"Sam Moskowitz - Doorway Into Time" - читать интересную книгу автора (Moskowitz Sam)

previously written prototypes of the kind of stories he had in mind.
Campbell's "Modern" (When "modern" is used in quotes at certain places in the
text it is not intended to denigrate, but to recognize that "modem" science fiction is
more than a quarter of a century old.) science fiction laid special em-phasis on
certain things:
The way stories were written. He demanded a much higher degree of
sophistication in the average story he pub-lished than had generally been true of
science fiction. This applied not only to the stylistic proficiency but also to the
manner in which ideas were introduced. Indirection became a characteristic of the
literary method of modern science fiction. It has been said, with some justice, that
what science fiction called "good writing" merely followed the main-stream vogue of
the thirties and that even today, 26 years later, "modern" science fiction reads more
like the SATUR-DAY EVENING POST and COSMOPOLITAN of the depression
era that avant garde fiction.
Greater emphasis on the psychological. How would the people of tomorrow's
world be affected by the inevitable technological and social changes? What would
their everyday behavior be like under such radically changed circumstances? What
situations would provide drama in the innumerable fabricated futures to come?
The importance of philosophy on cultural action. Every civilization lives according
to a certain firm or diffuse philosophy. Evaluation was to be given not only to the
future phi-losophies of man, but to the bizarre and infinite hypothetical philosophies
of alien creatures.
The exploration of the possibility of strange powers in various members of the
human race. Most directly involved were humans who were a physical or mental
mutation, but comprehensively telepathy, levitation, teleportation, telekin-esis were
embraced as well as the entire gamut of what have become known as Fortean
phenomena—the catalogue of inexplicable happenings which Charles Fort believed
diso-beyed the "laws" of science.
A broadening of the policies of science fiction to include not only social protest
of politics, business, war and Western civilization's mores (to which it had always
been recep-tive) but protest and criticism of religion, which had been, like sex,
carefully sidestepped. Modern science fiction later extended its scope to cover sex,
but not through Campbell, who did not care to run stories on that subject in the
pages of his magazine.
This did not rule out the exploration of future technology, particularly atomic
power, but such themes proved to be in the distinct minority. Science fiction became
less interested in illuminating the road of science than in circling like a trapped moth
around the hypnotic lure of literary pretension.
All these elements had been present in science fiction pre-viously, but their
appearance was haphazard. Campbell knew what goals he had in mind and the
circumstances made it possible for him to get authors to conform to his desires.
Though there were many markets opening up for science fiction writers in 1939,
as new titles multiplied, the country was still very much in a state of financial
depression and an editor could command many willing typewriters. ASTOUND-ING
SCIENCE FICTION was the leading magazine in sales and prestige when Campbell
took over. It consistently paid top rates (which was one cent a word and slightly up).
While other science fiction magazines also listed one cent a word as their rate in
WRITER 'S DIGEST, it often was less for the longer lengths, particularly novels, and
payment was not always on acceptance.
Campbell tirelessly fed writers ideas, not only for plots, but for unique