โ Scribed by A. E. van Vogt
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
2005 Winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Libertarian Science Fiction
The Isher/Weapon Shops novels are one of the very few examples of Golden Age science fiction that explicitly discusses the right to keep and bear arms, specifically guns. Indeed, the motto of the Weapon Shops, repeated several times, is
**
**
THE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THE
RIGHT TO BE FREE
****Van Vogt's guns have virtually magical properties, and can only be used in self-defense. The political philosophy of the Weapon Shops is minimalist. They will not interfere with the corrupt imperial monarchy of the Isher government, on the grounds that men always have a government of the type they deserve: no government, however bad, exists without at least the tacit consent of the governed. The mission of the Weapon Shops therefore is merely to offer single individuals the right to protect themselves with a firearm, or, in cases of fraud, access to a "Robin Hood" alternative court system that judges and awards compensation from large, imperial merchant combines to cheated individuals. Because the population has access to this alternative system of justice, the Isher government cannot take the final step toward totalitarianism.
In F. Paul Wilson's popular Repairman Jack series of novels, the titular hero's weapon shop of choice is "Isher Sporting Goods". The secret basement of Isher Sporting Goods, where the weapons are stored, features a neon sign over the stairs that reads, [i]"The right to own weapons is the right to be free".[/i]
--Wikipedia
Included in this omnibus volume are:
A. E. van Vogt - Empire of Isher 01 - The Weapon Shops of Isher
The novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops and Isher civilization:
"The Seesaw" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July 1941)
"The Weapon Shop" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 1942)
"The Weapon Shops of Isher" (Wonder Stories, February 1949)
and A. E. van Vogt - Empire of Isher 02 - The Weapon Makers
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES
Two classic Van Vogt works, The Weapon Makers and The Weapon Shops of Isher form the complete story of Robert Hedrock and the Empire of Isher. They are about revolution through time travel, the right to bear arms, the end of the universe and the beginning of the next. Library : Science Fiction F
With the publication, in the July 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, of the story Seesaw, van Vogt began unfolding the complex tale of the oppressive Empire of Isher and the mysterious Weapon Shops. This volume, The Weapon Shops of Isher, includes the first three parts of the saga an
"unputdownable!" Susie Moloney, author of *The Thirteen* As Egypt Fisher learns, there's a power to be mined in keeping secrets, and lies quickly take on a life of their own. 1. The boathouse community of Cootes Paradise is under siege. The squatters' shacks that line the shores of Dundas Marsh st
In the world of Kelewan Mara of the Acoma must lead her followers through terror and peril while surviving the ruthless Game of the Council. Striking deals with rebels, avoiding assassinations and trading her heart for power all in order to restore her house of the Acoma.
SUMMARY: The world on the other side of the rift: Kelewan, a land seething with political intrigue and deadly conspiracies. Following the opulent panoply of Daughter Of The Empire and the dazzling pageantry of Servant Of The Empire comes the resounding conclusion to the Empire trilogy.Besieged by
In the world of Kelewan Mara of the Acoma must lead her followers through terror and peril while surviving the ruthless Game of the Council. Striking deals with rebels, avoiding assassinations and trading her heart for power all in order to restore her house of the Acoma.