Copied from Poul Anderson Appreciation, 17 September 2016:
Eridanus
is a constellation. Thus, "Alpha Eridani I" would mean "the first
planet of the first star in Eridanus." I do not know that there is such a
planet but I understand that this would be the correct terminology. So
what does "02 Eridani A II" mean? (See Poul Anderson, David Falkayn: Star Trader, p. 224.) I have found a reference to 02 Eridani B
but do not understand it. In any case, 02 Eridani A II is a planet
named Ta-chih-chien-pih by its inhabitants and Cynthia by human beings.
Chee
Lan from Cynthia remembers "...warm ruddy sunlight and rustling leaves
around treetop homes..." (pp. 224-225) We see a Cynthian colony on
another planet in The Game Of Empire. These details about Cynthia come immediately after the details about the Merseian city of Ardaig in "Day of Burning."
"Poul Anderson immerses you in the future....Anderson puts you into a whole new world."
-Larry Niven, quoted on the back cover of David Falkayn: Star Trader.
This
is an accurate account of Anderson's achievement and I would add that
Anderson immerses us more effectively even than Robert Heinlein did.
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