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

second time (age thirty-six, for you people who canтАЩt add) I was myself a science fiction writer, and had
in fact written most of the stories which were subsequently regarded as my тАЬBestтАЭ. I spent my third
eighteen years making a study of human behavior. During this time, I wrote a non-fiction book, The
Hypnotism Hand-book for a psychologist. In 1962, The Violent Man, my Red China novel (not
science fiction) was published by Parrar, Straus and Giroux. Another study begun in the fifties recently
culminated in a second non-fiction title, The Money Personality. A third study--on women--will have an
SF novel based on it (The Secret Galactics) to be published by Prentice-Hall, Inc. in March 1974.
In 1964 I again started to write science fiction. The first of my new stories was тАЬThe ExpendablesтАЭ.
I am bemused by the possibility that what I wrote with a hammer and a chisel (so to speak) in my
younger days, adhering rigidly to an 800-word-scene-method writing, is actually better than what I can
now do when I am so much more knowledgeable. For example, today I feel that I understand human
behavior, money, women, men (though not children), exercise, dreams, and writing technique as never
before. Then, I just let character happen according to the needs of the story. Now, I know at all times
what IтАЩm doing, and why. It feels better. And I really think itтАЩs going to turn out better.
Here, without further preliminary discussion, is my list of my favorites: shorter stories: (early) тАЬThe
MonaterтАЭ, тАЬWar of NervesтАЭ, (later) тАЬThe Ultra ManтАЭ; novelettes: (early) тАЬVault of the BeastтАЭ, тАЬThe
StormтАЭ, тАЬHand of the GodsтАЭ, (later) тАЬSilkies in SpaceтАЭ, тАЬThe Proxy IntelligenceтАЭ; novels: (early) The
World of Null-A, (later) The Silkie, The Battle of Forever.
Those are my very top choices. Following close behind these are: тАЬDear Pen PalтАЭ, тАЬThe CataaaaaтАЭ,
and тАЬJuggernautтАЭ (short); тАЬExpendablesтАЭ, тАЬThe GhostтАЭ, тАЬThe Weapon ShopтАЭ, тАЬSecret UnattainableтАЭ, and
тАЬThe Green ForestтАЭ (novelettes); and the novels, The Weapon Shops of Isher, The Wizard of Linn and
Future Glitter.
I want to make a brief comment about a couple of those choices. тАЬProxy IntelligenceтАЭ is a sequel to an
early novella, тАЬAsylumтАЭ, which at one time I considered one of my best stories. I still do; but I prefer
тАЬProxyтАЭ. (At some future time there will be another sequel, titled тАЬI.Q. 10,000тАЭ--at the moment I donтАЩt
quite feel up to doing that.)
 It is very likely that, of my Linn stories, тАЬHand of the GodsтАЭ is the most perfectly organized. These first
Linn stories were to some extent unconsciously modeled on Robert GravesтАЩs I, Claudius--so I had
pointed out to me later. But I had done such a vast amount of reading in that particular Roman period
that I really thought it was Roman history. However, the Linn family tree was modeled on the Medici line
of Florence. So Clane is a combination of Claudius and Lorenzo. Transferred to 12,000 A.D., the whole
thing acquired a life of its own, and even won a grudging accolade from my principal U.S. critic Damon
Knight.
The stories printed in this present volume, and the novels I have named, qualify for my personal
accolade because they are farther out than the stories not included in my list.
I recommend them to all my far-out reader types.
A. E. van Vogt,
Hollywood, Calif., 1973



DEAR PEN PAL


Planet Aurigae II
DEAR Pen Pal:
When I first received your letter from the interstellar correspondence club, my impulse was to ignore it.
The mood of one who has spent the last seventy planetary periods--years I suppose you would call
them--in an Aurigaen prison, does not make for a pleasant exchange of letters. However, life is very
boring, and so I finally settled myself to the task of writing you.