Agent of Vega is a science fiction novel by American writer James H. Schmitz, published in 1960. It is a collection of stories that originally appeared separately in magazines. It was republished in 2001 as Agent of Vega & Other Stories.
The tale began in 1949 as a longish short story published in the SF magazine Astounding. In 1960 it appeared as a book, along with three loosely related stories set in the same time and context: "The Illusionists", "The Truth About Cushgar" and "The Second Night of Summer".
In the far future, humans are building a "Confederacy of Vega" to replace the original fallen Empire of Earth. The new empire includes some mutated humans and also some non-humans. Enemies are also a mix of humans and aliens and it is very much space opera, featuring Vega's 'zone agents'. Combat involves both physical weapons and telepathic attacks. It is similar to E. E. Smith's Lensman series.
Unlike the six Lensman books, the four stories are only loosely connected. Each features a completely different set of enemies. The non-human telepath Pagadan is the main connecting link, appearing a secondary character in the first story, the main character in "The Illusionists" and makes a brief appearance in "The Truth About Cushgar".
The book is currently available as Agent of Vega & Other Stories. This consists of the original four stories plus "The Custodians", "Gone Fishing", "The Beacon to Elsewhere", "The End of the Line", "Watch the Sky", "Greenface" and "Rogue Psi". None of these are set in the same universe as the Vega tales.
Galaxy's Floyd C. Gale rated the original edition 4.5 stars out of five: "What places Schmitz's work above run-of-the-mill S.O. [space opera] is the quality as well as breadth of his imagination, but most all his touch for characterization".[1]
Referencesedit
^Gale, Floyd C. (June 1961). "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf". Galaxy Science Fiction. pp. 94–97.
Sourcesedit
Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, MD and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. p. 308.
agent, vega, science, fiction, novel, american, writer, james, schmitz, published, 1960, collection, stories, that, originally, appeared, separately, magazines, republished, 2001, other, stories, first, edition, coverauthorjames, schmitzcover, artistw, poelcou. Agent of Vega is a science fiction novel by American writer James H Schmitz published in 1960 It is a collection of stories that originally appeared separately in magazines It was republished in 2001 as Agent of Vega amp Other Stories Agent of VegaFirst edition coverAuthorJames H SchmitzCover artistW I van der PoelCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreScience fictionPublisherGnome PressPublication date1960Media typePrint hardcover Pages191The tale began in 1949 as a longish short story published in the SF magazine Astounding In 1960 it appeared as a book along with three loosely related stories set in the same time and context The Illusionists The Truth About Cushgar and The Second Night of Summer In the far future humans are building a Confederacy of Vega to replace the original fallen Empire of Earth The new empire includes some mutated humans and also some non humans Enemies are also a mix of humans and aliens and it is very much space opera featuring Vega s zone agents Combat involves both physical weapons and telepathic attacks It is similar to E E Smith s Lensman series Unlike the six Lensman books the four stories are only loosely connected Each features a completely different set of enemies The non human telepath Pagadan is the main connecting link appearing a secondary character in the first story the main character in The Illusionists and makes a brief appearance in The Truth About Cushgar The book is currently available as Agent of Vega amp Other Stories This consists of the original four stories plus The Custodians Gone Fishing The Beacon to Elsewhere The End of the Line Watch the Sky Greenface and Rogue Psi None of these are set in the same universe as the Vega tales Contents 1 Reception 2 References 3 Sources 4 External linksReception editGalaxy s Floyd C Gale rated the original edition 4 5 stars out of five What places Schmitz s work above run of the mill S O space opera is the quality as well as breadth of his imagination but most all his touch for characterization 1 References edit Gale Floyd C June 1961 Galaxy s 5 Star Shelf Galaxy Science Fiction pp 94 97 Sources editChalker Jack L Mark Owings 1998 The Science Fantasy Publishers A Bibliographic History 1923 1998 Westminster MD and Baltimore Mirage Press Ltd p 308 External links editAgent of Vega title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Prologue by Mercedes Lackey to the 2001 edition part of Baen Free Library Book review Archived 2007 02 16 at the Wayback Machine part of Baen Free Library Another book review nbsp This article about a 2000s science fiction novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Agent of Vega amp oldid 1168870963, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
