"A. E. Van Vogt - The Best Of A. E. Van Vogt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Van Vogt A E)

Contents


Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... 6
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 7
DEAR PEN PAL .............................................................................................................. 10
THE GREEN FOREST ..................................................................................................... 15
WAR OF NERVES .......................................................................................................... 30
THE EXPENDABLES ...................................................................................................... 44
SILKIES IN SPACE ........................................................................................................ 65
THE PROXY INTELLIGENCE ..................................................................................... 100
The Science Fiction Books of A. E. Van Vogt .................................................................. 133
About the e-Book ............................................................................................................ 136




Acknowledgments


Dear Pen Pal copyright ┬й 1949 Arkham House
The Green Forest copyright ┬й 1949 Street & Smith Pub-lications
War of Nerves copyright ┬й 1950 Clark Publishing Co.
The Expendables copyright ┬й 1963 Galaxy Publishing Co.
Silkies in Space copyright ┬й 1966 Galaxy Publishing Co.
The Proxy Intelligence copyright ┬й 1968 Galaxy Publishing Co.
 Introduction


тАЬBESTтАЭ is what is called in General Semantics a defining word. What this means is that the word of itself
implies a state, or level, of superiority in something.
But that, if you will think about it, is merely a value judgment of a person, a committee, or a group.
That is, it is an intellectual, or emotional, consideration. As such, it can never be an operational term.
So we are not surprised when, each year in the U.S.A. these days, half a dozen publishers issue
best-of-the-year science fiction. Worse, with a couple of well-advertised exceptions, none of the stories
in one тАЬBestтАЭ is the same as those of any of the others.
Authors have lived with such contradictions with equa-nimity since the early days of SF.
Not too long ago, one of the best-of-that-year editors asked an SF writer if he had a story that had not
already been anthologized too often. Said author presently sent, along a story which he had selected
because, until then, it had only been printed in a collection of his own stories. The editor accepted it as
one of the best of the year without reading any of the other stories written by that author.
Now, it happened that the story which was submitted under these restricting requirements was the best
short story ever written by that author. That year it won the Hugo award of the World Science Fiction
Convention. None of the other тАЬBestтАЭ editors had had the foresight to include it in their anthologies,
I have a lesser example from my own experience. Years ago, the editor of a magazine asked me to
select one of my stories for what was called an authorтАЩs choice of his own best story. The editor,
however, required that I limit my selection to a story printed in his magazine. The problem was he had
only published three of my stories.