The Sorrow of Odin the Goth
- by Poul Anderson
- Novella
- Science Fiction
- Adults
- Definite Time Travel
- English
- “The Sorrow of Odin the Goth” by Poul Anderson, in Time Patrolman (Tor, October 1983).
Patrolman Carl Farnass is more of a story-gatherer and histornian than a time cop, and unlike most patrolmen, he takes a wife in the time of the Goths and takes a godlike interest in his children and their descendants.
—Michael Main
But I did not, repeat not establish a new god; I merely fitted an image they’d long worshipped, and in the course of time, a generation or so, they came to assume I must be him.
Tags
(18)
- Time Periods
- Pre-Human Age of Mammals (66 Ma to 3.4 Ma: Cenozoic/Paleogene/Neogene): mentioned as the time of the Patrol Academy, but not actually visited
- Ancient History (3000 BC to AD 476: Bronze/Iron Ages): mostly the Goths and Romans in the 4th century
- Circa AD 1800 to 1899: Herbert Ganz’s home time
- Circa AD 1930 to 1939: Patrolman Carl Farnass’s chosen time with Laurie
- Circa AD 1970 to 1999: Carl and Laurie’s original time was in 1980 before they moved back to the 1930s; and this is also Manse Everard’s time.
- Near Future, AD 2300 and Beyond: Medic Mendoza's home time
- Timeline Models
- Resilient Timeline: [. . .] it’s flexible within limits, and the effects of alterations usually damp out fast.
- Time Travel Methods
- Time Fliers: time hoppers
- Themes
- Future Is “Up”: You weren’t afraid of touching off a change in uptime events?
- Language Difficulties: the Patrol has electronic crams to learn languages
- Long Life: The antihanatic treatment that our organization provides will arrest the aging process but not reverse its effects.
- Time Cops: the Patrol—although Farnass himself is more of the time scholar than a cop
- Traveler Becomes a God, Royalty, Wizard, etc.: Are you setting up in business as a god?
- Real-World Tags
- Goths
- Huns
- Roman Empire: the northern outskirts of the Empire, before, during, and after Constantine’s rule
- Fictional Tags
- Odin: The Goths come to see Farness as Odin.
- Groupings
Variants
(1)
- “The Sorrow of Odin the Goth” by Poul Anderson, in Time Patrolman (Tor, October 1983).