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Mission to the Stars
The colonies of Fifty Suns, hidden for eons in an ocean of stars, are finally traced by the warship, Star Cluster, of Imperial Earth. Torn By rebellion, Fifty Suns must crush the titanic Earth forces or submit to the domination of the Great Galactic Union. It falls to one man, Peter Maltby, brilliant leader of the feared Mixed Men, to unite the warring factions of his galaxy and guide them to victory.
But first he must resolve his own crossed loyalties. For Captain Maltby of Fifty Suns is alsop the passionate lover of Lady Laurr, Grand Commander of the Star Cluster, warrior of Imperial Earth...
Originally published in 1952 as "The Mixed Men".
Prologue: "Concealment" 1943
Chapters 1-7: linking material, later published separately as "Lost: Fifty Suns" in 1972
Chapters 8-15: "The Storm" 1943
Chapters 16-23: "The Mixed Men" 1945
But first he must resolve his own crossed loyalties. For Captain Maltby of Fifty Suns is alsop the passionate lover of Lady Laurr, Grand Commander of the Star Cluster, warrior of Imperial Earth...
Originally published in 1952 as "The Mixed Men".
Prologue: "Concealment" 1943
Chapters 1-7: linking material, later published separately as "Lost: Fifty Suns" in 1972
Chapters 8-15: "The Storm" 1943
Chapters 16-23: "The Mixed Men" 1945
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
2 people are currently reading
392 people want to read
About the author
A.E. van Vogt
648 books457 followersAlfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century—the "Golden Age" of the genre.
van Vogt was born to Russian Mennonite family. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German in the home.
He began his writing career with 'true story' romances, but then moved to writing science fiction, a field he identified with. His first story was Black Destroyer, that appeared as the front cover story for the July 1939 edtion of the popular "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine.
van Vogt was born to Russian Mennonite family. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German in the home.
He began his writing career with 'true story' romances, but then moved to writing science fiction, a field he identified with. His first story was Black Destroyer, that appeared as the front cover story for the July 1939 edtion of the popular "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
January 4, 2014
This was the first A.E. van Vogt novel I had ever "tried to" read. Being unfamiliar with any of his work except a for a hand full of unusual short stories, this book threw me for a loop. "This ain't no Heinlein," I thought, and tossed it aside after a couple of chapters, for it appeared to be a prime "text-book" example -the very justification, of what I was "told" was "bad pulp SF."
Some time later, after having read many other novels of this era (1939-55) I took another crack at that really cool looking pink slim volume titled "Mission to the Stars" -it has also appeared under the title "The Mixed Men" (of which I now proudly own a hard cover copy.) This time, more prepared, I had to admit that it was the most fun of a yarn that I had ever come across. After that, like many before and after me, I vowed to, one day, read absolutely everything van Vogt ever published in his long career (1937-1986 is my best guess.)
After having read a third of his mesmerizing catalog, this one still ranks as one of the top five (if not my sentimental personal favorite -sorry Slan-fans.)
It is one of van Vogt's most successful fix-ups. The plot, as twisty as it is, moves along seamlessly. It is of the "unique supermen hiding in isolation" theme that he explored often, most notably in "Slan."
Noteworthy, is the strong female Captain: "The Right Honorable Gloria Cecily" role in the story, which was uncommon in SF of this time, and shows an element of innovation on the author's part (perhaps it might also partially have something to do with his equally talent author wife at the time E.M. Hull, but that is just speculation on my part.)
The strange choice of the mixed man-robot thing is as bizarre as anything vanVogt has ever come up with, but he writes in such a personal style that it seems he is not concerned at all if you "get" or "like" what he's up to. Once you read him, you realize the style is so personal that you feel he had written this just for himself and allowed to share the whole thing with just you personally. This certainly is just fantasy, for like the other pulp authors of his genre and time, he wrote often and hastily to make a living selling a product that payed a rate of a penny a word. But with van Vogt, you really felt he had an truly great enthusiasm and sincere love for his Art -and I don't use the "A" word lightly.
Note: If you were more interested in the synopsis of the story, I recommend you pick it up somewhere and give it a read. A thorough synopsis of this man's work can sometimes exceed the length of the novel itself.
Some time later, after having read many other novels of this era (1939-55) I took another crack at that really cool looking pink slim volume titled "Mission to the Stars" -it has also appeared under the title "The Mixed Men" (of which I now proudly own a hard cover copy.) This time, more prepared, I had to admit that it was the most fun of a yarn that I had ever come across. After that, like many before and after me, I vowed to, one day, read absolutely everything van Vogt ever published in his long career (1937-1986 is my best guess.)
After having read a third of his mesmerizing catalog, this one still ranks as one of the top five (if not my sentimental personal favorite -sorry Slan-fans.)
It is one of van Vogt's most successful fix-ups. The plot, as twisty as it is, moves along seamlessly. It is of the "unique supermen hiding in isolation" theme that he explored often, most notably in "Slan."
Noteworthy, is the strong female Captain: "The Right Honorable Gloria Cecily" role in the story, which was uncommon in SF of this time, and shows an element of innovation on the author's part (perhaps it might also partially have something to do with his equally talent author wife at the time E.M. Hull, but that is just speculation on my part.)
The strange choice of the mixed man-robot thing is as bizarre as anything vanVogt has ever come up with, but he writes in such a personal style that it seems he is not concerned at all if you "get" or "like" what he's up to. Once you read him, you realize the style is so personal that you feel he had written this just for himself and allowed to share the whole thing with just you personally. This certainly is just fantasy, for like the other pulp authors of his genre and time, he wrote often and hastily to make a living selling a product that payed a rate of a penny a word. But with van Vogt, you really felt he had an truly great enthusiasm and sincere love for his Art -and I don't use the "A" word lightly.
Note: If you were more interested in the synopsis of the story, I recommend you pick it up somewhere and give it a read. A thorough synopsis of this man's work can sometimes exceed the length of the novel itself.
May 19, 2022
This is one of van Vogt's fix-up novels that was comprised of three novellas from John W. Campbell's Astounding sf magazine during the Golden Age/WWII years. It's space opera on a huge scale with many, many sf tropes of the field included: robots, matter transmitters, psi-powers, contra-terrene matter, an interstellar spaceship so huge that it has to have a hundred captains (and it can break apart into smaller ships), super-intelligent two-minded humans who are hiding from the Terran government, and just on and on and on. He doesn't move the story in traditional progression but trusts his readers to keep up with him. I had it read it years ago, but a few days ago I had encountered the first section in one of his story collections, and then I pulled it off the shelf and read the rest. Van Vogt's work is hard to keep track of; the contents of many of his books overlap, frequently with different titles. This one is a good example; the novel version of The Mixed Men also appeared as Mission to the Stars, and the novella The Mixed Men was reprinted in The Book of van Vogt as Lost: Fifty Suns, and The Book of van Vogt was later reprinted as Lost: Fifty Suns. (I'm proud to have the 1952 first edition from Gnome Press with the great Ric Binkley cover.) Though it tends to get overshadowed by some of van Vogt's more famous work such as Voyage of the Space Beagle, Slan, The Weapon Shops, etc., this one is one of his best. It's worth noting that it has two strong female characters in that time of male dominance in the field; the Grand Captain of the Star Cluster is The Lady Gloria Cecily, the Lady Laurr of Noble Laurr, and her most trusted advisor is the ship's chief psychologist, Lieutenant Neslor. I suspect that Campbell suggested similar settings and situations to two of his favorite and most popular authors and the result were The Mixed Men and Asimov's Foundation, both undisputed classics.
August 3, 2019
3.5 stars. Grand space opera with a lot of the same themes of inter-galactic intrigue, political scheming, civilizational clashes and mind control as Asimov's classic Foundation series, which looks like it was written, if not published, right around the same period of the early 50's. However, van Vogt brings quite a bit more, and unique, scientific twists to the mix, including intergalactic mega-storms, robots and half-human half-robot hybrids(?!).
July 25, 2021
I love the Mixed Men stories (variant title Mission to the Stars), with the great interstellar storms, mighty spaceships, solar Weathermen ... and Grand Captain Laurr, the Lady Laurr of Noble Laurr.
She's stranded with her lover, Captain Maltby, after a shipwreck: "Nova O, we call that brightest of all stars; and there's only one in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud, the great and glorious S Doradus." Time for a reread.
Van Vogt's greatest achievement, I think, was his amazing emulation of lucid dreaming -- or 'crazed oneiric intensity', as Paul di Filippo has it. This was from his strange technique of breaking up the story into 500-word (or so) blocks, each with a new idea. Didn't always work, of course....
The best of Van Vogt is remarkably dream-like-- and makes about as much sense as a dream. His glowing, hallucinatory clarity....
------------------------
Reread notes, 12/17/16
Held up pretty well, though my review above is a little overheated. Basically, this is a workmanlike space-opera from the 1940s. Still entertaining 70+ years on.... and still, some genuinely poetic moments. My favorite Van Vogt? 3.7/5 stars
She's stranded with her lover, Captain Maltby, after a shipwreck: "Nova O, we call that brightest of all stars; and there's only one in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud, the great and glorious S Doradus." Time for a reread.
Van Vogt's greatest achievement, I think, was his amazing emulation of lucid dreaming -- or 'crazed oneiric intensity', as Paul di Filippo has it. This was from his strange technique of breaking up the story into 500-word (or so) blocks, each with a new idea. Didn't always work, of course....
The best of Van Vogt is remarkably dream-like-- and makes about as much sense as a dream. His glowing, hallucinatory clarity....
------------------------
Reread notes, 12/17/16
Held up pretty well, though my review above is a little overheated. Basically, this is a workmanlike space-opera from the 1940s. Still entertaining 70+ years on.... and still, some genuinely poetic moments. My favorite Van Vogt? 3.7/5 stars
August 7, 2009
Set 15,000 years from now, an Earth ship has spent the last ten years in the Greater Magellanic Cloud looking for a space empire that calls itself the Fifty Suns. They are a group of mutated humans who left Earth many years previously to get away from prejudice and discrimination.
Earth promises a benevolent leadership; the Fifty Suns will generally be able to rule themselves. But Earth makes it very clear: Join Us or Be Destroyed. Long ago, Earth decided to not allow any other star empires to exist. The Fifty Suns decide on silence, and let the Earth ship try to find them among the Cloud’s millions of stars.
A minority among the population of the Fifty Suns is the Mixed Men. Possessing a sort of double brain (not two separate brains, but more like pairs of molecules where there is only supposed to be on molecule), they have been subject to prejudice also, and have had to resort to extreme secrecy to hide their cities. Maltby, hereditary leader of the Mixed Men, finds himself on board the Earthship, the Star Cruiser, ordered to pilot it to the capital of the Fifty Suns. His secret orders, from the leaders of the Fifty Suns, are to pilot the ship right into a space storm, powerful enough to destroy even a hundred-deck behemoth like the Star Cruiser.
It’s obvious to the people that, even if the Star Cruiser is destroyed, which does not happen, it won’t be long, in cosmic terms, before Earth sends thousands of ships looking for the Fifty Suns empire. Many psychological methods are used to get Maltby to talk, including conditioning him to fall in love with Gloria Cecily, Grand Captain of the Star Cruiser.
This is an excellent far-future space opera in the grand tradition. Few writers can do it quite like A.E. van Vogt. This one is very much worth reading.
Earth promises a benevolent leadership; the Fifty Suns will generally be able to rule themselves. But Earth makes it very clear: Join Us or Be Destroyed. Long ago, Earth decided to not allow any other star empires to exist. The Fifty Suns decide on silence, and let the Earth ship try to find them among the Cloud’s millions of stars.
A minority among the population of the Fifty Suns is the Mixed Men. Possessing a sort of double brain (not two separate brains, but more like pairs of molecules where there is only supposed to be on molecule), they have been subject to prejudice also, and have had to resort to extreme secrecy to hide their cities. Maltby, hereditary leader of the Mixed Men, finds himself on board the Earthship, the Star Cruiser, ordered to pilot it to the capital of the Fifty Suns. His secret orders, from the leaders of the Fifty Suns, are to pilot the ship right into a space storm, powerful enough to destroy even a hundred-deck behemoth like the Star Cruiser.
It’s obvious to the people that, even if the Star Cruiser is destroyed, which does not happen, it won’t be long, in cosmic terms, before Earth sends thousands of ships looking for the Fifty Suns empire. Many psychological methods are used to get Maltby to talk, including conditioning him to fall in love with Gloria Cecily, Grand Captain of the Star Cruiser.
This is an excellent far-future space opera in the grand tradition. Few writers can do it quite like A.E. van Vogt. This one is very much worth reading.
October 6, 2013
AAAAAAA!!!! I was half way through and lost it on the subway! Good read, too!!! But what really pisses me off is this was an awesome 70's trade paperback- silver foil, and a whole gang of Mixed Men on the cover, with rainbows coming out of their eyes!!! Everyone was so jelly I was reading such a cool-looking book, that was most of the fun. ARRRRRGGGGGH.
UPDATE! Found the book at my new favorite NYC bookstore : Singularity & Co. Finished it up and wow. I'm loving AE Van Vogt, in spite of his bleak and creepy love story. The Mixed Men will rule the galaxy!!!!
UPDATE! Found the book at my new favorite NYC bookstore : Singularity & Co. Finished it up and wow. I'm loving AE Van Vogt, in spite of his bleak and creepy love story. The Mixed Men will rule the galaxy!!!!
October 21, 2020
It's too bad this was written in the early age of sci fi..before epic series were a thing, because this could totally be the first part of an epic series. Vogt imagines a galaxy completely conquered by humans, with insanely scaled ships, but not all powerful... they apparently need weather stations to chart 'space storms' that seem pretty deadly. Science-wise, that seems to be taking the navy-in-space analogy way too far but it sets a picture.
He's also got transporters, but ones that change the person ever so slightly, which creates a new races. In the hands of a modern writer, this could lead to all sorts of examinations of race relations and prejudice.. Vogt certainly scratches the surface of those issues, but the next step in the story would be were that would really come into play.
Perhaps most uniquely.. the main character of the book is a woman, and captain of the ship. Sure, she ends up having a prince/knight errant in the end, but she's far from the usual damsel in distress, with stories written in the 40s! Most interesting.
The science here is kinda silly, I'll grant, but as a cultural piece, and as the seed of a story, it's fantastic. Even the fact that it's not actually a novel, but a few short stories strung together, doesn't diminish that... I'll have to find the other two that are out there that didn't make it into this story.
He's also got transporters, but ones that change the person ever so slightly, which creates a new races. In the hands of a modern writer, this could lead to all sorts of examinations of race relations and prejudice.. Vogt certainly scratches the surface of those issues, but the next step in the story would be were that would really come into play.
Perhaps most uniquely.. the main character of the book is a woman, and captain of the ship. Sure, she ends up having a prince/knight errant in the end, but she's far from the usual damsel in distress, with stories written in the 40s! Most interesting.
The science here is kinda silly, I'll grant, but as a cultural piece, and as the seed of a story, it's fantastic. Even the fact that it's not actually a novel, but a few short stories strung together, doesn't diminish that... I'll have to find the other two that are out there that didn't make it into this story.
December 23, 2013
STAR VOYAGE
‘In the far distant future the spaceship Star Cluster is searching for certain inhabited planets lost somewhere in the teeming wilderness of outer space. The inhabitants of these planets know the ship is searching for them but they refuse to reveal their location.
Why don’t these people want to be found?
What is their secret?
Discover the astounding answers as you read this gripping classic tale of interstellar adventure by AE Van Vogt, one of the all time great names in adventurous science fiction.’
Blurb from the 1997 Sphere edition.
Another fix-up novel from van Vogt comprising of ‘Concealment’, ‘The Storm’ and ‘The Mixed Men’, published in Astounding between 1943 and 1945 and telling the tale of adapted ‘Dellian’ humans who left human civilisation fifteen thousand years before. And settled (unbeknown to Earth) in the Greater Magellanic cloud.
Now, an Earth warship has stumbled upon one of the weather stations which monitors the interstellar storms which rage in the depths of the cloud The ship’s captain is determined to bring the Fifty Suns under Earth control. However the Fifty Suns are scattered amongst the fifty million stars of the cloud and Lady Gloria Laurr, Grand Captain of the ‘Star Cluster’ is determined to find them.
The Cloud was settled by Dellians and Non-Dellians, but what Captain Laurr does not know is that a mating of Dellian and Non-Dellians has produced a third group, the Mixed Men, more powerful and intelligent than either of its parents and possessed of the power to control human minds.
The Mixed Men have developed their own culture and civilisation, but their nominal and hereditary leader is Maltby, brought up – after being captured as a child – in the Dellian/Non-Dellian society and now forced to lie to both communities in order to save his civilisation and his race.
There are echoes of ‘Slan’ in this although it lacks the rich texture and background. Like the Slans, the Mixed Men once attempted a coup in order to take over the reins of power, but failed.
We have humans, Dellians and Mixed men, compared to the humans, Slans and tendrilless Slans.
The Mixed men, like Slans, have hidden within human society.
One has to question whether Van Vogt is consciously repeating a successful or familiar formula or exploring a variation on the same theme. What seems to interest Van Vogt most is the rational scientist/leader whose intellect brings change to political systems without the use of violence. This does not however, preclude the '‘control'’ and manipulation of others which we might see today as a subtler form of violence. Maltby, at one point, takes mental control of Grand Captain Gloria and forces her to kiss him, which perhaps says more about the society of the Nineteen Forties when this was written than about Van Vogt’s super-being.
Like Gilbert Gosseyn in ‘The World of Null-A’, Maltby has two brains, one of which is mostly dormant but can be brought into service to produce an IQ of 900 or more.
There are some interesting ‘nodes of consequence’ in this book such as the Fifty Suns deciding to attack just as the ‘Star Cluster’ was about to leave the galaxy for good. Later, if the chairman of the Kaider III government hadn’t mistrusted Maltby so much he would have told him that a supernova had now become an equation in the storm into which Maltby had sent the ‘Star Cluster’ in order to destroy it. Had he known he would have been forced to confess and would not have been shipwrecked on S Doradus. For Van Vogt this is interesting and shows a more structured approach than some of his stream-of-consciousness pieces.
‘In the far distant future the spaceship Star Cluster is searching for certain inhabited planets lost somewhere in the teeming wilderness of outer space. The inhabitants of these planets know the ship is searching for them but they refuse to reveal their location.
Why don’t these people want to be found?
What is their secret?
Discover the astounding answers as you read this gripping classic tale of interstellar adventure by AE Van Vogt, one of the all time great names in adventurous science fiction.’
Blurb from the 1997 Sphere edition.
Another fix-up novel from van Vogt comprising of ‘Concealment’, ‘The Storm’ and ‘The Mixed Men’, published in Astounding between 1943 and 1945 and telling the tale of adapted ‘Dellian’ humans who left human civilisation fifteen thousand years before. And settled (unbeknown to Earth) in the Greater Magellanic cloud.
Now, an Earth warship has stumbled upon one of the weather stations which monitors the interstellar storms which rage in the depths of the cloud The ship’s captain is determined to bring the Fifty Suns under Earth control. However the Fifty Suns are scattered amongst the fifty million stars of the cloud and Lady Gloria Laurr, Grand Captain of the ‘Star Cluster’ is determined to find them.
The Cloud was settled by Dellians and Non-Dellians, but what Captain Laurr does not know is that a mating of Dellian and Non-Dellians has produced a third group, the Mixed Men, more powerful and intelligent than either of its parents and possessed of the power to control human minds.
The Mixed Men have developed their own culture and civilisation, but their nominal and hereditary leader is Maltby, brought up – after being captured as a child – in the Dellian/Non-Dellian society and now forced to lie to both communities in order to save his civilisation and his race.
There are echoes of ‘Slan’ in this although it lacks the rich texture and background. Like the Slans, the Mixed Men once attempted a coup in order to take over the reins of power, but failed.
We have humans, Dellians and Mixed men, compared to the humans, Slans and tendrilless Slans.
The Mixed men, like Slans, have hidden within human society.
One has to question whether Van Vogt is consciously repeating a successful or familiar formula or exploring a variation on the same theme. What seems to interest Van Vogt most is the rational scientist/leader whose intellect brings change to political systems without the use of violence. This does not however, preclude the '‘control'’ and manipulation of others which we might see today as a subtler form of violence. Maltby, at one point, takes mental control of Grand Captain Gloria and forces her to kiss him, which perhaps says more about the society of the Nineteen Forties when this was written than about Van Vogt’s super-being.
Like Gilbert Gosseyn in ‘The World of Null-A’, Maltby has two brains, one of which is mostly dormant but can be brought into service to produce an IQ of 900 or more.
There are some interesting ‘nodes of consequence’ in this book such as the Fifty Suns deciding to attack just as the ‘Star Cluster’ was about to leave the galaxy for good. Later, if the chairman of the Kaider III government hadn’t mistrusted Maltby so much he would have told him that a supernova had now become an equation in the storm into which Maltby had sent the ‘Star Cluster’ in order to destroy it. Had he known he would have been forced to confess and would not have been shipwrecked on S Doradus. For Van Vogt this is interesting and shows a more structured approach than some of his stream-of-consciousness pieces.
July 30, 2011
In the Greater Magallenic Cloud, the people of the Fifty Suns have hidden themselves since their flight from Earth 15,000 years ago. Now a mighty battleship, the Star Cluster has come to find them and make them, by whatever means necessary, rejoin the Terran Empire.
This book follows themes that readers of van Vogt will be familiar with: that of the hidden group of supermen within a civilisation. While being no 'Null-A', the story is nonetheless interesting and kicks along at a decent pace. One thing that I liked about it was that no one group were the clear cut heroes and villains. While the protagonist was very much the hero, he had a foot in the camps of each of the groups and all of them were portrayed sympathetically and not so much as the story went on.
This book follows themes that readers of van Vogt will be familiar with: that of the hidden group of supermen within a civilisation. While being no 'Null-A', the story is nonetheless interesting and kicks along at a decent pace. One thing that I liked about it was that no one group were the clear cut heroes and villains. While the protagonist was very much the hero, he had a foot in the camps of each of the groups and all of them were portrayed sympathetically and not so much as the story went on.
November 15, 2022
An adventure that was conceived by a powerful imagination that kept me guessing about the outcome right up until the very last page. My only minor gripe is that I eventually became confused by the rapid plot twists near the end possibly due to my failing memory and just reading a few pages each day. Overall I enjoyed the experience especially the awesome setting of a globular clusters inhabitants anxiously awaiting their fate at the hands of the hi-tech visitors from the ancient galaxy of Earth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2014
Finished it while my computer was getting fixed.
Van Vogt's books have decent plots but leave something to be desired in the dialogue department. In my experience this is typical for 40s & 50s pulp sci-fi.
On a side note: For some reason I love when sci-fi of this era has anachronistic things like slide rules & whatnot.
Van Vogt's books have decent plots but leave something to be desired in the dialogue department. In my experience this is typical for 40s & 50s pulp sci-fi.
On a side note: For some reason I love when sci-fi of this era has anachronistic things like slide rules & whatnot.
August 7, 2024
El descubrimiento del sistema de los Hombres Mixtos desencadena una lucha de poderes, mientras la nave terrestre se acerca inexorablemente a la conquista de este mundo. Una novela muy menor dentro de la obra vanvogtiana, con una trama manipulada, poco creíble, llena de salidas fáciles, sin nada de ilación, que logra una suma de partes que realmente no dice nada (algo de culpa debe tener la traducción). Quizás lo mejor sea la fragmentación de la nave y el dispositivo que teletransportaba la materia (que aún no logro de entender), pero nada más.
Muy por debajo del nivel de El viaje del Beagle Espacial o Slan.
2.12.2004
Muy por debajo del nivel de El viaje del Beagle Espacial o Slan.
2.12.2004
April 13, 2016
I haven't read this book in years, but I saw it on my shelf and decided to see if it stood the test of time.
It definitely did. In fact I think I probably like it even more. From the assumption that in the future, racism, homophobia and even sexism will be things of the past, to the narrative loop between the human civilisation the Dellians originally flee to their own repression of the Mixed Men, all wrapped up in a fast-paced plot. In fact, van Vogt manages to cover in 150-odd pages more than many authors do in a trilogy of 500+ page monsters.
The dubious note is the art of 'psychology', largely as envisaged by Asimov, which has become a sinister force which is not particularly acknowledged.
Great book, anyone who likes classic sci-fi should read it; in fact anyone who likes any sci-fi.
It definitely did. In fact I think I probably like it even more. From the assumption that in the future, racism, homophobia and even sexism will be things of the past, to the narrative loop between the human civilisation the Dellians originally flee to their own repression of the Mixed Men, all wrapped up in a fast-paced plot. In fact, van Vogt manages to cover in 150-odd pages more than many authors do in a trilogy of 500+ page monsters.
The dubious note is the art of 'psychology', largely as envisaged by Asimov, which has become a sinister force which is not particularly acknowledged.
Great book, anyone who likes classic sci-fi should read it; in fact anyone who likes any sci-fi.
January 19, 2018
from amazon
About the book:
Generations after the Dellian "robots" (actually humans whose genetic and molecular makeups have been subtlely modified by their forebears' use of an early model of teleportation device) have fled persecution by starship into the myriad solar systems of the Greater Magellanic Cloud, the Right Honourable Lady Lorr commands an armed starship expedition to ferret them out and return them to Earth's control. She finds them, along with far more than she had bargained for, both romantically and otherwise. The "mixed man" Malxby's effective taming of this delicious intergalactic shrew is instructive for those who wish to coexist romantically with today's strong-willed, demanding feminist professionals.
Pretty awesome book by arguably best author ever.
About the book:
Generations after the Dellian "robots" (actually humans whose genetic and molecular makeups have been subtlely modified by their forebears' use of an early model of teleportation device) have fled persecution by starship into the myriad solar systems of the Greater Magellanic Cloud, the Right Honourable Lady Lorr commands an armed starship expedition to ferret them out and return them to Earth's control. She finds them, along with far more than she had bargained for, both romantically and otherwise. The "mixed man" Malxby's effective taming of this delicious intergalactic shrew is instructive for those who wish to coexist romantically with today's strong-willed, demanding feminist professionals.
Pretty awesome book by arguably best author ever.
November 7, 2022
Started out good. Felt intelligent, adult-oriented. But then it turned into the worst kind of space opera. About the time the lead male and antagonist female crash landed and made love.
January 22, 2014
Un gigantesco incrociatore spaziale della Terra Imperiale, in esplorazione astrografica nella Grande Nube Magellanica, scopre prove evidenti di una civiltà sconosciuta che si estende su settanta pianeti, ritenuti disabitati. Ma questi pianeti non possono essere identificati perché sparsi in mezzo a un numero sterminato di altri pianeti, e i loro abitanti, discendenti di una razza mista di esseri umani e robots, cioè Umanoidi, si oppongono a prendere contatto con la civiltà della Terra. Si ha così una lotta serrata, fitta di intrighi e di tremendi pericoli, che viene alla fine risolta in modo pacifico per merito della Grande Capitana dell'incrociatore spaziale della Terra Imperiale e di un capo degli Umanoidi che danno, col loro amore, l'esempio di quella perfetta armonia che governa tutto l'Universo.
July 14, 2020
Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...
"A. E. van Vogt spins a great space opera in this short (157) page volume. Mission to the Stars–as it was later known–was originally published under the name The Mixed Men.
Here is a brief plot summary: Lady Gloria Laurr, Grand Captain of the Earth Space ship Star Cluster, is sent to investigate the renegade civilization (called the Fifty Suns) of Dellians [...]"
"A. E. van Vogt spins a great space opera in this short (157) page volume. Mission to the Stars–as it was later known–was originally published under the name The Mixed Men.
Here is a brief plot summary: Lady Gloria Laurr, Grand Captain of the Earth Space ship Star Cluster, is sent to investigate the renegade civilization (called the Fifty Suns) of Dellians [...]"
July 18, 2009
This book is pretty tyipical for A. E. van Vogt. Tehre is a race of supermen, who everyone hates or fears. There's lots of crazy scientific gadgets. It was reasonably well written, especially at the beginning but the ast half felt sloppy to me.
May 22, 2023
Поредната инжекция пълп фантастика от ван Вогт, която отново ме остави удовлетворен от прочетеното.
Преди всичко ми се наложи да проверя отговор или предшественик е на Азимовата Фондация. Според датите на издаване, разказите от които е изграден този роман са излизали една до три години след първите на Азимов. Явно идеите са провокирани от Негово Бакембардейшество, но трябва да се отбележи, че идеята заложена в „смесените хора“ определено пък е повлияла за изграждането на образа на Мулето в третата книга за Фондацията.
Искам да отметна, че в лицето на Лейди Лаур отново имаме опит за изграждане на силен женски образ от ван Вогт. Дали е успешен? Като се има предвид годината на написване и другите произведения от периода, на фона на чистия мизогенизъм на Хайнлайн, андрогенността на Азимов и пълната сексуална атрофия на Кларк, направо си е революционен образ.
На края и отивам към книгата, тук под терминът робот се има предвид андроид, което е интересно, предвид че вече е навлязъл в научната фантастика, но А.Е. ван Вогт не го използва, може би защото разкрив същността на своите раси чак на края на произведението и използва „робот“ като алегория за расови предразсъдъци, а не за луденщина.
Звездния Клъстър е боен кораб на човешката империя, способен да унищожава планети. На края на една своя научна експедиция, екипажът се натъква на изгубена човешка цивилизация в Големия Магеланов облак – Петдесетте слънца. Капитанът Лейди Лаур скоро разбира, че това са откъснатите от преди империята Делианци, прогонени заради предразстъдъци. Делианците се делят на две независими раси (Делианци и неделианци), като едните са почти съвършени по дух и тяло, а другите носят импулса на новаторството и идейността. Лейдито е убедена, че трябва да присъедини или унищожи петдесетте слънца, но как да открие 50 планети в цяла галактика.
Това, коеот не знае е, че има трета раса – Смесените, която притежава двоен мозък и може да манипулира хората с нещо като телепатия. Питър Малтби е представител на тази фракция и ще направи всичко възможно да предотврати конфликта със Земната империя, вътрешните конфликти в 50-те и да засвидетелства любовта си на чуждопланетната капитанка.
Историята е разделена межди Лейди Сесил (като всеки благородник има кофа имена, няма да ги изброявам) и Питър и си крадат водачеството в историята едни от друг. Ван Вогт отново изпреварва времето си като поставя болезнени етични въпроси на пангара, разглежда и развива интелигентно алтернативни управленчески структури и е, залита леко по дианетиката, но предвид собствената му исторя това е ясно, или отново имаме свръхчовешки регулаторен образ воден от хуманни подбуди, който оправя проблемите.
Преди всичко ми се наложи да проверя отговор или предшественик е на Азимовата Фондация. Според датите на издаване, разказите от които е изграден този роман са излизали една до три години след първите на Азимов. Явно идеите са провокирани от Негово Бакембардейшество, но трябва да се отбележи, че идеята заложена в „смесените хора“ определено пък е повлияла за изграждането на образа на Мулето в третата книга за Фондацията.
Искам да отметна, че в лицето на Лейди Лаур отново имаме опит за изграждане на силен женски образ от ван Вогт. Дали е успешен? Като се има предвид годината на написване и другите произведения от периода, на фона на чистия мизогенизъм на Хайнлайн, андрогенността на Азимов и пълната сексуална атрофия на Кларк, направо си е революционен образ.
На края и отивам към книгата, тук под терминът робот се има предвид андроид, което е интересно, предвид че вече е навлязъл в научната фантастика, но А.Е. ван Вогт не го използва, може би защото разкрив същността на своите раси чак на края на произведението и използва „робот“ като алегория за расови предразсъдъци, а не за луденщина.
Звездния Клъстър е боен кораб на човешката империя, способен да унищожава планети. На края на една своя научна експедиция, екипажът се натъква на изгубена човешка цивилизация в Големия Магеланов облак – Петдесетте слънца. Капитанът Лейди Лаур скоро разбира, че това са откъснатите от преди империята Делианци, прогонени заради предразстъдъци. Делианците се делят на две независими раси (Делианци и неделианци), като едните са почти съвършени по дух и тяло, а другите носят импулса на новаторството и идейността. Лейдито е убедена, че трябва да присъедини или унищожи петдесетте слънца, но как да открие 50 планети в цяла галактика.
Това, коеот не знае е, че има трета раса – Смесените, която притежава двоен мозък и може да манипулира хората с нещо като телепатия. Питър Малтби е представител на тази фракция и ще направи всичко възможно да предотврати конфликта със Земната империя, вътрешните конфликти в 50-те и да засвидетелства любовта си на чуждопланетната капитанка.
Историята е разделена межди Лейди Сесил (като всеки благородник има кофа имена, няма да ги изброявам) и Питър и си крадат водачеството в историята едни от друг. Ван Вогт отново изпреварва времето си като поставя болезнени етични въпроси на пангара, разглежда и развива интелигентно алтернативни управленчески структури и е, залита леко по дианетиката, но предвид собствената му исторя това е ясно, или отново имаме свръхчовешки регулаторен образ воден от хуманни подбуди, който оправя проблемите.
September 21, 2021
I lay in a dental chair last year with my eyes closed, listening to the Stat Trek Voyager reruns going, and I realized that some of the elements of the first season appear to be “borrowed” from this novel.
The first matter transmitter spoken of in the novel!s history changed human DNA just enough that humans who had gone through it looked the same, but could not longer reproduce with anyone who hadn’t undergone the change— new species of “Delian.” This one ups “The Fly” which had not even been written yet.
The original Star Trek pilot was rejected because the test audience loathed a female first mate “ordering” men around. That’s why sci-fi of this level was late getting to any screen. The Grand Captain (over all the other captains on thus behemoth of a ship is female, had relies upon the ship’s psychologist for advise: Spock in female form, unless one sees Troi in this role.
One episode has a crash on an unknown planet, in which the Grand Captain is forced by Imperial space laws to shack up with her worst enemy, Captain Maltby, the emissary of the enemy who was dispatched to lie her and her ship into the crash. This was duplicated on Voyager with Janeway and the Maqi Chakotay.
There is mind control, by which the half-human, half Delian supermen (paradoxical) can force anyone to do as the User pleases, and be made to remember nothing.
The flaw in the book I that it is a “fix up” novel. The author made it by combining individual stories written on the same theme that he had previously published separately. This produced some incongruities worthy of Irwin Allen’s editing jobs on his own scripts.
I recommend the book, but just for fun. There are no great moral insights to be discovered here, and the closing scene is right out of a macho adventure romance. But it’s still good. Beats the hell out of Flash Gordon, and the pants off Lost in Soace.
The first matter transmitter spoken of in the novel!s history changed human DNA just enough that humans who had gone through it looked the same, but could not longer reproduce with anyone who hadn’t undergone the change— new species of “Delian.” This one ups “The Fly” which had not even been written yet.
The original Star Trek pilot was rejected because the test audience loathed a female first mate “ordering” men around. That’s why sci-fi of this level was late getting to any screen. The Grand Captain (over all the other captains on thus behemoth of a ship is female, had relies upon the ship’s psychologist for advise: Spock in female form, unless one sees Troi in this role.
One episode has a crash on an unknown planet, in which the Grand Captain is forced by Imperial space laws to shack up with her worst enemy, Captain Maltby, the emissary of the enemy who was dispatched to lie her and her ship into the crash. This was duplicated on Voyager with Janeway and the Maqi Chakotay.
There is mind control, by which the half-human, half Delian supermen (paradoxical) can force anyone to do as the User pleases, and be made to remember nothing.
The flaw in the book I that it is a “fix up” novel. The author made it by combining individual stories written on the same theme that he had previously published separately. This produced some incongruities worthy of Irwin Allen’s editing jobs on his own scripts.
I recommend the book, but just for fun. There are no great moral insights to be discovered here, and the closing scene is right out of a macho adventure romance. But it’s still good. Beats the hell out of Flash Gordon, and the pants off Lost in Soace.
October 25, 2022
I inherited a battered copy of this book from my father a few years ago and finally got around to reading it. A. E. van Vogt is one of the "big" names in early science fiction, although his imagination is better-regarded than his writing. And this does contain big ideas, ranging from what I'll call lost colonies in the Large Magellanic Cloud to genetic engineering gone wrong to mental conditioning capable of forcing people into and out of love. It's also the story of one man of superhuman mental capacity standing at the intersection of two civilizations and four disparate groups of people, trying to figure out his place in the cosmos while seeking to align these groups to form a unified whole.
The story is breathtaking. The writing might often make you wince. That's basically van Vogt in a nutshell. The latter aside, he's an essential part of the history of the genre, which alone makes him worth the read, and one can't argue too much with his grand visions. Even if all you have is a battered copy.
By the by, my father had a habit. When he bought a book, he put the date of purchase in the front. At the end, he recorded when he finished reading it. If he re-read it later he would record that date, too. In this copy, he noted the following:
Purchased: January 15, 1956 (which was over 2 years before I was born).
Finished: January 16, 1956
Additional read dates: July 20, 2003, October 24, 2013, October 29, 2013, August 30, 2014.
I'm not sure why he read it twice in one week in 2013. I think he may have been reading it again around the time of his death, because there's a blank piece of note paper at page 106, the start of chapter 18. Clearly he liked this book!
The story is breathtaking. The writing might often make you wince. That's basically van Vogt in a nutshell. The latter aside, he's an essential part of the history of the genre, which alone makes him worth the read, and one can't argue too much with his grand visions. Even if all you have is a battered copy.
By the by, my father had a habit. When he bought a book, he put the date of purchase in the front. At the end, he recorded when he finished reading it. If he re-read it later he would record that date, too. In this copy, he noted the following:
Purchased: January 15, 1956 (which was over 2 years before I was born).
Finished: January 16, 1956
Additional read dates: July 20, 2003, October 24, 2013, October 29, 2013, August 30, 2014.
I'm not sure why he read it twice in one week in 2013. I think he may have been reading it again around the time of his death, because there's a blank piece of note paper at page 106, the start of chapter 18. Clearly he liked this book!
April 6, 2021
Nava terestră trecu atât de discret pe lângă Gisser, soarele lipsit de planete, încât sistemul de alarmă al staţiunii meteorologice aflată pe meteorit nu avu timp să reacţioneze. Era deja vizibilă ca o dungă luminoasă pe ecranul de supraveghere, când o zări şi Watcher. Se părea că fusese dată alarma şi pe nava străină, întrucât punctul mişcător de lumină îşi încetinise înaintarea. Frâna evident, descriind o buclă largă. Se târa încet înapoi, era clar că încerca să localizeze micul obiect ce atinsese ecranele energetice.
Când apăru în câmpul de observare directă, nava se distingea nelămurit, imensă pe fondul strălucitor al îndepărtatului soare alb-gălbui. Era mult mai mare decât orice altceva văzut vreodată în Fifty Suns. Părea o adevărată imagine de infern, o navă venită din altă lume, un monstru dintr-un univers semi-mitic. Chiar dacă era un model nou, era uşor de recunoscut după descrierile din cărţile de istorie ca fiind o navă de război a Imperiului Pământului. Avertismentele istoriei erau înfiorătoare, referindu-se la ce s-ar putea întâmpla, şi iată, sosise clipa când se întâmpla cu adevărat.
Îşi cunoştea datoria. Trebuia să transmită prin subspaţiul radio non direcţional către Fifty Suns un mesaj de avertizare pe care-l aşteptau cu toţii îngroziţi, de o viaţă-ntreagă şi mai trebuia să se asigure că nu va rămâne nici o urmă a existenţei staţiei. Nu a avut loc nici un incendiu. Odată cu dezagregarea motoarelor atomice suprasolicitate, masiva clădire, ce fusese o staţie meteorologică, se dezintegra pur-şi-simplu în elementele sale componente.
Când apăru în câmpul de observare directă, nava se distingea nelămurit, imensă pe fondul strălucitor al îndepărtatului soare alb-gălbui. Era mult mai mare decât orice altceva văzut vreodată în Fifty Suns. Părea o adevărată imagine de infern, o navă venită din altă lume, un monstru dintr-un univers semi-mitic. Chiar dacă era un model nou, era uşor de recunoscut după descrierile din cărţile de istorie ca fiind o navă de război a Imperiului Pământului. Avertismentele istoriei erau înfiorătoare, referindu-se la ce s-ar putea întâmpla, şi iată, sosise clipa când se întâmpla cu adevărat.
Îşi cunoştea datoria. Trebuia să transmită prin subspaţiul radio non direcţional către Fifty Suns un mesaj de avertizare pe care-l aşteptau cu toţii îngroziţi, de o viaţă-ntreagă şi mai trebuia să se asigure că nu va rămâne nici o urmă a existenţei staţiei. Nu a avut loc nici un incendiu. Odată cu dezagregarea motoarelor atomice suprasolicitate, masiva clădire, ce fusese o staţie meteorologică, se dezintegra pur-şi-simplu în elementele sale componente.
June 26, 2022
Notoriously known to posterity as a fixed-up novelist Van Voght nevertheless managed to breathe new life into the collection of many of his short sci-fi stories he had written years and decades prior.
Mission to the stars is another example of such a re-writing. Is it worth reading even now after 70+ years? Absolutely.
Being ridiculously fond of his cliffhangers, Van Voght unleashed his full literary power while re-crafting the collection of the short stories into the coherent space adventure.
Brimmed with typical space opera cliches, themes and interactions, the novel is on par with the adventure type sci-fi stories of that time.
Yet cliffhangers here manage to polarize the whole narrative to the limits. On the protagonists level - we see the diplomatic, spiritual, intellectual and even love-and-hate competition. On the civilizational level: empire versus democracy standoff. On the political level - the issue of coalescing different branches of Magellanic Clouds human kind under the pressure of invasion. The favorite Van Voght mental dominance issues are also at present. Added here are the questions of trust and loyalty, brought in the love affair between the opponents, Shaken’n’Stirred with space battles, intrigues and catastrophes and here you got - old school sci-fi story which is a pleasure to read even today!
Mission to the stars is another example of such a re-writing. Is it worth reading even now after 70+ years? Absolutely.
Being ridiculously fond of his cliffhangers, Van Voght unleashed his full literary power while re-crafting the collection of the short stories into the coherent space adventure.
Brimmed with typical space opera cliches, themes and interactions, the novel is on par with the adventure type sci-fi stories of that time.
Yet cliffhangers here manage to polarize the whole narrative to the limits. On the protagonists level - we see the diplomatic, spiritual, intellectual and even love-and-hate competition. On the civilizational level: empire versus democracy standoff. On the political level - the issue of coalescing different branches of Magellanic Clouds human kind under the pressure of invasion. The favorite Van Voght mental dominance issues are also at present. Added here are the questions of trust and loyalty, brought in the love affair between the opponents, Shaken’n’Stirred with space battles, intrigues and catastrophes and here you got - old school sci-fi story which is a pleasure to read even today!
May 13, 2025
A fun, fast moving, short book from the 50s. I’ll admit, I picked it up because of the cover.
The writing was pretty jarring. It fits a lot of story in 150ish pages. To do so, transitions between paragraphs are pretty abrupt. One paragraph, a character may be watching a space ship approach - the next, they may be on the spaceship talking to someone, with no transition. This may be common to this style of book, and it’s part of how the book fit so much story in so quickly, but it ultimately made immersion stay light.
Characters also were not overly strong, nor was the world building, and to me this felt like the kind of sci fi where the science was basically magic.
Yet despite all this it propelled me forward to the conclusion. I can’t say I expect anything from this to stick, but I didn’t feel I wasted any of the time I spent on it.
The writing was pretty jarring. It fits a lot of story in 150ish pages. To do so, transitions between paragraphs are pretty abrupt. One paragraph, a character may be watching a space ship approach - the next, they may be on the spaceship talking to someone, with no transition. This may be common to this style of book, and it’s part of how the book fit so much story in so quickly, but it ultimately made immersion stay light.
Characters also were not overly strong, nor was the world building, and to me this felt like the kind of sci fi where the science was basically magic.
Yet despite all this it propelled me forward to the conclusion. I can’t say I expect anything from this to stick, but I didn’t feel I wasted any of the time I spent on it.
February 25, 2024
When I first started reading this book, I was a little taken back by the apparent blandness of the writing, but as I read on I gradually became engrossed and all the concept and characters began to gain life. Maybe there’s a lacks the fortitude of a Asimov and Heinlein and poetic language of a Dick (who cites Vogt as a major influence)still this book possesses a captivating quality that screams classic science fiction. Perhaps the more rawness to the writing can be attributed to a style that was cultivated in the pulps and was a bit outdated by the release of this book, but now I am intrigued to read more Vogt and dive into that era. I would give this book 2.5 stars but instead have rounded up.
March 22, 2023
Evidently a novel created from the material of multiple short stories, this doesn't feel too disjointed because of that, but it does feel muddled and dated throughout. It's one of those science fiction tales that feels rooted in the 50s. In the far future, an Earth battleship led by the aristocratic 'Lady Lorr' attempts to find and subjugate a series of civilisations. Or something like that. There is a lot of political commentary - tribalism and prejudice - which is laudable, but the story lands with a dull thud.
March 24, 2023
Mmmm, boh, mi ha lasciato un po' perplesso sinceramente.
La tecnica narrativa è sempre la stessa ed è vincente: tiene avvinti con continui colpi di scena e sorprese, però forse a sto giro manca il respiro più ampio e di altre sue opere (come il mondo del Non-A o Slan) o l'irrefrenabile fantasia della Città immortale...
Ecco, forse questo romanzo è un po' monco così a sé stante, una bella idea sviluppata non al suo meglio.
La tecnica narrativa è sempre la stessa ed è vincente: tiene avvinti con continui colpi di scena e sorprese, però forse a sto giro manca il respiro più ampio e di altre sue opere (come il mondo del Non-A o Slan) o l'irrefrenabile fantasia della Città immortale...
Ecco, forse questo romanzo è un po' monco così a sé stante, una bella idea sviluppata non al suo meglio.
June 3, 2019
L'inizio di questa storia è piuttosto accattivate, ma lo sviluppo non regge il livello. Manmano vengono adottati degli espedienti sempre meno apprezzabili, come il furto dell'astronave terrestre.
Interessanti sia i lati sociali della storia riguardanti l'integrazione che le invenzioni scientifiche.
Un po’ troppo forti gli umanoidi e noiosa la storia d’amore che va avanti a botte di “ipnotismo”.
Interessanti sia i lati sociali della storia riguardanti l'integrazione che le invenzioni scientifiche.
Un po’ troppo forti gli umanoidi e noiosa la storia d’amore che va avanti a botte di “ipnotismo”.
August 28, 2023
Un libro con un linguaggio talmente prolisso da risultare fastidioso, con dei cambi di scena altamente scorrelati. Una trama che poteva avere grandi potenziali, sviluppata in modo banale.
Per me รจ un grandissimo no.
Per me รจ un grandissimo no.
November 3, 2023
Read it for nostalgic reasons, because I first read it as a kid in the early 1960s. Not as good as I remembered it, but still the whole concept of a miles long star battleship cruising around looking for a lost culture in the Greater Magellanic Cloud is a good one.
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