of his generation with 70 or so novels and countless short stories and collections. Yikes.
I tend to approach older SF with lowered expectations (see also: Alfred Bester, Cordwainer Smith), but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. Some of these stories have a wonderful old-fashioned SF feel to them: Anderson starts with the science and works outward from there. A planet may be at such and such a distance from its fun and at a certain inclination, which has a specific effect on the climate, which again influences the evolution of a species, and so on. He then effectively ties all of this into plot and, to a lesser extent, character development (always a weak point in older SF in my opinion).
The main attraction in these stories is the title character, Nicholas Van Rijn, a larger than life merchant, loud, boisterous and brilliant. His speech mannerisms alone are enough to make these stories fun. The next book in the series is titled "David Falkayn, Star Trader", which seems to indicate no more Van Rijn stories... What a shame.
While the stories in this collection definitely show their age, I found them easier to read than some others from this period. I especially liked the one longer piece, "The Man Who Counts" (either a very short novel or a long novella), which tied all the qualities of the shorter stories together and made me curious to read some more long-form work by Anderson. So, all in all a pleasant surprise.
I tend to approach older SF with lowered expectations (see also: Alfred Bester, Cordwainer Smith), but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. Some of these stories have a wonderful old-fashioned SF feel to them: Anderson starts with the science and works outward from there. A planet may be at such and such a distance from its fun and at a certain inclination, which has a specific effect on the climate, which again influences the evolution of a species, and so on. He then effectively ties all of this into plot and, to a lesser extent, character development (always a weak point in older SF in my opinion).
The main attraction in these stories is the title character, Nicholas Van Rijn, a larger than life merchant, loud, boisterous and brilliant. His speech mannerisms alone are enough to make these stories fun. The next book in the series is titled "David Falkayn, Star Trader", which seems to indicate no more Van Rijn stories... What a shame.
While the stories in this collection definitely show their age, I found them easier to read than some others from this period. I especially liked the one longer piece, "The Man Who Counts" (either a very short novel or a long novella), which tied all the qualities of the shorter stories together and made me curious to read some more long-form work by Anderson. So, all in all a pleasant surprise.
May 12, 2018
The publishing house Baen has assembled all of Poul Anderson's Technic Civilization stories (shorts, novellas, and novels) into a seven volume set, with the stories occurring chronologically, as opposed to being in publication order. The first volume starts in the relatively near future, then hops forward to a time of merchant princes and libertarian fantasies. Anderson writes 'Hard' Science Fiction, in that his technologies and universal principles are based largely in real science. The merchant prince Van Rijn borders on Ayn Randian silliness, but with one key difference...Paul Anderson isn't a terrible writer. Overall, the collection is pretty good, if not quite my bag. As a long time Tabletop RPG fan, I couldn't help but be reminded of 'Traveller,' and I don't know if I could point to a better example of what 'Traveller' stories might resemble. If you're looking for some cool, solid science fiction give this a go. But know that Anderson is 'of a different time,' and the books feature some classic "Mad Men" levels of chauvinism. The rare female character is usually there because the men need someone to make the coffee.
December 18, 2009
Excellent, although it is not at all clear the Anderson can be otherwise. Rather nice that contemporary science fiction has finally degenerated to a level that the classics are coming back, even with all the political incorrectness that was natural then but only titillating now.
January 31, 2025
As with all anthologies, the stories here are of varying interest. I’ve included short reviews of each below.
The Saturn Game
This short novella is set in the early exploration of the solar system. The conceit here is that during the long spaceflights from Earth to the outer planets, roleplaying games (“psychodramas”) are used to occupy the minds of the astronauts. This progresses to the point that many things in normal life are coopted into the game and referred to in game terms.
During an EVA on the surface of Iapetus, there is a collapse that traps the explorers; this story is largely about their attempts to return to their ship after the collapse. And the “adventure” is largely described in the terms of a fantasy RPG, to the point that communication between the explorers and the ship are compromised. This comes across as
The scientific parts of the story are done well. Anderson does interesting cryogenic physics in this story. But the RPG lens is mostly a distraction. Note that this story was published in 1981, during the height of the first D&D boom, when most people really didn’t understand roleplaying at all, and this story reflects that lack of understanding.
It’s an interesting attempt, but ultimately, I think it fails. The Hugo Award voters disagreed, since it won that award in 1982.
2 stars
Wings of Victory
This short story, published in 1972, covers first contact between humans and the Ythri, the flying sophonts of Ythria.
As a first-contact story, it works fairly well, but it does have the problem of humans starting conflict with little provocation, which is rather cliched. There’s not much here other than character sketches and the first-contact narrative. It does what it seeks to, but it’s not especially memorable.
3 stars
The Problem of Pain
Short Stories are generally too short to delve deeply into character, plot, setting, and theme, so they tend to primarily focus on one of these. This story has nicely sketched in, sympathetic characters and a setting with a couple of unique features. But its main focus is on theme, to wit: Why would a loving god allow pain (other than as an incentive to avoid damage). This theme is examined through the lens of the Ythrian religion, where the god is a god of the hunt and wants his subjects to struggle well, even against the inevitable.
It’s a big question, and this short piece addresses it well without pretending to provide a definitive answer.
4 stars
Margin of Profit
Nicholas van Rijn is one of the great characters of Golden Age SF.
“In my day, we said ‘Sir’ to the Captain, even when we mutinied.”
“Here is not another rehearsal, where I can gently correct your thumb-brained mistakes!”
“What is sauce for the stews is sauce for the panda.”
Originally published in 1956, this short novelette is both an excellent character study and a lesson in the economics of piracy. It’s tightly crafted and entertaining throughout. A brilliant example of the craft of writing short fiction.
5 stars
Original Version of Margin of Profit
In the book’s appendix, we get the original version of this story. The differences are minor. I suppose it might be useful for someone who wants to see a final polishing pass by a professional author.
How to Be Ethnic in One Easy Lesson
Or protagonist in this short story from 1974 has been tasked by his academic advisor with presenting the Chinese culture from 500 years before … because his name is Ching and he looks East Asian. Ching is desperate to go to the space academy and needs the advisor’s recommendation, but he neither knows nor much cares about distant history
There is a bit of cultural commentary in what is mostly a comedic piece. It’s rather slight, but it is entertaining.
4 stars
The Three-Cornered Wheel
In this novelette, published in 1963, our protagonists are confronted with the need to move a very heavy object in order to raise ship and leave the planet they are on. Unfortunately, in this society, the circle is considered to be so sacred that it cannot be used except by clergy, and the clergy hates the human traders. The resolution of this conundrum involves the Kaballah, Keplerian orbits, and Reuleaux triangles.
Largely an idea story, the setting and characterization are only detailed enough to support the idea-centered plot. If you’ve never seen a Reuleaux triangle (or the corresponding 3-D shape) used as a roller, it’s a surprising enough idea to carry a short piece.
3 stars
A Sun Invisible
This novelette, originally published in 1966, shows an early David Falkayne attempting to become a certified Merchant. It has some entertaining dialog, but it’s largely a mystery using physics facts to solve a military problem.
“He practiced a reckless grin. It looked better than last year.” – David Falkayn
“When I speak, it’s not an interruption; it’s an enlightenment.” – Beljagger
Decent, but not especially memorable.
3 stars
The Season of Forgiveness
This short story, originally published in 1973, is a throwaway Christmas miracle story. Plot, setting, and character are all afterthoughts.
2 stars
The Man Who Counts
This short novel, originally published in 1958, is setting driven. (Anderson says essentially this in his afterword.) The characters are very flat (though we do get some of Van Rijn’s famous eloquence) and the plot is infested with coincidence to expose the details of the setting.
As an idea novel, it’s not bad at all, but don’t expect much more than an exploration of the species, planet, and their interaction.
3 stars
Esau
In this short novelette, originally published in 1970, we get another view of Nicholas Van Rijn:
“But you came to Earth breathing fire and brimrocks and went through six echelons of the toughest no-saying secretaries and officers what the Solar Spice and Liquor Company has got, like a bulldozer chasing a cowdozer….”
It’s largely a plot-driven story with limited characterization and setting. The plot is relatively routine, but there are some clever bits.
3 stars
Hiding Place
This novelette, originally published in 1961, is another puzzle story. Here, the idea is to deduce which of many species aboard a starship is intelligent. The puzzle is done well and Van Rijn is his usual entertaining self. The rest of the characters are flat and the plot and setting are very limited. That said, the solution was good.
3 stars
Appendices
Chronology of the Technic Civilization
An internal chronology of the stories and books in this universe. Possibly useful if you’re trying to read the entire series.
The Man Who Counts and the Technic Civilization series
This essay about Anderson’s philosophy in writing this series is thought provoking and worth the time to read.
Overall
The stories here definitely show their age. They are mostly idea or puzzle stories with limited characterization and only enough setting to support their theses. The book is occasionally very good, but mostly compelling only for their concepts, not for their stories. I would really only recommend this series as a historical object or for Anderson completionists. That said, Nicholas Van Rijn (when he is onscreen) is one of the better characters of Golden Age SF, and the book is almost worth reading just to see him chew the scenery.
The Saturn Game
This short novella is set in the early exploration of the solar system. The conceit here is that during the long spaceflights from Earth to the outer planets, roleplaying games (“psychodramas”) are used to occupy the minds of the astronauts. This progresses to the point that many things in normal life are coopted into the game and referred to in game terms.
During an EVA on the surface of Iapetus, there is a collapse that traps the explorers; this story is largely about their attempts to return to their ship after the collapse. And the “adventure” is largely described in the terms of a fantasy RPG, to the point that communication between the explorers and the ship are compromised. This comes across as
The scientific parts of the story are done well. Anderson does interesting cryogenic physics in this story. But the RPG lens is mostly a distraction. Note that this story was published in 1981, during the height of the first D&D boom, when most people really didn’t understand roleplaying at all, and this story reflects that lack of understanding.
It’s an interesting attempt, but ultimately, I think it fails. The Hugo Award voters disagreed, since it won that award in 1982.
2 stars
Wings of Victory
This short story, published in 1972, covers first contact between humans and the Ythri, the flying sophonts of Ythria.
As a first-contact story, it works fairly well, but it does have the problem of humans starting conflict with little provocation, which is rather cliched. There’s not much here other than character sketches and the first-contact narrative. It does what it seeks to, but it’s not especially memorable.
3 stars
The Problem of Pain
Short Stories are generally too short to delve deeply into character, plot, setting, and theme, so they tend to primarily focus on one of these. This story has nicely sketched in, sympathetic characters and a setting with a couple of unique features. But its main focus is on theme, to wit: Why would a loving god allow pain (other than as an incentive to avoid damage). This theme is examined through the lens of the Ythrian religion, where the god is a god of the hunt and wants his subjects to struggle well, even against the inevitable.
It’s a big question, and this short piece addresses it well without pretending to provide a definitive answer.
4 stars
Margin of Profit
Nicholas van Rijn is one of the great characters of Golden Age SF.
“In my day, we said ‘Sir’ to the Captain, even when we mutinied.”
“Here is not another rehearsal, where I can gently correct your thumb-brained mistakes!”
“What is sauce for the stews is sauce for the panda.”
Originally published in 1956, this short novelette is both an excellent character study and a lesson in the economics of piracy. It’s tightly crafted and entertaining throughout. A brilliant example of the craft of writing short fiction.
5 stars
Original Version of Margin of Profit
In the book’s appendix, we get the original version of this story. The differences are minor. I suppose it might be useful for someone who wants to see a final polishing pass by a professional author.
How to Be Ethnic in One Easy Lesson
Or protagonist in this short story from 1974 has been tasked by his academic advisor with presenting the Chinese culture from 500 years before … because his name is Ching and he looks East Asian. Ching is desperate to go to the space academy and needs the advisor’s recommendation, but he neither knows nor much cares about distant history
There is a bit of cultural commentary in what is mostly a comedic piece. It’s rather slight, but it is entertaining.
4 stars
The Three-Cornered Wheel
In this novelette, published in 1963, our protagonists are confronted with the need to move a very heavy object in order to raise ship and leave the planet they are on. Unfortunately, in this society, the circle is considered to be so sacred that it cannot be used except by clergy, and the clergy hates the human traders. The resolution of this conundrum involves the Kaballah, Keplerian orbits, and Reuleaux triangles.
Largely an idea story, the setting and characterization are only detailed enough to support the idea-centered plot. If you’ve never seen a Reuleaux triangle (or the corresponding 3-D shape) used as a roller, it’s a surprising enough idea to carry a short piece.
3 stars
A Sun Invisible
This novelette, originally published in 1966, shows an early David Falkayne attempting to become a certified Merchant. It has some entertaining dialog, but it’s largely a mystery using physics facts to solve a military problem.
“He practiced a reckless grin. It looked better than last year.” – David Falkayn
“When I speak, it’s not an interruption; it’s an enlightenment.” – Beljagger
Decent, but not especially memorable.
3 stars
The Season of Forgiveness
This short story, originally published in 1973, is a throwaway Christmas miracle story. Plot, setting, and character are all afterthoughts.
2 stars
The Man Who Counts
This short novel, originally published in 1958, is setting driven. (Anderson says essentially this in his afterword.) The characters are very flat (though we do get some of Van Rijn’s famous eloquence) and the plot is infested with coincidence to expose the details of the setting.
As an idea novel, it’s not bad at all, but don’t expect much more than an exploration of the species, planet, and their interaction.
3 stars
Esau
In this short novelette, originally published in 1970, we get another view of Nicholas Van Rijn:
“But you came to Earth breathing fire and brimrocks and went through six echelons of the toughest no-saying secretaries and officers what the Solar Spice and Liquor Company has got, like a bulldozer chasing a cowdozer….”
It’s largely a plot-driven story with limited characterization and setting. The plot is relatively routine, but there are some clever bits.
3 stars
Hiding Place
This novelette, originally published in 1961, is another puzzle story. Here, the idea is to deduce which of many species aboard a starship is intelligent. The puzzle is done well and Van Rijn is his usual entertaining self. The rest of the characters are flat and the plot and setting are very limited. That said, the solution was good.
3 stars
Appendices
Chronology of the Technic Civilization
An internal chronology of the stories and books in this universe. Possibly useful if you’re trying to read the entire series.
The Man Who Counts and the Technic Civilization series
This essay about Anderson’s philosophy in writing this series is thought provoking and worth the time to read.
Overall
The stories here definitely show their age. They are mostly idea or puzzle stories with limited characterization and only enough setting to support their theses. The book is occasionally very good, but mostly compelling only for their concepts, not for their stories. I would really only recommend this series as a historical object or for Anderson completionists. That said, Nicholas Van Rijn (when he is onscreen) is one of the better characters of Golden Age SF, and the book is almost worth reading just to see him chew the scenery.
March 3, 2010
...The choice to present these stories in chronological rather than publication order means the reader frequently moves between various stages in Anderson’s development as a writer. Just the setting does not quite provide enough continuity to make this collection a coherent whole in my opinion. Still, there’s some pretty interesting short fiction here, if you can overcome an unsympathetic main character in some of them...
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December 5, 2023
I expected classic golden-era scifi, but I didn't expect such poetic and vivid prose! One tends to forget that these authors are cream of the crop of their era.
On the flip side, it's a bit slow for modern sensibilities.
On the flip side, it's a bit slow for modern sensibilities.
September 4, 2011
It was an enjoyable book, but definitely a product of its time. Time and attitudes have definitely moved on. Some interesting ideas though.
February 25, 2021
Make it stop! My ears are bleeding! Stupid plot, florid prose, illogical philosophy, annoying buffoon of a MC, and an irritating accent affected by the narrator. I can’t remember the other pejorative adjectives that came to my mind as I rushed to hit the Off button. I think my brain cells are in overwrite mode.
So what’s the deal with this series? The whole thing has been reissued and is available on hoopla. Incidentally, hoopla has a surprisingly high percentage of crappy science fiction. I am always surprised when I find something there that I like.
The intro says that the material of this book comes from a bunch of stories that have been organized by internal chronology, which I think is a very nice editorial choice. It also says that Poul Anderson never gained popularity during his lifetime because he was wrongly overshadowed by the big three of the golden era of SF.
When I was an adolescent, I didn’t know anything about there being a “big three.” I just remember reading anything I could get my hands on, especially science fiction. I particularly recall Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverburg, Theodore Sturgeon, Ray Bradbury. At the time, I did try Poul Anderson, and all I remember was it being unrewarding enough to give all future stories a hard pass. Until now. I will try once more.
This second time around, I had to stop a few stories in. And I am reminded of my dating rule of thumb: once you break up, you should NEVER go back.
The first story tells of a small party of space explorers who are also RPG aficionados. While visiting a new planet, they willfully insist on staying in character during a field expedition—even though it may endanger their lives. Besides that stupidity and poor choices, the format of the fantasy game is a florid romance, which was both stylistically icky and also potentially grounds for moral outrage because it revealed that one of the participants had lied to his girlfriend when he waved her off saying something to the effect of “don’t be so paranoid, it’s all innocent.”
A story further on discusses God’s cruelty in allowing death. The philosophical discussion is boring and a poorly thought-out syllogism.
A few stories in, the MC begins to reveal his character. He’s known as a blustering malapropism-spewing oaf. His “humorous” dialogue and the accent chosen to depict him (reminiscent of the saliva-spewing guy with the spikey fringe from Babylon Five) are SO annoying. By the time I reached the outer limits of my tolerance, I was so over sensitized that I had to hold my hands over my ears and chant “la la la I can’t hear you” as I rushed to hit the Off button.
So what’s the deal with this series? The whole thing has been reissued and is available on hoopla. Incidentally, hoopla has a surprisingly high percentage of crappy science fiction. I am always surprised when I find something there that I like.
The intro says that the material of this book comes from a bunch of stories that have been organized by internal chronology, which I think is a very nice editorial choice. It also says that Poul Anderson never gained popularity during his lifetime because he was wrongly overshadowed by the big three of the golden era of SF.
When I was an adolescent, I didn’t know anything about there being a “big three.” I just remember reading anything I could get my hands on, especially science fiction. I particularly recall Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, Robert Silverburg, Theodore Sturgeon, Ray Bradbury. At the time, I did try Poul Anderson, and all I remember was it being unrewarding enough to give all future stories a hard pass. Until now. I will try once more.
This second time around, I had to stop a few stories in. And I am reminded of my dating rule of thumb: once you break up, you should NEVER go back.
The first story tells of a small party of space explorers who are also RPG aficionados. While visiting a new planet, they willfully insist on staying in character during a field expedition—even though it may endanger their lives. Besides that stupidity and poor choices, the format of the fantasy game is a florid romance, which was both stylistically icky and also potentially grounds for moral outrage because it revealed that one of the participants had lied to his girlfriend when he waved her off saying something to the effect of “don’t be so paranoid, it’s all innocent.”
A story further on discusses God’s cruelty in allowing death. The philosophical discussion is boring and a poorly thought-out syllogism.
A few stories in, the MC begins to reveal his character. He’s known as a blustering malapropism-spewing oaf. His “humorous” dialogue and the accent chosen to depict him (reminiscent of the saliva-spewing guy with the spikey fringe from Babylon Five) are SO annoying. By the time I reached the outer limits of my tolerance, I was so over sensitized that I had to hold my hands over my ears and chant “la la la I can’t hear you” as I rushed to hit the Off button.
June 6, 2024
I'm a fan of some of Poul Anderson's other books and, when I realized that he has a long-running series like this, I was fascinated and dived right in. But what an odd collection, or maybe rather an odd series. The first story was fine enough, and an effective blend of fantastical escapism and hard nosed science fiction that really vividly portrays its dramatic heart (whatever the genre wars context from which it emerges). However, after that as we come to the Van Rijn stories, the bottom fell out and I became exhausted by tiresomely thin characters and scattered plots. It was all I could do to keep reading the stories herein, and I was grateful to put the book down. I won't be continuing with the series.
May 4, 2017
A collection of stories revolving around master trader Nicholas Van Rijn and other members of the Polesotechnic League. I bought this book because I had never read any of the Van Rijn stories and I was curious. Some stories are reasonably entertaining, other stories not so much. I found most of the introductions to be unnecessary and uninteresting. I could have skipped this book, saved a couple bucks and, not missed much.
July 14, 2022
I really enjoyed this collection. It was good to have a sequence of the stories, plus the commentary at the end of the book. Van Rijn is more or less enjoyable, depending on which story you're looking at, but Anderson's stories are never dull. It's fun to see how he plans to resolve things, and try to guess what's coming. I borrowed this one from the library, but I think I might like to get this series for myself.
Currently reading
June 3, 2024"The Saturn Game". Wow, I can't believe this won the Hugo and Nebula, because I hated it. Part of that might be that Anderson's story of astronauts losing themselves in a fantasy roleplaying game feels a lot like the other ignorant garbage being published at the time, such as Mazes & Monsters. It's a bad look, looking back. But it's also just dull. Real-life survival in space action is constantly slowed by almost meaningless fantasy interludes. This feels like a super-unfortunate beginning for the Technic Civilization Saga. It was barely readable at novella length: I was skimming all the fantasy by the end. [1/5].
August 12, 2017
This was a series of short stories. Some good some frustrating and not what I wanted.
January 3, 2022
4 out of 5
December 30, 2024
Classic science fiction from the golden age. Anderson went on at exceeding length, but the battle descriptions were exciting.
September 26, 2025
awful. couldn't get into it, no attraction
December 24, 2011
This is a pretty good book. It consists of a number of stories previously published separately taking place in a world that ultimately became an ongoing sci-fi universe created by Poul Anderson. These stories are the earliest in this long series (there are six or more additional books)and focus on an interstellar merchant prince - Nicholas Van Rijn.
The conceit in these stories is to create an interstellar government that mirrors the merchant empire (and powerful businessmen) of historical Holland. Van Rijn is clearly modeled after many a wealthy merchant that can be seen in the paintings of Rembrandt and others. It's unclear how or why this character is drawn almost as a caricature - he mirrors these hundreds-years dead men right down to his frilly clothing. Maybe Mr. Van Rijn is just seeking a reputation - it's never explained.
Altogether this book is worth reading and I'll eventually move on to the others in the series.
The conceit in these stories is to create an interstellar government that mirrors the merchant empire (and powerful businessmen) of historical Holland. Van Rijn is clearly modeled after many a wealthy merchant that can be seen in the paintings of Rembrandt and others. It's unclear how or why this character is drawn almost as a caricature - he mirrors these hundreds-years dead men right down to his frilly clothing. Maybe Mr. Van Rijn is just seeking a reputation - it's never explained.
Altogether this book is worth reading and I'll eventually move on to the others in the series.
April 20, 2011
I've read most of the stories in this collection before, mostly in the Earthbook of Stormgate. This collection is nice because it includes them in chronological order. That order was sometimes difficult to determine in previous collections.
Overall, the stories are enjoyable. My only real complaint being that Poul Anderson had a tendency to make obscure references that have only gotten more obscure with time. It was one of the reasons these stories weren't among my favorites when I was younger, although I still liked them. Fortunately, the internet makes most of the references easy to look up for the curious.
The eBook edition contains a couple of extras, including the original version of Margin of Profit, and an essay by Sandra Miesel analyzing The Man Who Counts, and the Technic Civilization Series as a whole. I found the latter particularly interesting.
Overall, the stories are enjoyable. My only real complaint being that Poul Anderson had a tendency to make obscure references that have only gotten more obscure with time. It was one of the reasons these stories weren't among my favorites when I was younger, although I still liked them. Fortunately, the internet makes most of the references easy to look up for the curious.
The eBook edition contains a couple of extras, including the original version of Margin of Profit, and an essay by Sandra Miesel analyzing The Man Who Counts, and the Technic Civilization Series as a whole. I found the latter particularly interesting.
October 26, 2013
A series of short stories by one of the Grand Masters of Science Fiction Poul Anderson.
The name comes from one of his most memorable characters: Nicholas Van Rijn, intersteller entrepreneur extraordinary. You've got to become acquainted with him. He is something else.
I certainly enjoyed these stories, especially when we finally got to the one which years ago introduced Van Rijn and the Technic Civilization Saga in which he is one of the stars. Van Rijn is brilliant in dealing with problems, but he has a wonderous way of talking: "I have no fine university degrees, I learned in the school of hard knockers." "I make no skeletons about it."
"Put that in your pipe and stick it." "This is the times that fry men's souls."
There are 10 short stories (20 to 55 pages) and the novelette "The Man Who Counts."
The name comes from one of his most memorable characters: Nicholas Van Rijn, intersteller entrepreneur extraordinary. You've got to become acquainted with him. He is something else.
I certainly enjoyed these stories, especially when we finally got to the one which years ago introduced Van Rijn and the Technic Civilization Saga in which he is one of the stars. Van Rijn is brilliant in dealing with problems, but he has a wonderous way of talking: "I have no fine university degrees, I learned in the school of hard knockers." "I make no skeletons about it."
"Put that in your pipe and stick it." "This is the times that fry men's souls."
There are 10 short stories (20 to 55 pages) and the novelette "The Man Who Counts."
October 13, 2014
While I very much enjoyed Poul Anderson's Time Patrol series, this first installment in the full Technic Civilization series (reprinted by Baen), left me cold. There is more emphasis on the primitive civilizations the characters encounter and the characters are not upstanding, but misogynistic gits who are only trying to make money, even at the expense of the natives. I finished half the stories, but it was an effort and I did not finish this volume and have no intention of reading any further volumes. I was very disappointed because from the description, this could have been the type of story I love, but it failed in execution. Poul Anderson is enamored of primitive civilizations and it does not fit with the rest of the setting.
May 27, 2017
I have not read any of Anderson's Polesotechnic Civilization books so when Baen started reprint all the stories in chronological order I picked up the series. Even though I have multiple copies of the stories in various books. I even have the old Ace version of The Man Who Count as part of an Ace Double where it is entitled The War of the Wing Men.
I like this series. Van Rijn is a larger than life character (in all possible definitions of that term!) and he a very unlikely hero. I like the introduction to the character David Falkayn in these stories about his early exploits.
As usual, Poul Anderson makes the stories interesting, fun, and thoughtful.
I like this series. Van Rijn is a larger than life character (in all possible definitions of that term!) and he a very unlikely hero. I like the introduction to the character David Falkayn in these stories about his early exploits.
As usual, Poul Anderson makes the stories interesting, fun, and thoughtful.
August 24, 2011
Terribly dated. I started reading SF in the late 1950s. Nowadays I really regret the lack of "hard" science fiction, and the loathsome confusion of science fantasy with sword and sorcery fantasy. Sometimes I can read these old writers with nostalgic pleasure, but sometimes the style is just too primitive. His story ideas are good, I think, but it is so, so, old fashioned, and some of his grammar is weird. When I got to Van Rijn himself the grammar which Anderson puts in his mouth is just unrealistic. I had to give up, sadly.
January 14, 2015
Been a while since I read any of the great Grand Master space operas from the 50s and 60s, and I've never read much Poul Anderson. I was not disappointed! The worlds are developed in great detail, the characters larger than life. I enjoyed trying to think along with Van Rijn and 'detective' my way through the problems and situations in most of the stories. Off to volume 2...
* Couldn't finish
** I had nothing else to do
*** Passed the time, would be **** for genre / author fans
**** Everyone could enjoy this book
***** Everyone should read this book, I'll read it again
* Couldn't finish
** I had nothing else to do
*** Passed the time, would be **** for genre / author fans
**** Everyone could enjoy this book
***** Everyone should read this book, I'll read it again
October 2, 2008
Poul Anderson has been one of my favorite--if not my very favorite--sci fi authors since I was a kid. I used to run across his Nicholas Van Rijn stories in various collections and anthologies, but it was always catch as catch can. Well, here is the first volume of Anderson's entire Polesotechnic League cycle colelcted in one place, and in chronological order. You better believe I pre-ordered this one as soon as I heard about it, and it did not disappoint.
March 17, 2010
Edward Eklund expressed it better than I could.I agree with his general remarks and also about whihc if the stories were best.
I'm surprised that Van Rijn was a popular character even in the "old days".
I'm surprised that Van Rijn was a popular character even in the "old days".
September 6, 2010
A great start to the Technic Civilization series. I've never heard of these stories before, but I always knew Poul Anderson supposedly wrote good stuff. Well, as my introduction to Mr. Anderson’s works, I can say he certainly does. I will definitely be reading the rest of this collection.
December 2, 2010
Classic Poul Anderson SF, with lively characters and clever use of sciencey plot devices (including coming up with two different ways intelligent creatures with wings could exist). Nicholas Van Rijn's constant malapropisms are possibly the best part.
December 24, 2010
A collection of Anderson short stories with one novel ("The man who counts"). Despite the title, fewer than half the stories include Van Rijn personally. The quality is a bit mixed, and a bunch of the contained stories are already well anthologized.
June 30, 2019
Skimmed rather than read because every story in it was a duplicate of one I read within the last month in the original novel printed back in the 60's or 70's. I read the connecting bits and forewords and made sure I didn't miss any information not included in other books.
October 1, 2016
More stories and another novel from the Van Rijn/David Falkayn Polseotechnic League universe, happening after those in "The Van Rijn Method". Typical Anderson, but I find Van Rijn (who's still around in some of these stories) particularly annoying.
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