What about Van Vogt?

[pgtr]

Same question - didn't see any posts regarding this author - any strong opinions positive or negative regarding this author?

thanks,

 

[rune]

Not heard of him, what genre does he write?

 

[Øystein]

I've only read "Slan" and thought it was a pretty good fun, but felt no great urge to look into his other work. Badly written and not a semblance of attempting to understand science, but the actual story was mostly very entertaining. The guy was one of the biggest from the pulp era, and it's quite interesting to see how he's reacted to these days, as it seems like now it's mostly respect for how big and influential he was, and shock that anyone liked that garbage

So yeah, no strong opinion on my part. My father (born in '40) could rave about how much he loved Van Vogt when he was young though.

Search rec.arts.sf.written's archives on google and you'll undoubtedly find some strong opinions.

 

[pgtr]

Sorry folks,

A.E. Van Vogt - wrote books like _House that Stood Still_, _Wizard of Linn_, _Empire of the Atom_ - what I can recall from memory. I want to say 1960s or 1970s...?

thanks,

 

[Øystein]

His classic stuff's from the 40s. Slan is by far the biggest one - and supposedly written entierly in a single night. So popular that "Slan" has become its own word among science fiction fans, though it hasn't crossed culture barriers like, say, "beam me up" has. Hewrote plenty of other popular novels and short stories, such as The World of Null-A and Voyage of the Space Beagle. He was just about the biggest of the science fiction authors of his period, second perhaps only to Asimov and Heinlein. I believe even then people weren't always too convinced though. I remember seeing a quote from the 40s by Damon Knight, where he said (paraphrasing here) "van Vogt is no giant. He's a pygmy using a giant typewriter."

He kept writing for decades, well into the 80s, and passed away just a few years ago.

edit: hrmm, I'm not doing your homework, I hope.

 

[Aged]

I have a very positive opinion for Van Vogt's stories. Of course, I must confess to be like Oystein's father. I grew up on this stuff, and I still enjoy it today. I like the stories about smoking scientists in outer space and pointy rocketships. Hey, this stuff wasn't written for great literature. It was about entertainment and making a buck as a writer.

The Voyage of the Space Beagle (Mission:Interplanetary) and The Weapons Makers are my favorites. Even though his book Slan is what he is best known for, it is one of my least favorites.

Now to add to this mix, how about one of the least known authors of the old scifi...Eric Frank Russell. He has always been underrated...imho. His books, Sentinels of Space, Three to conquer, and The Space Willies are great entertainment.