"Randall Garrett - Takeoff" - читать интересную книгу автора (Garrett Randall)

apparently, had to go to Ferdinand Feghoot for the final copy.
I have not, by any means, given what might be called The Garrett Treatment to all the writers I
admire. Although VanтАЩs Slan is in here, his distinctive style is ripe for story treatment. Ted Sturgeon
would be fun. Fritz Leiber is on my little list. Bob Silverberg is begging for it. Lester del Rey is going to
get his one of these days. Cordwainer Smith has it coming. Frank Herbert will not go unscathed. Mack
Reynolds is overdue. Avram Davidson will not be neglected. Neither will Michael Kurland. There are
others. Just wait.
Maybe before my eleventy-first...
Wait! DonтАЩt go away! This book is like a tapestry. I supplied the basic material, and Frank Kelly
Freas supplied the lovely embroidery. [Is that a crewel remark?] When this book becomes an expensive
collectorтАЩs item (when. not if). it will be because of KellyтАЩs work, not mine.
(Kelly, if you or Polly cut what follows because of some false feeling of modesty, may your pencils
break, your inkpots run dry, your typewriter clog, your paints become gelatinous, and your canvas rot.
Truth, dammit, is truth!)
This book is KellyтАЩs work in more than one way. Let me give you some background, and then IтАЩll
tell you a true story.
I met Kelly in the early fifties at a science fiction convention. I donтАЩt remember which one; they all
begin to blend into one another after all this time. (See, Van? I told you!) I donтАЩt remember the con, but I
remember Kelly. At that time, he sported a large red mustache and a smile which kept it turned up at the
ends. I loved the man immediately.
Kelly is witty, outgoing, friendly, gregarious, and articulate. He is shrewd, careful, intelligent, and
analytical. He is sensitive, understanding, warm and compassionate. And he knows the science and
technique of art as few people in history have known it.
He is, of course, a science fiction fan of the highest caliber. It shows in every illustration he does.
He cares about science fiction. And he cares about the people who write and read it.
ThatтАЩs not all the background I could give you on the man, but it will have to do for the nonce.
Now comes the story.
A while back, I was talking to Kelly on the phone about a book of mine that didnтАЩt quite measure
up to his and PollyтАЩs specifications. Suddenly, he said: тАЬHey! What about a book of your parodies and
pastiches?тАЭ
тАЬIs the world ready for this?тАЭ I asked.
тАЬDamn right it is!тАЭ and he mentioned several stories he liked. He got me enthusiastic, and I went to
work finding them.
About a week later he called me. тАЬIтАЩve got it! IтАЩve got it!тАЭ he shouted into my tender ear.
Carefully easing the receiver back toward that offended organ, I said: тАЬyou do? Is it contagious?тАЭ
тАЬNo, no! IтАЩve got the title for your book!тАЭ
Nero Wolfe once said: тАЬI have no talent. I have genius or nothing.тАЭ The thing about Kelly is that he
has both.
His talent lies in his ability to use any and every artistic medium that exists. His genius lies in the way
he uses them. And that genius shows through every medium.
Let me give you an imaginative example-what Albert Einstein called a тАЬthought experiment.тАЭ
I am fond of churches as works of art; I am a church buff, among other things, and I go absolutely
ape over the Gothic style. The great Gothic cathedrals of Europe really turn me on, and if I were going to
build a church, it would be in that style. Suppose I had enough money to build the church of my dreams.
It would take many tens of millions of dollars today.
With that vast sum in my pocket, I would go to Frank Kelly Freas and say: тАЬKelly, build me that
church. Hire engineers, hire architects, hire artisans of any kind you need. Money is no object, but build
me that church.тАЭ
He could do it; you damn well betcha he could. The spires, the gargoyles, the statues, the stained
glass windows-all. And when he was through (assuming a lifespan of some three centuries), it would be