The Mixed Men

The Mixed Men is a fix-up novel of science fiction short stories by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt that focus on the mixed offspring of Dellian Supermen and human beings.[1] The novel's title is taken from van Vogt's 1945 Astounding SF short story "Mixed Men", which was nominated for a Retro-Hugo Award in 1996.[2] The stories published in the novel were originally released between the years of 1943 to 1945 in Astounding SF,[3] with the novel being first published in a 5,000 copy printing in 1952 by Gnome Press and a 1955 Berkley Books edition under the title Mission to the Stars.[4]

The Mixed Men
Dust-jacket from the first edition.
AuthorA. E. van Vogt
Cover artistRic Binkley
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction
PublisherGnome Press
Publication date
1952
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages223

The novel is an early example of "fix-up" literature where several stories are re-written to make one cohesive novel.[4]

Contents
  • "Concealment"
  • "The Storm"
  • "The Mixed Men"
  • "Lost: Fifty Suns"
  • "Is it true?"

Reception

Reception for the novel was negative, with a 1952 reviewer for the New York Times calling it a "bad parody" of science fiction and high adventure.[5] P. Schuyler Miller in Astounding Science Fiction (1952) found the novel to be "distinctly minor van Vogt" and that the protagonist "isn't very convincing."[6] Author Bob Shaw later cited that one of the stories in the novel sparked his interest in the science fiction genre, stating that the "reading of that first story changed the entire course of my life".[7]

References
  1. Westfahl, Gary (2009). Science Fiction and the Two Cultures. McFarland. pp. 133–134. ISBN 0786442972.
  2. "1946 Retro-Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  3. The Kirkus Service, Volume 2. Kirkus Service (Kirkus Reviews). 1948. p. 1762.
  4. "A.E. van Vogt: The Weinberg Interview (1980)". Robert Weinberg. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  5. J. F. M. (Aug 10, 1952). "The Magellanic Cloud: THE MIXED MEN. By A. E. Van Vogt. 223 pp. New York: Gnome Press. $2.75." New York Times. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008), pg. BR15. Retrieved October 24, 2012
  6. "The Reference Library", Astounding Science Fiction, December 1952, pp.102
  7. Stableford, Brian (2007). Algebraic Fantasies and Realistic Romances: More Masters of Science Fiction. Borgo Press. pp. 25–26. ISBN 0893702838.

Further reading




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