tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post2511832431110384904..comments2024-03-26T21:58:50.501-04:00Comments on MPorcius Fiction Log: The Battle of Forever by A. E. Van VogtMPorciushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-53334804185206875812014-03-15T21:24:45.463-04:002014-03-15T21:24:45.463-04:00I love the Powers cover.... head and shoulders abo...I love the Powers cover.... head and shoulders above the Transfinite cover.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-14545683706299716662014-03-15T21:15:30.210-04:002014-03-15T21:15:30.210-04:00I own the 95 cent Destination Universe! with the b...I own the 95 cent <i>Destination Universe!</i> with the black and red Powers cover. <br /><br />http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?276259<br /><br />I read "Secret Unattainable" in a library copy of the recent collection, <i>Transfinite.</i><br /><br />http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?52175<br /><br />MPorciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-20419874081479328322014-03-15T16:50:30.346-04:002014-03-15T16:50:30.346-04:00So, I want the collection Destination: Universe (1...So, I want the collection Destination: Universe (1947) (great cover!)<br /><br />http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?284469<br /><br />And Away and Beyond (1952)<br /><br />http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/2/2a/WNDBNDTJRN1952.jpgAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-10726642002840657082014-03-15T16:47:24.770-04:002014-03-15T16:47:24.770-04:00I have The War Against the Rull but that seems to ...I have The War Against the Rull but that seems to be a novelization of the original short story. I bought it because of the Powers cover not because I was planning on reading it anytime soon...<br /><br />Those two shorts sound intriguing. Let me see if there's a collection with both in it.... Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-7811272623857031822014-03-14T23:46:45.292-04:002014-03-14T23:46:45.292-04:00Some are more clear and focused. The 1948 versio...Some are more clear and focused. The 1948 version of "The Rull" is a pretty straightforward story about a human and an alien who struggle against each other with high tech weapons and hypnotic techniques. The four stories that ended up being the four parts of <i>Voyage of the Space Beagle</i> are similarly straightforward. These stories got more complicated when they were integrated into novels.<br /><br />"Defense" is one of my favorite short-short stories by any writer (it's 2 pages.) <br /><br />"Secret Unattainable" is written as a series of letters and memos, telling the story about the German discovery of a super weapon during WWII. Van Vogt really seems to have tried to write in the style of the people who would write such documents, and it is probably the best written of his stories, and may be my very favorite Van Vogt story. MPorciushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15515742639389937221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-60856106943535230932014-03-14T18:55:49.667-04:002014-03-14T18:55:49.667-04:00I've always "loved" this cover... I...I've always "loved" this cover... I saw this one in the store a while back, but, I tend not to pick up his novels. I really wonder how his short stories read -- are they clearer, more focused, less disjointed and abrupt? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8259460772864393968.post-36130507908767189682014-03-14T04:14:45.437-04:002014-03-14T04:14:45.437-04:00Love the intro to this review. I completely ident...Love the intro to this review. I completely identify with the angst of wondering: "Is this something I've read already, or something new? If I walk away and later discover I haven't read it, what if somebody else has bought it in the meantime? How do I know? Should I say 'To hell with it.' and just buy it, or should I wait and do the research, and take a chance no one else wants it?<br /><br />I see you solved the problem with, what else, technology. Indeed, you exhibit all the symptoms of being a genuine sci-fi reader.<br /><br />And here's another classic scenario: "Oh, that's interesting. Look at this book lying innocently on the shelf. I've heard of this author, and Joachim at Scientific Ruminations recommends them, and other people seem to like them, but I've never read anything by them. Should I take a chance and plop down the cash, or wait and do a little research? If I don't buy it now, maybe somebody else will snap it up. It is a bargain..."Jessehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07796098208589965362noreply@blogger.com