Tuesday, 13 September 2016
Revolutionizing The Past
William Walker revolutionizes the Greece of Agamemnon and Odysseus. Meanwhile:
"'If Exodus records any real events, the Pharaoh that Moses dealt with could be either Ramses II, who's ruling Egypt now, or somebody a century either way.'" (p. 96)
The Republic of Nantucket might be contemporary with Moses! - or might miss him by a century. I have to read on to learn what happens. A writer of historical fiction or of historical science fiction has a choice. He can:
say that Exodus records no real events;
re-present the Biblical Moses while playing down the miraculous element unless writing fantasy;
adopt some intermediate position.
Poul Anderson reworks the story of Theseus in The Dancer From Atlantis and Norse mythology in "The Sorrow Of Odin The Goth."