Three in Space (White Wolf Rediscovery Trio) [Paperback]

Barry M. Malzberg (Author), A. E. Van Vogt (Author), Poul Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 1998

,

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing; First Edition Thus edition (January 4, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565048660
• ISBN-13: 978-1565048669
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,960,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting collection for classic SF nerds, August 24, 2011

By 

Mitchell Glodek (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Three in Space (White Wolf Rediscovery Trio) (Paperback)

Here we have a White Wolf Rediscovery Trio, three novels by important SF authors describing space voyages in one volume.

A.E. Van Vogt's contribution is Voyage of the Space Beagle, originally from 1939. It describes four episodes in the trip of an exploration ship, each an encounter with hostile aliens. The overarching story Van Vogt describes is that of one member of the ship's crew of scientists, an adherent to a new science, "Nexialism." Nexialism is a synthesis of all other sciences, and makes use of advanced learning techniques, like hypnotic gasses, so the Nexialist on the Space Beagle's crew is a better physicist than the head physicist, a better chemist than the head chemist, etc. The Nexialist is so superior to every other person on the crew that he is resented by the others, but also is the one who figures out how to defeat all four alien threats. By the end of the book he has won over all the other people on the ship to Nexialism.

A decent story, though the vast superiority of the Nexialist over the rest of the crew is little too much to allow for any dramatic tension, and makes the protagonist a little hard to really like or identify with.

The second novel is Barry Malzberg's Galaxies, from 1975. This odd piece of work only barely qualifies as a novel; it is more like literary criticism than a traditional novel that focuses on plot and/or character. The author, who speaks directly to the reader, repeatedly tells us that this text is not a novel, but the notes for a novel, and engages in some self-indulgent descriptions of his own life problems. A worthwhile read for people interested in the history of science fiction and criticism of SF, but not for someone looking for a traditional novel or any sort of adventure story.

Probably the most enjoyable novel in the collection is Poul Anderson's The Enemy Stars. I don't really like Poul Anderson's writing style, though his work usually has a good plot structure, and Enemy Stars works quite well. In this short novel, written in 1958, four men of different socioeconomic backgrounds, religious beliefs and political orientations crew a space ship on a scientific mission, and must work together when a disaster occurs. The crisis leads them to reevaluate their beliefs and attitudes about life and "grow."

All three novels are of interest to people who care about classic SF, so its a solid purchase (of course, I got mine at the library.)