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Tales of the Flying Mountains: Stories
In a thrilling collection of hard science fiction stories, a master of speculative fiction envisions a volatile future when Earth’s colonies throughout the galaxy attempt to break free from home-world rule
On a spaceship rocketing toward the stars, an official council meets to discuss how to censor history for the benefit of a new generation in space—which stories to preserve and which ones to discard forever . . .
Golden-age hard science fiction luminary Poul Anderson approached the future with a mixture of excitement, hope, and skepticism. In Tales of the Flying Mountains, the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner offers stories from a new war of independence and beyond—portending a time when a North American government on Earth will take up arms against its own rebellious children colonizing the cosmos, then exploring the shape of the universe in the war’s aftermath. Firmly based in hard science and human nature, here are seven excursions into a distant tomorrow, from the tense saber rattling preceding the hostilities to the establishment and growth of the independent Asteroid Republic.
Whether he’s spinning an imaginative yarn about the courageous crew of an unarmed state-of-the-art commercial space station using every resources at hand to battle a military incursion from the home world or chronicling a space colony’s desperate gamble to thwart a government takeover by moving an entire asteroid, Anderson builds truly breathtaking worlds and imagines astonishing yet eminently credible future scenarios while infusing his unforgettable tales with intelligence, compassion, surprise, and humanism.
On a spaceship rocketing toward the stars, an official council meets to discuss how to censor history for the benefit of a new generation in space—which stories to preserve and which ones to discard forever . . .
Golden-age hard science fiction luminary Poul Anderson approached the future with a mixture of excitement, hope, and skepticism. In Tales of the Flying Mountains, the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner offers stories from a new war of independence and beyond—portending a time when a North American government on Earth will take up arms against its own rebellious children colonizing the cosmos, then exploring the shape of the universe in the war’s aftermath. Firmly based in hard science and human nature, here are seven excursions into a distant tomorrow, from the tense saber rattling preceding the hostilities to the establishment and growth of the independent Asteroid Republic.
Whether he’s spinning an imaginative yarn about the courageous crew of an unarmed state-of-the-art commercial space station using every resources at hand to battle a military incursion from the home world or chronicling a space colony’s desperate gamble to thwart a government takeover by moving an entire asteroid, Anderson builds truly breathtaking worlds and imagines astonishing yet eminently credible future scenarios while infusing his unforgettable tales with intelligence, compassion, surprise, and humanism.
281 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1970
18 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Poul Anderson
1,625 books1,113 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 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 17, 2020
“I don’t care who writes the nation’s laws,” he misquoted, “if I may program its computers.”
Better than average collection of stories written mostly in the 1960s. Like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, Anderson wrote many future history short stories—some of which were connectable. The framing story, presumably added later, is inept. Readers won’t miss much by skipping it.
“Harleman knew that Emett’s gang were discovering things. He hoped those things would justify enlarging their division next year. Other than that, he was too busy to care. Until the day when the CIA man came.”
Got many things hilariously wrong, but several shrewd guesses. Male chauvinism is on full display, though Anderson has several well-drawn female characters. Slide rules, card catalogs of computer tapes, and clattering computers are still in evidence. Anderson, of course, didn’t know about Cere’s frozen ocean, but he did posit lots of ice available in a asteroid belt. Most everyone smokes: cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.
Quibbles: “Her faded eyes seek Polaris—but it’s Earth’s, not ours anymore.” No, the parallax as they approach Alpha Centari would not suffice to displace Polaris, especially as they were headed almost due south. “The self-sealing hull was thin magnesium …” What idiot would construct a battle ship out of magnesium?
“Isn’t that, the real universe, isn’t that enough? What more do we need?”
“Do you mean,” Lindgren asks, “that we may as well tell the undisguised truth about what brought us here?”
“Yes,” I reply, “because the only thing that matters is that we are here.”
“Sure. Go ahead. Let them have the truth. When they grow up, they’ll gloss it over anyway.”
Better than average collection of stories written mostly in the 1960s. Like Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, Anderson wrote many future history short stories—some of which were connectable. The framing story, presumably added later, is inept. Readers won’t miss much by skipping it.
“Harleman knew that Emett’s gang were discovering things. He hoped those things would justify enlarging their division next year. Other than that, he was too busy to care. Until the day when the CIA man came.”
Got many things hilariously wrong, but several shrewd guesses. Male chauvinism is on full display, though Anderson has several well-drawn female characters. Slide rules, card catalogs of computer tapes, and clattering computers are still in evidence. Anderson, of course, didn’t know about Cere’s frozen ocean, but he did posit lots of ice available in a asteroid belt. Most everyone smokes: cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.
Quibbles: “Her faded eyes seek Polaris—but it’s Earth’s, not ours anymore.” No, the parallax as they approach Alpha Centari would not suffice to displace Polaris, especially as they were headed almost due south. “The self-sealing hull was thin magnesium …” What idiot would construct a battle ship out of magnesium?
“Isn’t that, the real universe, isn’t that enough? What more do we need?”
“Do you mean,” Lindgren asks, “that we may as well tell the undisguised truth about what brought us here?”
“Yes,” I reply, “because the only thing that matters is that we are here.”
“Sure. Go ahead. Let them have the truth. When they grow up, they’ll gloss it over anyway.”
November 19, 2017
This novel is actually a collection of short stories, combined with a frame story, in which people in a travelling space ship reminisce the history of the solar system. Okay to read, but a little boring and old-fashioned (the stories were written in the 60's). A modern reader notices how everybody is smoking all the time.
July 22, 2015
this is classic syfy. the premise is a spaceship that is taking a 40 year journey to alpha centauri, never to return to Earth or the solar system. The crew of the ship, are deciding what "history" should be taught to the children which will be the next generation born along the way. What results is a list of short stories, that tells the beginning of first colonizing the asteroids, and each story progresses the history up to the point where they are now leaving the solar system for further exploration. I think I liked the story about recruiting travelers the best, it really reminded me of how we colonized America, and probably was the most realistic in who may move off of Earth first. I find classic syfy much more technical than todays, and I wish I knew more science, and I find that the authors sacrifice story and characters, for balancing the scientific descriptions of how space travel is possible. So it can be a slower read, also I find it humorous that we've accomplished space travel, but still use a slide rule to do the math. Either way never want to lose our hold on the classics, it's important to keep reading them, and discovery can still be found within their pages.
December 24, 2011
Interesting start to the book. There are a bunch of people sitting in a spaceship heading to another galaxy and they are talking about how to censor history for the children they will teach before reaching it. It was rather jarring, sounded like I was reading a Russian book.
This is the first time I have read this author, I liked the mini stories told, not sure I like the setup story that much.
I also noticed that even though there were women in this story, with one exception, they weren't strong characters. Not saying that they were the wilting types, but they depended on the men to get through. I have been reading a bunch of recent books where women have come into their own. Definitely stories from a different time.
This is the first time I have read this author, I liked the mini stories told, not sure I like the setup story that much.
I also noticed that even though there were women in this story, with one exception, they weren't strong characters. Not saying that they were the wilting types, but they depended on the men to get through. I have been reading a bunch of recent books where women have come into their own. Definitely stories from a different time.
May 25, 2021
To the stars
I grew up reading this kind of science fiction, where humanity boldly goes into outer space. It’s an old-fashioned notion, I know, but I still believe in the glory of space exploration. Well done.
I grew up reading this kind of science fiction, where humanity boldly goes into outer space. It’s an old-fashioned notion, I know, but I still believe in the glory of space exploration. Well done.
June 1, 2017
Short stories that provide background for the Polesotechnic League, if you're into that.
January 20, 2019
Good old hard science fiction by all time master. I'd maybe even pull out Illustrated Man one of this days.
October 21, 2021
Space Libertarians face the dangers of solar radiation, gravity wells and conniving Earthmen with only their brains, guts and slide rules. Classic 'Hard' SF.
April 24, 2024
Questo Le Montagne Volanti è un romanzo costruito attorno a una serie di racconti che tentano di descrivere la colonizzazione umana della fascia degli asteroidi.
Anderson ha cercato di costruire un'epica collegando i vari racconti con degli interludi che li pongono sullo sfondo di un'impresa più grande: il viaggio interstellare.
L'idea di fondo non è male, ma la realizzazione lascia a desiderare: i racconti sono poco interessanti e troppo concentrati sulla parte politico/burocratica del problema (alla faccia della letteratura d'evasione), dove l'autore insiste sulle sue teorie anti-socialiste.
Quello che tenta di fare è costruire la narrazione di una nuova frontiera, dove l'individuo che lavora sodo può arricchirsi e prosperare, in contrasto con la società terrestre che ormai si è adagiata sui diritti e le comodità e che mal digerisce la libertà della nuova Repubblica degli asteroidi.
Inoltre sia per tematica che per evoluzione della storia mi ha ricordato fortemente Le Città Volanti di Blish, altro ciclo che non ho apprezzato molto.
Mediocre.
Ottimo invece il saggio sull'autore di Giuseppe Caimmi.
Anderson ha cercato di costruire un'epica collegando i vari racconti con degli interludi che li pongono sullo sfondo di un'impresa più grande: il viaggio interstellare.
L'idea di fondo non è male, ma la realizzazione lascia a desiderare: i racconti sono poco interessanti e troppo concentrati sulla parte politico/burocratica del problema (alla faccia della letteratura d'evasione), dove l'autore insiste sulle sue teorie anti-socialiste.
Quello che tenta di fare è costruire la narrazione di una nuova frontiera, dove l'individuo che lavora sodo può arricchirsi e prosperare, in contrasto con la società terrestre che ormai si è adagiata sui diritti e le comodità e che mal digerisce la libertà della nuova Repubblica degli asteroidi.
Inoltre sia per tematica che per evoluzione della storia mi ha ricordato fortemente Le Città Volanti di Blish, altro ciclo che non ho apprezzato molto.
Mediocre.
Ottimo invece il saggio sull'autore di Giuseppe Caimmi.
Read
July 3, 2019Had this book in my scifi collection so must have read it. But after reading the description of this collection of stories it didn't ring any bells.
June 3, 2014
L'epopea della conquista degli asteroidi tra Marte e Giove vista attraverso una serie di racconti con protagonisti diversi.
Tra un racconto e l'altro ci sono degli "intermezzi" che fanno da filo unificante e che vorrebbero dare maggiore sostanza a tutto, ma per quanto mi riguarda sono tranquillamente evitabili (anche se in appendice c'è scritto che alcuni preferiscono gli intermezzi ai racconti: bene, così c'è qualcosa di buono per tutti).
Malgrado sia stato scritto oltre quarant'anni fa, "Le montagne volanti" è invecchiato meno di altre opere coetanee, e Urania ha fatto bene a riproporlo.
Tra un racconto e l'altro ci sono degli "intermezzi" che fanno da filo unificante e che vorrebbero dare maggiore sostanza a tutto, ma per quanto mi riguarda sono tranquillamente evitabili (anche se in appendice c'è scritto che alcuni preferiscono gli intermezzi ai racconti: bene, così c'è qualcosa di buono per tutti).
Malgrado sia stato scritto oltre quarant'anni fa, "Le montagne volanti" è invecchiato meno di altre opere coetanee, e Urania ha fatto bene a riproporlo.
May 29, 2015
I liked the individual stories better than I liked the framing story.
The framing story was the idea that people who were setting off on a generation starship wanted to figure out which parts of their history to preserve for their children. When the stories came out, that would have only seemed contrived. Now, it seems difficult to believe, because the internet and computer advances have brought us to the age of "save all information."
The individual stories were quite good, and the collection would have earned a fourth star just as stories, without the frame.
The framing story was the idea that people who were setting off on a generation starship wanted to figure out which parts of their history to preserve for their children. When the stories came out, that would have only seemed contrived. Now, it seems difficult to believe, because the internet and computer advances have brought us to the age of "save all information."
The individual stories were quite good, and the collection would have earned a fourth star just as stories, without the frame.
August 9, 2011
Spacesuits with sliderule holsters ftw.
April 5, 2012
Seven fairly entertaining short stories. The author tries to tie to together with "interludes" that fail miserable. Skip the interludes and the stories are ok.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews