a425couple <
a425c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> The short story "Gypsy" by Poul Anderson,
> written in 1950, is one of 8 short stories from his book
> "Strangers from Earth". It is in my opinion,
> just OK. Certainly not very remarkable,
> and that seems supported by my being unable to find anyone's
> comments on it online.
>
> I guess I would describe it starting as a colony ship,
> that got totally lost and turned into a generation ship
> and a new generation grew up on it. Then they found a excellent
> planet for the humans to settle and thrive on. But,,,
> after probably a decade, about half want to move on because
> the interest is in the search & journey.
>
> When clicked, the following takes one to a copy.
>
https://books.google.com/books?id=2T8kk6yyNFQC&pg=PT97&lpg=PT97&dq=%22Gypsy%22+by+Poul+Anderson&source=bl&ots=gCDYvAfEFd&sig=u1_BFp6XuS8iaGPWCpi6sjUlRos&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVhbS68c3UAhVU3mMKHYMPAK4Q6AEIVjAJ#v=onepage&q=%22Gypsy%22%20by%20Poul%20Anderson&f=false
>
> Has anyone read it and want to comment?
Agreed that "Gypsy" is just OK. It is from very early in Poul's career,
and Poul himself said the following about "Gypsy" in the 2002 collection
"Going For Infinity":
"...
I could do it better nowadays. Perhaps I wouldn't do it at all, because
the 'science' in it is mostly what engineers and my son-in-law Greg Bear
call arm waving. Still, probably more stories than not require such
postulates.
...
I also find the writing style awkward. Nevertheless, this lityle tale
is a landmark for me, my first attempt to celebrate the wonders of
our universe."
It's also worth noting that he considered "Gypsy" part of his
Psychotechnic League universe, and including it in the third
PL volume "Starship".
Yes, to both. I heard the first via my father's LPs and it
was a favorite of mine as a kid. (And I still enjoy it now.)
The latter I first became aware of via the movie, also when
my age was in single digits.
Tony