Van Vogt.

David Duffy · 08 Sep 2006, 22:13 · from 2006-September.txt.gz

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From: David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au (David Duffy)
Date: Sat, 9 Sep 2006 08:13:33 +1000 (EST)
Subject: (urth) Van Vogt.
In-Reply-To: <45010072.4030806 at io.com>
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	<E1GLEdu-000COX-VL at oceanus.uk.clara.net> <450030F3.1070200 at gmail.com>
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Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.58.0609090746250.29447 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>

On Fri, 8 Sep 2006, Jeff Wilson wrote:

> Andy Robertson wrote:
>
> > TBOTNS is a "Dying Earth" story - a story set in a future in which the Sun
> > (and therefore creation itself) has become senile, and reality frays.
> >
> > VV, as far as I know, never wrote in this vein.   In fact VV was really
> > writing, and wrote again and again (to the point of wearying at least this
> > reader),  about quite another ancient Indo-European theme - the idea that a
> > man can effectively become a god.
>

I've previously commented that I think there are images/ideas from Van
Vogt, but in Short Sun, notably Venus/Earth, transmigration one way/rocket
the other in _Null_A_.  They are immediately subverted, but the
descriptions of the trees of Venus really struck me when I was
rereading it recently.

I find reading Van Vogt a guilty pleasure (the earlier the better).  If
anyone hasn't read him, I would suggest the short stories.  I like the
fixup _The War against the Rull_ -- you get "the old, perennial thrill...a
feeling of exaltation in contemplating this universe of fabulous planets
and of wondrous stars...", as well as "Dark forest of Mira, he thought
shakily.  Alive with the young of the lymph beast..." ;) [a better model
for _that_ movie].

David Duffy.

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