Friday 22 August 2014

Prequels And Sequels

Greg Bear, Eon (London, 2002).

Now I see how there is scope for a prequel to Eon: not earlier events in the cosmic corridor but the history of Earth from 1985 until the launch of the Thistledown. Is this when Legacy is set? I will find out but not immediately. I deduce that we cannot know any of the subsequent history of that Earth because, after their departure, the occupants of the Thistledown interact with other rational species, then with the earlier Earth of a different timeline.

How many of the advances in mental technology are made after the departure? Maybe the answer to this question is there in the text. Synopsizing and commenting while blogging makes me realize how many details of plot and background are quickly forgotten after a single cursory reading of a novel. I would like to see one novel about the mental tech and another about exploring superspace.

Original novel, prequel and sequel is a good structure for a trilogy. Rider Haggard did this well with She. That novel ended with its title character's death but Allan Quartermain read it and sent Haggard his account of his earlier meeting with She: She And Allan. Then there was the Return (from death). Thus, there was a reason why the prequel was published second.

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