Re: (ReacTor) Counting the Days: Five SFF Approaches to Calendars

On 6/18/25 10:20 AM, James Nicoll wrote:

Counting the Days: Five SFF Approaches to Calendars
 So many different ways of measuring history and the passage of time...
 https://reactormag.com/counting-the-days-five-sff-approaches-to-calendars/

Given the different planets and settings, no surprise that Le Guin also had many calendars in her Hainish works. I don’t remember any of the details at this far remove, though.
In the Vorkosigan Saga, Barrayar uses calendars based on the Emperors birthdays (for things like taxes, for example). I think they also use the Emperor's reigns for keeping track of years.
Asimov’s Foundation series used Galactic Era and Foundation Era, depending on the work. Trantor used GE. Terminus used FE. I don’t remember when GE starts. FE starts in something like 12000GE, tied to the start of the Encyclopedia Foundation.
I recently finished Rhythm of War (the 4th novel in Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series). This is set on planet Roshar, which uses a calendar based on the highstorms. (Highstorms are hurricane-like storms that blow through the land every few days). Years have 500 days.
Tony