I used Operation Chaos because it makes the point more strongly.
The material Anderson drew on was not explained to the reader; he assumed that it was widely known and understood. So is 99% of the material that gets explained with such painstaking detail in the present age's doorstop. For some reason, the reader is no longer trusted to know anything (or to infer anything) and far too much paper is wasted on repetitive exposition and detailing. Writers of craft fantasy, the only case where we might need explication, feel obliged to deliver textbooks on whatever their shtick for the story is, instead of settling for a few key facts and getting on with the plot and characterization.
no subject
The material Anderson drew on was not explained to the reader; he assumed that it was widely known and understood. So is 99% of the material that gets explained with such painstaking detail in the present age's doorstop. For some reason, the reader is no longer trusted to know anything (or to infer anything) and far too much paper is wasted on repetitive exposition and detailing. Writers of craft fantasy, the only case where we might need explication, feel obliged to deliver textbooks on whatever their shtick for the story is, instead of settling for a few key facts and getting on with the plot and characterization.