Sheckley Robert biography. Robert Sheckley short biography
Robert Sheckley was born in New York. He graduated from a technical college and took an elective course in literature from Irwin Shaw. Sheckley graduated from New York University in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and published his first story a year later. Robert Sheckley is a recognized master of humorous and satirical fiction. Many Russian science fiction fans are among the most beloved classical works name Sheckley's novels "The Exchange of Minds" and "Ticket to the Planet Tranai", the stories "Guardian Bird", "Ghost V" and many others.
The success and stable reputation of a brilliant humorist and satirist brought Sheckley precisely short stories, mostly written in the 1950s. Although for the most part the work of Sheckley the narrator is limited to provocative, sparkling and rather harmless humor, disturbing notes are clearly audible in the ostentatious cloudless "fun", especially in those works where the author questions the ability of a person to cope with internal demons of self-destruction. In The Ultimate Weapon (1953), the explorers on Mars, seduced by the local superweapon (which had already worked on the deserted planet), forgot that it was intended, apparently, absolutely against everyone, including those who found it; the same idea is central to The Gun That Doesn't Boom (1958). An absolute (in the sense of self-destructive) weapon can also be a simple human aggressiveness, which the "moralists" are trying to channel, giving the murder the form of a legal contract - "Order to Kill" (1954) - or mass sports and leisure in the future, as in one of the most Sheckley's famous short stories "The Seventh Victim" (1953); after the film adaptation of the story, Sheckley published a novelization of the script - "The Tenth Victim" (1966), and 20 years later he returned to the theme in the sequel novels: "The First Victim" (1987), "Hunter / Victim" (1988). graceful story The Infinite Western (1976) is dedicated to the demythologization, in the spirit of M. Crichton's film Westworld, another bloody American entertainment.
Many stories about contact and aliens are permeated with softer humor: “Untouched by human hands” (1952; Russian 1968 - “Where no man has gone before”), “The smell of thought” (1953), “Leech”. Cultural geocentrism when encountering exotic forms of extraterrestrial life can lead to tragedy - as happened in the story "Monsters" (1953). Probably the most curious starship in SF, whose crew members are also his constituent parts, forming together a serviceable biomechanism, is drawn in the story "The Specialist" (1953). Another inexhaustible source of inspiration for Shackley the satirist and humorist is robots, terrestrial and alien: "Mutiny of the boat" (1955), "Special prospector" (1959), "My double is a robot" (1973) and others; a cybernetic dystopia in which criminals are caught and punished by an electronic "vulture" depicted in The Guardian Bird (1953); The story "The Thief in Time" (1952) is also devoted to the problems of criminology of the future. In the joking "Battle" (1954), Armageddon represents the final battle of the cyberdemons against the cyberangels; Unlike traditionally folklore supernatural creatures in "Demons" (1953), the hero of the story "Accountant" (1953) - a boy from a family of sorcerers - dreams, it turns out, of a more prosaic profession of "normal" people. With typical Robert Sheckley brilliance and wit, the delicate issues of sex and eroticism are addressed in the stories: The Perfect Woman (1954), Pilgrimage to Earth (1956), The Language of Love (1957), And Do People Do It? (1972), "Do you feel anything when I do this?".
Robert Sheckley published about twenty novels and about the same number of collections of short stories. He also used the pseudonyms Phillips Barbe, Ned Lang and Finn O'Donnevan. Two collected works of the writer were published in Russian - the first was published by the Polaris publishing house (in 12 volumes), and the second - by the EKSMO publishing house.
In April 2005, Sheckley came to Ukraine at the invitation of the organizers of the Portal science fiction convention. There he felt ill and was placed in private clinic. After the course of treatment, the writer was sent to his homeland, where he was placed in one of the best hospitals. The writer underwent an operation for an aneurysm of cerebral vessels, after which his condition somewhat stabilized. He even planned to visit Ukraine again next year.
Recently, however, the writer's health has been steadily deteriorating, and on December 9, Robert Sheckley passed away in a hospital in Puffkeepsie, New York.
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Spouse: Yai Rothnwell (divorced, one child), Barbara Scadron (divorced, one child), Ziva Mira Kvitney (divorced, two children), Abba Shulman (divorced, two children), Gail Dane (two children)
Biography
Robert Sheckley - famous American science fiction writer, author of several hundred fantasy stories and several dozen science fiction novels and short stories. Master of the ironic humorous story. One of the most original comedians science fiction. Early in his career, he wrote under the pseudonyms Finn O'Donnevan and Ned Lang.
Robert Sheckley was born in 1928 in New York to an assimilated Jewish family; grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey, then moved back to New York.
He began to read early, from childhood he loved to read and dreamed of becoming a writer. In his youth, he was fond of the works of such authors as Robert Heinlein, A. Van Vogt, John Collier. After graduation, he attended New York University, majoring in humanitarian disciplines. He served as a clerk in the army in Korea. He returned to the United States due to a conflict with his superiors. For some time he worked at a metallurgical plant.
In the early 1950s, Shackley began writing his first short stories and, submitting them to science fiction magazines, met with a very warm welcome from editors and readers. Over the next ten years, he wrote several hundred short, witty fantasy stories. As Sheckley admitted in one of his last video interviews (2004), those were the happiest years of his life. He rented first a room and then a one-room apartment in a quiet location in downtown New York. He wrote several stories a week, printing them on typewriter, and on his scooter "Lambretta" delivered them to the editorial offices. The writer's phone was bursting with editorial calls.
Once, a well-known editor of a science fiction magazine, after reading several stories by an aspiring author, said to the young Sheckley: "I will buy every word of yours, everything you write, because I will sell everything you write." Sheckley said that these were some of the most pleasant words for him. (From autobiographical memoirs).
"Why fantasy?" he was often asked afterwards. The answer was the same: "Only she gives the creator complete freedom." (Video interview with R. Sheckley)
The young talented author does not go unnoticed by the editors of the most popular in those years in the United States of the new monthly science fiction magazine "Galaxy" (originally called "Galaxy Science Fiction"). Sheckley begins to print constantly in it, receiving not one, but 3-4 cents per word; and with each new release gaining more and more popularity. Thus, the writer's fees for one story of 5,000 words amounted to $ 200, which, in terms of today, is about $ 2,000.
In 1954, Sheckley received the "Best Debut" award, the highest title awarded in the science fiction genre to the most promising young author. Many venerable writers and critics recognized Robert Sheckley as the best science fiction writer of the 50s and 60s.
In the 60s, he actively published his fantastic stories in the most famous magazines, including the literary columns of Playboy magazine, which was very popular at that time and paid large fees to its authors (thanks to the huge circulation in those years - more than 7 million copies only). in USA).
Sheckley is quickly gaining recognition and fame precisely as a master of the short story. However, the continuation of the "star" time of magazine prose in the United States in the 60s was prevented by the mass distribution of television. With the advent of televisions in every home, magazine circulation dropped, many magazines closed altogether, and short-form writers were mostly out of work. "Galaxy" reduces rates to authors to 1.5 cents per word, begins to appear irregularly, then not monthly, but 6 times a year; until it closes.
Sheckley tries his hand at big literary forms, going for it because of the demands of the market. However, here, in a genre that was not so beloved for himself, the writer was less successful. He also wrote several detective stories, mostly under pseudonyms.
Sheckley also writes 15 episodes for the television series Captain Video and 60 five-minute novels in the Behind the Green Door series. They were read on the radio famous actor Basil Rathbone, who played the famous detective in the American TV series Sherlock Holmes.
Sheckley collaborated with such science fiction writers as Roger Zelazny, Harry Harrison, Harlan Ellison and others. He was a close friend of the science fiction satirist William Tenn. In the 1990s, Robert Sheckley worked on the script for the computer game Netrunner.
In total, during his life, Robert Sheckley wrote 15 novels and more than 400 short stories and novellas, which made up 13 author's collections. His works have been translated into many languages of the world, amounting to more than 65 books.
In the 70s, the writer traveled a lot, sailed, and was the editor of Omni magazine.
In 1991, Robert Sheckley received the Daniel Gallan Award for his contribution to the science fiction genre. In 1998, in St. Petersburg, he was awarded the "Wanderer" award for his contribution to the field of humor and science fiction.
Sheckley has been married five times. He has a sister, Joan Klein; son Jason from his first marriage; daughter Alice Kvitney from the second; daughter Anna and son Jed from the third; as well as three grandchildren. IN last period Robert Sheckley was married to writer Gail Dana and lived in Portland. Sometimes he came to Russia, because there were his main admirers and admirers.
In 1999, Shackley befriended his admirer, the Italian writer Roberto Quaglia (Vice-Chairman of the European Science Fiction Society since 2002), with whom he visited often and for a long time in Genoa; and with whom he traveled a lot around the world, gave interviews, participated in talk shows and appeared on television. With him, Sheckley planned to write two joint books. They were started but not completed due to the death of the writer.
Robert Sheckley has always been a passionate smoker, and in last years life - also a gourmet. At his speeches, as an exception, he was allowed to smoke anywhere and everywhere, including even in fire hazardous places - libraries, printing houses, etc.: the writer could not spend even ten minutes without a cigarette.
In recent years, he lived in Ibiza with his fifth wife, and subsequently - alone. At this time, Sheckley wrote little, published almost nothing, lived modestly, was ill and often needed money.
Mindful of his popularity in Russia and Ukraine (where science fiction has always been developed, and where he repeatedly came by invitation, as an honored guest); in the last years of his life, Robert Sheckley considered the possibility of settling on the Black Sea coast - an inexpensive, warm and romantic place, conducive to creativity. However, these plans of the writer were not destined to come true.
In the spring of 2005, during a visit to Ukraine for the literary convention "Portal", Sheckley's health (due to a cold, overexertion and advanced age) deteriorated sharply, and he was hospitalized. The writer stayed in Ukraine, his medical insurance, most likely, was overdue at the time of hospitalization. Due to the seriousness of the disease, it was decided to place him not in a free state, but in an expensive private clinic. The decision was correct, but Sheckley was not able to pay for her treatment on his own, and his debt ($10,000) was paid by a well-known Ukrainian politician. Also, a fundraising was organized for him, which helped him (in a serious condition, under the supervision of Ukrainian doctors) to return to his homeland, to the United States. His daughter Anna came to Ukraine for him.
Robert Sheckley could not recover and passed away on December 9, 2005, at the age of 78, in a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. He died from a complication of a cerebral aneurysm, two weeks after a not-too-successful operation.
Bibliography
Cycles of works:
Gregory and Arnold / The AAA Ace Series
Cycle about secret agent Stephen Dane / Stephen Dain
"Death Race / Dead Run ("Dead Run", "Suicide Man")"
"50th caliber / Caliber .50"
"Live Gold / Live Gold"
"White Death / White Death"
"Time to spare / Time Limit ("Time Limit")"
Victim / Victim
"The Seventh Victim"
The Tenth Victim ("The 10th Victim")"
"First Victim / Victim Prime"
"Hunter/Victim"
The Story of the Red Demon / The Millennial Contest
So
"Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming"
“If you weren’t lucky with Faust / If at Faust You don’t Successed (“If you don’t succeed in the role of Faust”)”
"One Demon Theater / A Farce to Be Reckoned With"
Detective Agency "Alternative" / The Alternative Detective
"Detective agency "Alternative" / The Alternative Detective"
"Between Scylla and Charybdis / Draconian New York"
"Soma Blues / Soma Blues"
Miracle coordinates / Dimensions of Miracles
"Coordinates of Miracles / Dimensions of Miracles"
"A New Journey to the Coordinates of Miracles / Dimension of Miracles Revisited ("Coordinates of Miracles: Second Journey", "Second Journey to Coordinates of Miracles")"
City of the Dead / The City of the Dead
"City of the Dead / The City of the Dead"
"It's All Right / Weather Sirens"
"Perseus / Perseus"
Novels:
"Corporation "Immortality" / Immortality Inc. ("Time Killer, rev. Immortality Delivered")"
“Status Civilization / The Status Civilization (“Omega!”, “Too Civilization”, “Status-Civilization”)”
"The Journey of Joenes"
"Mindswap / Mindswap"
"Agent X, or The Game of X"
"Optimal Option / Options (Choice, Choice Options; Survival Conditions)"
The Alchemical Marriage of Alastair Crompton
Dramocles: An Intergalactic Soap Opera ("Dromocles: Intergalactic Soap Opera")"
Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Bottled Brains // Coauthor: Harry Harrison
"Bloody Harvest / Alien Harvest"
"The Laertian Gamble"
"A Call to Arms"
"God's house / Godshome"
"The Grand Guignol of the Surrealists"
Tales:
"Ticket to Tranai / A Ticket to Tranai"
"Four Elements / The Humors ("Join Now", under the pseudonym Finn O "Donnevan)"
"Man overboard / The Man in the Water"
"Meeting of the Minds"
"In a Land of Clear Colors"
"Hunters of the stone prairie / Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie"
"Minotaur Maze"
"Myryx / Myryx"
"The Heat of Alien Stars / Alien Starswarm ("The Alien is Hot as Stars")"
"The Scheherazade Machine"
"George and the boxes / George and the Boxes»
Collections:
"Where no human has gone before / Untouched by Human Hands"
"Citizen in Space"
"Pilgrimage to Earth"
"Ideas: No Limits / Notions: Unlimited ("Fantasy Without Limits")"
"Shop of infinity / Store of Infinity"
"Shards of Space / Shards of Space"
"The People Trap"
“The same to you - doubly / Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? ("The Same to You Doubled")"
"The Robot Who Looked Like Me"
“So people do THAT? / Is THAT What People Do?
"The Scheherazade Machine: Six Stories / The Scheherezade Machine"
Uncanny Tales
"Ancient Curiosity Shop"
"In dark dark space"
Robert Sheckley, known as the most influential science fiction writer of the twentieth century, was born in Brooklyn on July 16, 1928 to a businessman's family. The writer managed to release own biography. Robert spoke of his mother as a simple girl Rachel from the village.
She taught at primary school Saskatchewan school. The father of the science fiction writer, David, dreamed of firmly gaining a foothold in the business and, despite frequent failures, found his place. His last and main place of work was the insurance company of Schiff Terhew. There he received the position of secretary-treasurer.
Childhood and youth
Four years after the birth of Robert, the Sheckley family lived in New York, and then settled in the state of New Jersey, in the city of Maplewood. By origin, his parents were Polish Jews who lived in Warsaw until 1980, but towards the end of the 19th century they had to immigrate to America.
During summer holidays grandfather was taking Robert and his sister Joan to the farm. Future Writer grew up as an inquisitive child who loved adventure, books and jazz. Sheckley read books, Sturgeon and Kuttner. He dreamed of becoming a recognized best-selling author and began his first work on a typewriter.
Attempts to try himself as a writer were unsuccessful, so Robert continued to read and study at school. When Sheckley was sixteen years old, he decided to live separately from his parents, but this did not lead to anything. Young Robert had to graduate and then get a job.
He made his living behind the counter in the store and with tools in the garden. In the 1940s, a man goes to serve in Korea. This is where his writing career begins. Sheckley took over editing the regiment's newspaper.
After returning from Korea, Robert entered the University of New York, where he began to study humanitarian sciences. The future science fiction writer combined university classes with lectures. In addition to a close passion for literature, Robert played the guitar and even managed to earn a living from it. Circumstances developed in such a way that he had to leave the university and get a job at a factory.
Literature
In 1951, Robert Sheckley offered a collaboration to Imagination magazine. The editor-in-chief liked the fantasy stories and they were all published. In the future, the writer enthusiastically spoke about working days in the office of the magazine, where he worked from morning to evening.
For a long time the science fiction writer worked on the story “The Shop of Infinity”. In 1959, the dystopia is published and gains popularity among amateurs. philosophical reflections about how to be happy.
Sheckley created stories, novels and fantasy scripts that were used on television and radio. Viewers loved Captain Video and Beyond the Green Door. In 1960, the popularity of Robert Sheckley began to gain momentum. He successfully sold all his works to the popular Galaxy.
Robert Sheckley's novel "Status Civilization" 1965 also becomes significant for the work of Robert Sheckley. "Galaxy" published the story "Mind Exchange", and then a year later the revised book version.
Robert Sheckley's novel The Exchange of Minds In 1968, the story "Coordinates of Miracles" was published. It is believed that the worldwide fame of the science fiction writer begins with her. The book about space travel by Tom Camordi fully demonstrates the writing talent of Sheckley, whose view of the world order and the meaning of existence attracts the attention of readers.
Later, during a visit to Russia, Sheckley was pleasantly surprised that his work made such a splash. It is known that the images of some of the heroes of the second part of the "Coordinates of Miracles" Robert wrote with real people, Russian fans. fantasy novel translated into several languages and has become a classic in the world of fantasy. Almost the whole book can be divided into quotations - the humor is so subtle and the idea is fresh.
Robert Sheckley's novel Coordinates of Miracles Each work of a science fiction writer is a special world of extraordinary philosophy, reflections on good and evil, the search for the meaning of human existence. Any hero of Sheckley's work is a unique multifaceted personality that is revealed with each new page.
In 2000, Shackley met Roberto Quaglia, whose name is widely known in the literary community. They even had joint work planned, but due to Sheckley's death, they remained unfinished.
Personal life
The personal life of the classic of American fiction turned out to be stormy. Shackley met his first wife, Barbara Scardon, while studying at the university. She gave birth to his first child, Jason, but the marriage broke up.
The second marriage was also unsuccessful. Wife Ziva gave birth to Robert's daughter Alice, but the opinions of the newlyweds differed when they had to choose a place of residence. The townswoman Ziva refused to follow her husband, who wanted to settle in Ibiza.
In the new place, Robert Sheckley got together with Abby Shulman. Ibiza became a source of inspiration for the writer, but the relationship with the new woman did not work out. Another loud scandal was the last for the couple: Sheckley collected all his works and went on a trip to the Far East.
The creative path of the writer was filled with difficulties due to drug addiction. At times it seemed to him that in this way the work of the brain was stimulated, new facets were opened. In 1990, upon his return to London, Shackley gave up the use of hallucinogens. In New York, he came up with the concept of Omni magazine, which he headed for a couple of years before his next marriage to writer Jay Rosebell.
However, this marriage was not the last. the main woman and the journalist Dana Gable became his inspiration. During life together Sheckley continues to work hard and fruitfully with his fifth wife.
Despite the number of marriages, Robert Sheckley spent the last years of his life alone, was sick a lot and devoted less time to creativity. In 2005, Sheckley flew to Ukraine and was rushed to the hospital there.
Death
The flight to Ukraine turned out to be disastrous for the elderly science fiction writer. Sheckley felt unwell and was hospitalized. The cost of treatment was more than $10,000. The illness came as a surprise to the writer, so fans organized a charity fundraiser to pay for expensive procedures. Part of the amount was contributed by a Ukrainian politician, whose name remained a secret.
When Robert Sheckley's condition improved, he returned to New York with his daughter Anna. But there the doctors were powerless. At the age of 77, the famous science fiction writer died. The cause of death, according to experts, was a brain aneurysm.
Quotes
“What nature took millions of years to achieve, man can grind to powder in one day!” (Mind exchange)
“It is easier to understand the universe than yourself” (Coordinates of Miracles)
“Love is a wonderful game that starts with fun and happiness and ends with marriage” (Mind Swap)
“It's the little things that make history. The present consists of a huge number of negligible factors that were formed in the past. If one more factor is introduced into the past, then a different result will inevitably be obtained in the present ”(Injured)
“Drops of pure experience are mined from the rubbish of being” (Coordinates of being)
Bibliography
- 1954 - “Where no man has gone before”
- 1955 - “Untouched by human hand”
- 1955 - "Citizen in Space"
- 1957 - "Pilgrimage to Earth"
- 1960 - “Ideas: no limits”
- 1960 - "Shop of infinity"
- 1962 - "Shards of space"
- 1968 - "Trap on a man"
- 1978 - "The Robot That Looked Like Me"
Robert Sheckley short biography American writer outlined in this article.
Robert Sheckley short biography
Robert Sheckley was born July 16, 1928 in NYC. Childhood of the future writer took place in the town of Maplewood, New Jersey.
After graduation, he studied at New York University, majoring in the humanities. He served as a clerk in the army in Korea. He returned to the United States due to a conflict with his superiors. For some time he worked at a metallurgical plant.
From the early 1950s, Sheckley began writing his first short stories, most of which were published in Galaxy magazine.
In total, during his life, Robert Sheckley wrote 20 novels and more than 400 short stories and novellas, which made up 13 author's collections. His works have been translated into many languages of the world, amounting to more than 65 books.
In the 70s, the writer traveled a lot, sailed, and was the editor of Omni magazine.
In 1991, Robert Sheckley received the Daniel F. Gallun Award for his contribution to the science fiction genre. In 1998, in St. Petersburg, he was awarded the "Wanderer" award for his contribution to the field of humor and science fiction.
Sheckley has been married five times. He has a sister, Joan Klein; son Jason from his first marriage; daughter Alice Kvitney from the second; daughter Anna and son Jed from the third; as well as three grandchildren. In the last period of his life, Robert Sheckley was married to the writer Gail Dana (eng. Gail Dana) and lived in Portland.
In the spring of 2005, during a visit to Ukraine for the literary convention "Portal", Sheckley's health deteriorated sharply, and he was hospitalized.
Robert Sheckley died December 9, 2005 in a hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, from a complication of a cerebral aneurysm, two weeks after a not-too-successful operation.
Of his works, in addition to short stories, the most famous novels are Immortality Inc. (1958), The Status Civilization (1960) and Journey Beyond Tomorrow (1960). ”, another translation of the title is “The Walk of Joenis”, 1962), the novella “Mindswap”, “Coordinates of Miracles” (“Dimension Of Miracles”) and “Ticket to the Planet Tranai” (“A Ticket to Tranai” ). Together with Roger Zelazny, he wrote a series of three books "Bring Me The Head Of Prince Charming", "If At Faust You Don't Succeed") and "The play must go on" ("A Farce To Be Reckoned With").
Briefly about the article: Robert Sheckley is one of the most beloved foreign science fiction writers in our country. The love was mutual: until his death last year, Sheckley often came to former USSR. Read in Fantastic World about the author of Coordinates of Miracles and many stories as kind and wise as Sheckley's own smile.
SEARCH FOR THE LAXIAN KEY
The Melancholy Journeys of Robert Sheckley
All he had to do was run. There was enough space in space for those who did not take root on Earth.
Robert Sheckley, "The Native Problem"
There are many great science fiction writers, but if you try to name the very best offhand, then one of the first to come to mind is the name of Robert Sheckley. When did we become friends with him? It's hard to remember. It seems he has always been with us. His sparkling groovy humor, familiar even from shabby Soviet books, his imagination and love of life so ignited us that behind all this we often did not notice the face of the author himself and his smile ...
However, this smile cannot be called joyful. Rather, on the contrary. In one of Sheckley's stories, we find ourselves on a planet completely littered with gray matter called tangriz. It is produced by ancient machines, which can be turned off only with the help of some Laxian key. But that's the trouble, that no one has ever seen this key. But it is worth finding it - and the planet is waiting new life.
This metaphor can be applied to the life and work of Sheckley himself. Meditating over earthly problems, he tried to find his Laxian key. It did not work: either the key does not exist, or it is impossible to find it. This is the main paradox of Sheckley's attitude. That's why there's so little fun in his smile.
There is a key, but it is not. Amazing, isn't it?
The burden of man
Sheckley gained particular popularity in our country. He turned out to be one of the few American authors who Soviet time actively translated and published. This is due to the fact that, being a US citizen, Sheckley organically could not digest the American reality surrounding him. His works are primarily a reaction to modernity and its trends. Sheckley's work is very reflective. These are not Asimov's aloof fantasies and Garrison's political doctrines not put on the shelves - these are just reflections. Sheckley is not inclined to draw conclusions, he usually leaves them at the mercy of the reader, and the thinking reader. The works of the author, as well as his personality, are very extraordinary. You never know what surprise he has in store for you. The writer loves unexpected plot moves, practical jokes and puzzles - when even a very smart reader drops his glasses in surprise and blinks his eyes.
There are a lot of stories and novels in Sheckley's creative folder, but, according to the writer himself, he got the greatest pleasure from working on stories. It was numerous stories that brought Sheckley worldwide fame, putting his name in a row the greatest masters small form. Perhaps there is no reader in the world who would be left indifferent by these little masterpieces of Sheckley. Topics that concern the writer are relevant to this day. He serves them in his signature style - relaxed and light, flavoring with a great portion of humor. These stories could be called humorous fiction, but their humor is like tickling: in fact, it turns out that what we laugh at so much is not funny at all, and sometimes it’s just so scary. One could call it satire, but it is not noticeable that the writer exposes or ridicules anyone. This is not humor or satire - this is Sheckley, unlike anyone and incomparable to anyone.
The heroes of most of Sheckley's works are people who are somehow dissatisfied with their role in this world. Either they do not have enough personal qualities to understand and accept the surrounding reality, or the reality itself turns out to be cruel to them. The future in his stories usually has its source in modern Western civilization, the basic principles of existence of which have been brought to a grotesque absolute. Earth - unbearable noise and bustle big cities, who are suffocated by an overabundance of drone inhabitants who kill time in pursuit of low-class entertainment. Everything is sold and everything is bought. Do you have an inferiority complex? Are you looking for exploits? No problem! Pay - and you "here and now" will feel the taste of dashing adventures (" Hangover"")! You need real love? Nowadays, nothing is impossible! Pay and enjoy! (" Pilgrimage to Earth», « Knight in gray flannel»)
No, a world in which even the most intimate feelings can be expressed in terms of money - this world is not for Sheckley. That is why his heroes are fleeing the Earth, fleeing without looking back and regret. In this regard, the story of One at last”, where the writer manages to create a memorable and strong image of a person seeking salvation from both people and civilization, and finding shelter on a small asteroid lost in space. Sheckley loves to send his heroes to asteroids, he shows that even there a person can be happy if his life is inspired by some meaning (“ On the shore of calm waters», « The burden of man»).
Space is the setting for many of the writer's works. How do his characters end up in space? In different ways: some of their own free will, others under duress or drawn by the force of circumstances. Most of the stories that take place far from Earth begin similarly: a spaceship falls like a bolt from the blue on some planet, after which the brave travelers enter into relationships with the local population, as a rule, natives. However, the standard plot serves for Shackley only as an excuse for the most unexpected plot twists. Sometimes he himself is not averse to laughing merrily at stereotyped thinking, as, for example, this happens in unusually witty stories " The problem of the natives" And " Extortionist". Often other worlds do not lend themselves to earthly logic, the customs of distant planets turn out to be so incomprehensibly absurd that you don’t always understand whether the writer, out of sheer mischief, skillfully plays on the reader’s nerves, or whether there are some real associations behind all this (“ monsters», « Victim from space"). Sheckley does this and that. And even if you don't always know what in question, - all the same, you get great pleasure from the writer's imagination, which is in full swing, and from the inimitable humor - an integral part of almost any work by Sheckley.
Sheckley is by nature a romantic, and most of his characters are also romantics. In the iron and rational world of the future, they are trying to find something bright and special, however, usually either a misunderstanding or disappointment comes out. Human values and beliefs do not always stand the test of the cosmos. It would seem that, strong love suddenly turns into its own parody (" Language of love"), and the dream of an ideal society - misogyny (" Ticket to Tranai"). Sheckley does not believe in utopias, but believes in ideal love, the search for which so many of his fantastic stories are devoted to.
Reluctant adventurers
Playing with death is the leading leitmotif of many of Sheckley's works. The world of the future is cruel, and in order to achieve something worthwhile in it, you need to put on the line the most precious thing you have - life. A whole system of rules is created to kill and be killed, and the death of a person turns into a magnificent theatrical show, designed to entertain and at the same time reduce social tensions (“ Race», « risk premium», « Endless Western"). However, life is also a game. To play by its rules, you do not need to sign a contract: and according to own will a person will expose himself to a hundred dangers, in the vague hope of finding a gold mine and finding happiness (“ Special Prospecting»).
Tenth victimA man runs through the streets of the city. Behind him is a heavily armed killer. Passers-by, smiling, turn around after them. Some cheer up the victim, others - the pursuer. Someone is betting. The voice of the television commentator is breaking:« Ladies and Gentlemen! The game is drawing to a close! Look, he's chasing him! «. Yes, it is precisely such entertainment that can await us in the near future, according to the forecasts of Robert Sheckley. The writer returned to the topic of "bloody games" again and again. So the story Seventh victim"turned into a novel" Tenth victim". In the same vein, the writer created several more action-packed works: First victim», « hunter prey"... The theme of hunting a man is not new in modern science fiction, but, perhaps, it was in Sheckley that she found the most perfect embodiment. No wonder the motives of his works have been repeatedly used by Hollywood. |
The twentieth century raised civilization to a new stage of development: for the first time, man was afraid of his own power. He realized that he could create weapons that would shake the planet. Of course, Sheckley could not stay away from such a topic. It was he who was destined to create stories-symbols, piercing to the point of shivering, directed against human greed and militarism (“ Ultimate Weapon», « The gun that doesn't bang”), it belongs to him winged words who are in the story " Try to prove»The last person left on Earth carves with a hammer on the cave wall - a warning to all future conquerors:
“I have risen from the planetary mud, naked and defenseless. I started making tools. I built and destroyed, created and destroyed. I created something stronger than myself, and it destroyed me. My name is Man, and this is my latest creation."
However, Sheckley did not shy away from the purely entertaining genre with a fantasy bias. I would especially like to highlight the works of the writer about demons and similar otherworldly forces (“ Demons», « Desire Limit”), as well as his collaboration with Roger Zelazny (“ Bring me the head of a handsome prince»).
Master's handwriting
Sheckley's creative originality is even more evident in his major works- short stories and novels. Here he develops his favorite themes and techniques, sometimes bringing them to unthinkable extremes. In almost every novel, one can feel the author's obsession with psychology and philosophy. All this pours out on the pages of his books as an unstoppable stream of surrealistic absurdity. The world of dreams and the subconscious is the element of surrealism. The logic of dreams is absurd and unpredictable, as is the action of many of Sheckley's works, the reading of which will require courage and endurance from the reader, for the writer will play a game with him - strange, but insanely exciting. Trying to find logic, you can get even more confused in the labyrinth of the writer's fantasy, feel even more uncomfortable than Carroll's Alice at the Hatter's tea party.
Sheckley loves to juggle human mind and bodies, often in his works voices belonging to who knows who are heard - and immediately begin to shine with Ciceronian eloquence. Confusing, often meaningless dialogue is one of the writer's favorite tricks. The heroes ask the same question ten times over and over, competing with each other in the art of logic or in its absence. The best example is the novel Wonder coordinates and especially its "sequel" Return to the coordinates of miracles».
Sheckley's novels are better the more action they have. However, the author himself understood that large form- not his element. A striking example of this is the novel " Status civilization”, where a bright, dynamic plot turns into an unexpected and paradoxical ending - original, but causing sincere bewilderment. However, for many it will be a matter of taste. Many of Sheckley's novels can be safely recommended to connoisseurs of good action-packed fiction. They are written lively, intelligibly and with a great sense of humor. This and his cycle about hunters and victims, which began with the novel " Tenth victim", and a great variation on the theme of psychology" Four forces", as well as an indispensable guide to traveling in other people's bodies - novels" Corporation "Immortality"" And " Mind Swap»...
| Fiction by Robert Sheckley |
The Victim Trilogy The 10th Victim (1965) First Victim (Victim Prime, 1987) Hunter Prey (Hunter/Victim, 1988) Bring Me the Head of Prince Charming (1991) If you are not lucky with Faust (If at Faust You Don "t Succeed, 1993) One Demon Theater (A Farce to Be Reckoned With, 1995) Wonder coordinates Dimensions of Miracles (1968) New Journey to the Coordinates of Miracles (Dimension of Miracles Revisited, 1998) Selected novels and short stories Corporation "Immortality" (Immortality Inc., 1958) Status Civilization (1960) The Journey of Joenes (1964) Mind Swap (Mindswap, 1966) Optimal Option (Options, 1975) The Alchemical Marriage of Alastair Crompton (1978) Dramocles (Dramocles: An Intergalactic Soap Opera, 1983) Minotaur Maze (1990) Myryx (Myryx, 1990) Scheherazade Machine: Six Stories (The Scheherezade Machine, 1991) Heat of Alien Stars (Alien Starswarm, 1990) God's House (Godshome, 1999) The Grand Guignol of the Surrealists (2000) |
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Robert Sheckley is the undisputed classic. It is a pity that in his homeland, in the USA, he is now far from being as popular as before. Entertaining fiction is increasingly crowding out genre samples designed to give the reader rich food for their own reflections on the future and present. It is all the more pleasant that in our country the work of the great writer and great humanist Robert Sheckley still attracts the closest attention.
