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The Empire of Isher: The Weapon Makers / The Weapon Shops of Isher, by A. E. van Vogt
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Two classic Van Vogt works, The Weapon Makers and The Weapon Shops of Isher form the complete story of Robert Hedrock and the Empire of Isher. They are about revolution through time travel, the right to bear arms, the end of the universe and the beginning of the next.
- Sales Rank: #408601 in Books
- Published on: 2000-05
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.30" h x .85" w x 6.14" l,
- Binding: Paperback
- 288 pages
Amazon.com Review
Having more stories from A.E. van Vogt repackaged and reprinted can only be good news: along with Heinlein and Asimov, this prolific, wild-eyed author deserves much of the credit for pioneering science fiction's golden age back in the '40s and '50s. As a sort of crazy old uncle of modern sci-fi, though, van Vogt doesn't always get his due: his writing wasn't always spectacular, his plot and pacing fell somewhere between harum-scarum and willy-nilly, and his ideas were delivered in relentless salvos, each more outlandish than the last. But an embarrassment or not, the visionary van Vogt is indisputably part of the family, an entertaining and daring author whose influence can be seen in the work of countless other writers.
This 288-page paperback binds together two of van Vogt's better stories, "The Weapon Makers of Isher" and "The Weapons Shops of Isher," published in sequel-prequel order back in 1946 and 1951. These time-hopping, politically convoluted tales follow the struggle between the oppressive (but beautiful) Empress Innelda and the superadvanced libertarian Weapon Shops ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free," reads the storefront sign). Much of the melodramatic plot revolves around the Shops' immortal, ultragenius founder Robert Hedrock, his conflict with the Empress, and their differing visions for the future of humanity, but don't fret too much over the details: van Vogt keeps your head comfortably a-swim in a steady stream of whiz-bang gadgetry, plot twists, and breakneck action. --Paul Hughes
About the Author
A. E. Van Vogt was a SFWA Grand Master. He was born in Canada and moved to the U.S. in 1944, by which time he was well-established as one of John W. Campbell's stable of writers for Astounding Science-Fiction. He lived in Los Angeles, California and died in 2000.
Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
"The air was like wine."
By Steve Wyzard
Someone once said that a simple definition of science fiction would be: "ordinary people doing extraordinary things in extraordinary situations". The reader is captivated NOT by strange, futuristic technology, space travel, monsters and aliens, but by how the genre's protagonists live and move about in a world where such possibilities are commonplace. This is why Golden Age pulp sci-fi has so far never translated well to the movie screen. A classic like Asimov's original Foundation series does not consist of action/wars/battles/grotesqueries (which is what movie viewers want), but of well-written, cerebral characters who attempt to discuss and make sense of wild events and mind-bending dilemmas happening all around them. So too is this omnibus edition of A.E.van Vogt's two outstanding novels, "The Weapon Shops of Isher" and "The Weapon Makers". Well-respected but never one of the biggest names of 1940s sci-fi, van Vogt wrote voluminously but never exceeded the scope, imagination, and wonder of this all-too-brief series. He has a devoted readership and has elicited much scholarly discussion, but is mostly dismissed as too "far out" by today's self-congratulating distopians. I will not defend everything he ever wrote (he is definitely an acquired taste), but The Empire of Isher is highly, highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Astounding-era sci-fi and is much more accessible and less bizarre than most of his oeuvre.
Your best introduction to this magical world would be to read van Vogt's original 1942 short story, "The Weapon Shop" (it has been anthologized many times, most significantly in Avon Books' 1971 "The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume I"). It is one of three stories (from 1941, 1942, and 1949) that were put together with connecting links to form this edition's first book, "The Weapon Shops of Isher". This "fix-up" reads like a mosaic, with 3 storylines weaving together to tell the story of an underground benevolent organization with superior technology that protects and empowers the citizens of a worldwide empire that would otherwise exploit them. Founder/overseer Robert Hedrock must deal with a catalyst (Cayle Clark) who threatens to destroy the financial stability of the Solar System while two innocent bystanders (Chris McAllister and Fara Clark) are caught in the struggle for power between Empress Innelda Isher's corrupt government and the idealistic Weapon Shops. Because the three original stories were all conceived separately, there is a sense of disjointedness in the narrative where major characters and storylines can disappear, then suddenly reappear many chapters later. Nevertheless, the depth and breadth of van Vogt's vision is brilliantly awe-inspiring, and while a quieter book than its sequel, "The Weapon Shops of Isher" is both absorbing yet paradoxical, and fun yet thought-provoking.
The second book, "The Weapon Makers", was conceived as a full-fledged novel in 1943. This raises the questions: is book 1 a prequel to book 2, or is book 2 a sequel to book 1? This writer holds the second possibility, because book 2 answers many of the unusual questions raised in book 1. But then most of book 1 appeared in magazine form in 1949, while book 2 appeared in 1943. Then book 1 was published in novel form in 1951, while book 2 was revised and published in 1952. A paradox, just as van Vogt would have liked it. "The Weapon Makers" features the same world of the Weapon Shops and the Isher Empire with Robert Hedrock, Innelda Isher, and a few minor characters also returning. This is a much wilder ride than the first book. There is much more emphasis on story than on characters, and there is an impossible-to-escape cliff-hanger at the end of seemingly almost every chapter. All-powerful, unbeatable interstellar aliens are also introduced, and of course they never stand a chance. The scenes where Hedrock visits the crooked CEOs of the gigantic firms he secretly owns are both priceless and prophetic, almost ripped from today's business world headlines. Some might consider it a change of premise when the Weapon Shops do not prove to be as altruistic as they are in the first book, but this is a typical van Vogt device where nothing is quite what it seems to be at first. And while I would have loved for the series to have been continued or expanded, "The Weapon Makers" does conclude with a definitive ending.
One final thought. The cover of this omnibus edition depicts a long-barrelled gun, looking very much like real-world firearms or at least a typical movie-style laser blaster. The defensive guns that figure so prominently in the two novels were described by van Vogt as a brass-knuckles type device that fitted easily in the hand, being activated by thought. In the Prologue of "The Weapon Shops of Isher", they are described as: "It was a tiny thing, shaped like a pistol, but with three cubes projecting in a half-circle from the top of the slightly bulbuous firing chamber." Later on, in Chapter 16, we're told of one model: "Notice the flanges on this barrel are little more than bulges." These descriptions of course do not mesh with the cover illustration. It can only be assumed that the publisher did not want to commission a more representative illustration, but do not let that deter you from buying this awesome, visionary sci-fi masterpiece. I've been continuously reading and re-reading these books since the 1980s, and have yet to tire of them.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Confusion about two different books
By David E. Siegel
Another reviewer has reviewed a different book. "Reviewer: Trevor J Hall (see more about me) from PERRY,, ME USA At last the two books of the life of the mutant prince of the House of Lin have been combined in one cover...."
This is actually a review of _Empire of the Atom_, an SFnal re-telling of Robert Graves's _I Claudius_, and a quite different book, also by Van Vogt.
As to the books at hand, they are some of vV's best, but suffer from all his characteristic faults -- the too frequent plot changes, the endless consipiricies (often where the leaders of two opposed sides are secretly the same person) a society whose economic basis is dubious at best. But it is a page-turner, and one that keeps this reader returning from time to time. A classic that any SF fan should read sometime or other.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Justly reprinted
By A Customer
I have not seen this edition, but both the component novels, "The weapon makers" and "The weapon shops of Isher" are old friends. These are among the better of van Vogt's works, perhaps not the absolute best, but close. For books written some fifty years ago still remarkably readable. Justly reprinted.
Note that "The weapon makers" was written first but that "The weapon shops of Isher", added later, is a prequel. The stories are also different in tone: "The makers" is highly dynamic (almost dynamite), while the "The shops" is much quieter.
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