C:\Users\John\Downloads\R\Roger Zelazny - Introduction to Unicorn Variations

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Roger Zelazny - Introduction to

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31/12/2007

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Introduction

Essay Intro To Unicorn Variations Collection

Roger Zelazny

Here is another collection of things written by me, drawn from various points
over the past two decades. Some I recall fondly; others I had all but
forgotten.
In reviewing the stories included here, I was surprised by the number of tales
written to order, i.e., to go behind a magazine's cover painting (of which
more anon) or to qualify for inclusion in a theme anthology.
I pause to reflect upon the phenomenon of the theme anthology: In the Old Days
(circa forties and fifties) collections of science fiction stories were just
collections of science fiction stories, none of them necessarily resembling
any of the others in major particulars. In recent years, however, collections
of stories possessed of a common theme have become the rule in the science
fiction anthology. I cannot look upon writing such stories as a bad thing.
Some very good work has appeared in theme anthologies. But such volumes might
fairly be viewed as something of a constraint upon writers.
And thinking back, I began writing for magazines in the days when they were
considered family publications—meaning that one did not use profanity beyond
occasional hells and damns, describe sexual acts, have one's characters
discuss politics in any but the broadest terms or indulge in religious
speculation.
Earlier this year I visited the Soviet Union in the company of some other
people connected with science fiction. We met with a number of Russian and
Ukrainian writers and editors. When we were told that they preferred to
publish stories with happy endings, stories containing a minimum of violence,
our first reaction was a knowing nod. Really.
There are always restrictions. I do not feel any imposed upon me now in the
sense of editorial censorship. But there are restrictions in the form of my
own limitations as a writer, and there are self-imposed restrictions having to
do with story structure and matters of my temperament and taste. I am free to
work within these limits. When I write the first sentence to any story,
though, I surrender a lot more freedom. I have set a course. I have restricted
myself even further. Freedom of expression must also bow to the necessity for
clear communication, as many of science fiction's failed experiments of the
sixties demonstrate.
Gore Vidal has suggested that a writer has a limited cast of characters—his
own repertory company, so to speak—and that, with different makeup, they enact
all of his tales. I feel he has a point there, and that this constitutes yet

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another limitation (though I like to feel that over the years one can pension
off a few, and I do try to seek out new talent).
All of these things considered, it is not surprising that one can detect
echoes, correspondences and even an eternal return or two within the work of a
single author. The passage of time does bring changes, yea and alas; but
still, I would recognize myself anywhere. In this sense, any writer's total
output might be looked upon as a series of variations…
All of that to justify a title.

~~oOo~~

I want to thank all of those people who've offered me employment in hardware
stores, but I'd really prefer to keep on writing.

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