(urth) Urth - Geology vs Humanity

[Tim Walters]

O'Donnell, Tim (BOSI) wrote:

> Vance in the Dying Earth series never gave any clues to the passage of 
> time and thus escaped this trap.

I don't have time to look for a pull quote right now, but I'm pretty 
sure that somewhere he makes it clear that it's far, far in the future, 
far enough for the sun to have weakened naturally.

And while the subgenre is named after Vance's book, he wasn't the only 
(or first) to write in it. Vance's model was Clark Ashton Smith's 
Zothique stories. Richard Lupoff wrote "One Million Centuries." Arthur 
C. Clarke got a toe in with "The City And The Stars." Ultimately the 
trope goes back to Wells' "The Time Machine." I'm pretty sure all of 
these are explicit about the passage of eons, and it's an important part 
of their effect.

I believe Wolfe is following this tradition.

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Tim Walters | The Doubtful Palace | http://doubtfulpalace.com