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But like so many of Anderson’s novels, his ideas, the premise of his story, overshadows the technical deficiencies of the book. Perfect? No, there is some thin characterization (usually a fatal flaw in my estimation) and apparently, according to many of the other reviews on Goodreads, there are even many questions raised by his science. I am sure there is a list on Goodreads about books that must be read by a true science fiction fan, and Tau Zero by Poul Anderson should be on such a list.Īnderson was a physics major in college and this background provides a meaningful foundation for what is a great science fiction book.

* Future history of the Polesotechnic LeagueĪnderson has in Tau Zero, more than any other book I have ever read or heard about, created a sense of unimaginable isolation and otherworldliness. Several of his novels were published posthumously. Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. 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. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. 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.

Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.Īnderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. 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.