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Diablerie, v. 1, issue 1, January 1944
Page 18
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diablerie THE UNICORN Smooth his golden mane, and try the mettle of his jewelled horn, and close his red, defiant eye, for you have killed the unicorn. Draw your arrow from his breast. Softly-his is hallowed blood; one last look, then let him rest in the silence of the wood. Leave him as he proudly fell; silver dew will cover him. Gentle winds will mourn him well, wise old stars watch over him. Leave him while the night is clear, God has not forsaken him. Will-o-wisps will find him here, panic pipes awaken him. Faery fires will ring him 'round, elfin drums will lure him on, glorious of sight and sound to the vale of of Avalon. Leave him now--his hoofs are grating on Olympus, and he'll soon find an ebon filly waiting in the meadows of the moon. -Lou Goldstone The Search was tremendous in con-ception and powerful in scope-but failed. The Weapon Makers-aside from the fact it was a "series" story-had the makings of something comparable to Slan. As it stands, it is but a weak attempt to imitate the sweep and power of that epic. All these stories somehow fell short of complete realization for some inher-ent reason-and I think I see what it is. Van Vogt, I am afraid, has become an "idea man". He has left the idea-the new thought-the whacky twist-the clever theory-dominate his writing; he has made the action, the unfolding of the story subordinate to the full realization of an idea. He is trying to put too much in too lit-tle space; not so much a condensation as a strained mixture of idea and action so intense that the development of the story as a whole is governed by the requirements of explanation on idea development. The Search is an especially good example of this. The suspense here is terrific; there is a magnificent con-struction, a building up of a multi-tude of facts over almost the entire length of the novelette. Then, suddenly, is the last two pages, everything must be made to fall in its proper place; the denouement, instead of smoothly carrying the mind of the reader on to an ultimate and complete understanding of the story as a whole, is complicated and abrupt; it is a challange to the human mind;one must needs pause and ponder this or that thought out. Instantly the reader has freed himself from the writ-er's control. All the atmosphere, all the careful lulling of the reader's mind that has gone before is thrown away. One finishes the story-not dissatisfied-but unsatisfied. The story has simply ceased to be a story, and has become a problem. The same condition prevailed in The Weapon Makers. Here, as in Slan, was par-allel construction, conflict of purpose, the weighty explanations, and most of all, and re-saulting from this, faulty construction. There is indication here of haste. When he takes time, Van Vogt is good-I have an idea he was very careful with Co-Operate-Or Else and even with the overly sensationalistic Secret Unattain-able. Witness the excellent construction of the latter, the clarity of thought and smoothness of denouement of both. It is upon the denouement, beyond all shadow of doubt, that the success of any story, no matter what type it may (next page)
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diablerie THE UNICORN Smooth his golden mane, and try the mettle of his jewelled horn, and close his red, defiant eye, for you have killed the unicorn. Draw your arrow from his breast. Softly-his is hallowed blood; one last look, then let him rest in the silence of the wood. Leave him as he proudly fell; silver dew will cover him. Gentle winds will mourn him well, wise old stars watch over him. Leave him while the night is clear, God has not forsaken him. Will-o-wisps will find him here, panic pipes awaken him. Faery fires will ring him 'round, elfin drums will lure him on, glorious of sight and sound to the vale of of Avalon. Leave him now--his hoofs are grating on Olympus, and he'll soon find an ebon filly waiting in the meadows of the moon. -Lou Goldstone The Search was tremendous in con-ception and powerful in scope-but failed. The Weapon Makers-aside from the fact it was a "series" story-had the makings of something comparable to Slan. As it stands, it is but a weak attempt to imitate the sweep and power of that epic. All these stories somehow fell short of complete realization for some inher-ent reason-and I think I see what it is. Van Vogt, I am afraid, has become an "idea man". He has left the idea-the new thought-the whacky twist-the clever theory-dominate his writing; he has made the action, the unfolding of the story subordinate to the full realization of an idea. He is trying to put too much in too lit-tle space; not so much a condensation as a strained mixture of idea and action so intense that the development of the story as a whole is governed by the requirements of explanation on idea development. The Search is an especially good example of this. The suspense here is terrific; there is a magnificent con-struction, a building up of a multi-tude of facts over almost the entire length of the novelette. Then, suddenly, is the last two pages, everything must be made to fall in its proper place; the denouement, instead of smoothly carrying the mind of the reader on to an ultimate and complete understanding of the story as a whole, is complicated and abrupt; it is a challange to the human mind;one must needs pause and ponder this or that thought out. Instantly the reader has freed himself from the writ-er's control. All the atmosphere, all the careful lulling of the reader's mind that has gone before is thrown away. One finishes the story-not dissatisfied-but unsatisfied. The story has simply ceased to be a story, and has become a problem. The same condition prevailed in The Weapon Makers. Here, as in Slan, was par-allel construction, conflict of purpose, the weighty explanations, and most of all, and re-saulting from this, faulty construction. There is indication here of haste. When he takes time, Van Vogt is good-I have an idea he was very careful with Co-Operate-Or Else and even with the overly sensationalistic Secret Unattain-able. Witness the excellent construction of the latter, the clarity of thought and smoothness of denouement of both. It is upon the denouement, beyond all shadow of doubt, that the success of any story, no matter what type it may (next page)
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