# Poul Anderson, R.I.P. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514 "2001-08-01T19:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Akatsukami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/1 "2001-08-01T19:12:52Z")
I think that [this](http://www.jerrypournelle.com/view/currentview.html#Wednesday) says all that needs saying. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/2 "2001-08-01T19:26:50Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/3 "2001-08-01T19:29:47Z")
I’ll be blasted. No, seriously blasted; I’m going drinking for this one. Rather ironic that 2001 seems to be a bad year for science fiction, no? ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/4 "2001-08-01T19:39:44Z")
Shit. I mean that. Poul Anderson was one of the Good Ones. One of the first (and best) SF books I ever read was the magnificent Operation Chaos, which was an unofficial “sequel” to Heinlein’s “Magic, Inc.”. That was one of the books that got me started reading SF. And everything I’ve ever heard about Anderson was that he was a genuinely nice guy as well as a great writer. ☹ Fenris ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/5 "2001-08-01T19:46:04Z")
Yeah, I liked a lot of his stuff. I liked sharing a planet with him. However, I thought I was the only one who considered _A Lyke-Wake Dirge_ a **drinking** song… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/6 "2001-08-01T19:56:31Z")
Damn damn damn. I am depressed. From Nicholas Van Rijn to Ensign Flandry to the Time Patrol, and all the other memorable characters. I am depressed. Geeze, who’s left from the old guard? Clarke, Pohl, Silverberg… who else? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/7 "2001-08-01T20:07:44Z")
Damn! I’ve just read some of his stuff again recently. It was his first novel ( **Vault of the Ages** ) that got me started reading sf. A much better writer than I realized until recently. First L. Sprague deCamp and now this. ---
**Author:** ![Oicu812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f475e1/32.png) [@Oicu812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oicu812)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/8 "2001-08-01T20:10:48Z")
Goodbye, my friend. I grieve for Karen. I had the GREAT fortune to meet Poul and Karen back in 1989. I was an active member of the Fort Lauderdale chapter of the SCA at the time. Well, the local SCA branch received a phone call from the organizers of a SciFi con being held in a hotel on the beach, asking local SCAdians to come entertain at the request of Poul. See, he is one of the earliest members of the Society, having been at Marion Zimmer Bradley’s wedding, which started it all. We went to the Con free of charge, and I ended up doing quite a juggling routine. I also was fortunate enough to be able to dance the Pavan with Karen. Anyway, my friend and I were practicing our partner routine, passing six balls back and forth between us in a hallway. Out steps this taller gentleman, whom I recognized immediately. After he stood there for a minute watching, he said to me: “Nice routine, and I really like your garb” to which I replied “Thank you, Sir Bella. It is an honor to meet you!” which caused him to do a double take. I guess it surprised him that I would be able to recognize him and also knew of his personna (Sir Bella of Eastmarch) within the Society. Anyway, he invited my friend and I to the ConSuite, where we ended up getting soused with him and Karen, Joe Haldeman, F.M. Busby and quite a few others. We talked about Bob Heinlein and his influence on modern society. We talked about the early days of the SCA. I asked him a question about his book “The Broken Sword” and the mention he put in the foreword about the SCA, which caused our fair Kingdom of Trimaris (Florida) to be born in the early '70’s. He was an incredibly personable, articulate and gracious man. I will miss him. ## O ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/9 "2001-08-01T20:18:59Z")
Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/10 "2001-08-01T20:42:49Z")
And so it goes. I agree, he was one of the good ones. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/11 "2001-08-01T20:46:34Z")
Well, damn. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/12 "2001-08-01T21:23:30Z")
Dammit! Good authors shouldn’t be allowed to die. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/13 "2001-08-01T21:32:08Z")
Much withweeping for a great worldken bard. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/14 "2001-08-02T01:30:04Z")
Damn, another one. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![purrplebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90ced4/32.png) [@purrplebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purrplebear)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/15 "2001-08-02T04:54:21Z")
:eek: ☹ Called home too early. Go with God. Eyath slowly lifts into the sky, feathers dull with grief, banks right, and allows the updraft to take her where it will for a time, alone. [sub]Eyath, one of the _People of the Wind_[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Hazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Hazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazel)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/16 "2001-08-02T06:11:16Z")
A bit from one of the Time Patrol stories that has stuck in my mind-- The viewpoint character is back somewhen in the past. He approches a walled city. There are guards squatting at the gate, “because standing at attention hadn’t been invented yet.” One of those things that makes you really \*realize[/] that the past was _different_. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/17 "2001-08-02T06:23:47Z")
He was about my favorite pre-'60s SF author. This is too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poul-anderson-r-i-p/74514/18 "2001-08-02T12:13:16Z")
Aw, fuck. This is the only time I wish I believed in an afterlife.