Itch

[stoutfellow]

I've read the books in Orson Scott Card's "Alvin Maker" series as they've come out; I haven't reread any of them. I just finished the most recent volume, The Crystal City, and I find that I'm strongly tempted to do a full reread. Not because of the quality of the series; the books are passably interesting, but scarcely absorbing. No, it's because of my impulse to compile time-lines for alternate histories, even fantastic ones like this.

It's come to a head, for me, because this volume specifies Alvin's age; he's twenty-five at the time of this book. Abraham Lincoln appears, and is an adult with a couple of failed businesses behind him; in our time-line, Lincoln was born in 1809, so it can't be any earlier than about 1830. On the other hand, William Blake - "Taleswapper" - also appears, and OTL Blake died in 1827, aged 70. A number of other historical figures have appeared as well, and reconciling the data looks challenging. (As an aside, if Alvin is somehow modeled on Joseph Smith, as I've heard, we get a tight fit; Smith was born in 1805 OTL.)

Grmph. Do I really want to do this?

Comments

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

You could always just ask Mr. Card (http://www.hatrack.com/contact.shtml). I've met him a few times at the Tor booth at library-cons: He's always seemed like a very pleasant and agreeable fellow.

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

What fun is that?

(If you're referring to the Smith question, that's really a minor side-issue, since Alvin isn't specifically identified with him in the text. I'm not sure why I brought it up in the first place.)

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

Okay! Okay! Have fun niggling away at the time line.

I'm just saying is all :-)

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

'Saright.

I remember, once, reading an SF novel by Anderson, set on an Earth which had undergone some greenhousing and which had retrogressed into semi-barbarism. I had a good deal of fun working out, from textual evidence, where the various places mentioned actually were. Then a lady friend of mine pointed out that there was a map in the front of the book...

[carbonelle.livejournal.com]

cue chorus: "there's a map in the front of the book"

[g,d & r]

[filkferengi]

He was on some panels at TrinocCon in 2003, when Lois was GOH. Listie Dawn Benton & I enjoyed hearing him. Whenever I've seen him at cons, he's been articulate, clever, and civil.