Author Description

Victory by Lester del Rey is one of the best novellas written by the prolific and highly acclaimed author. It is a captivating, quick-paced and exciting story told in a manner that makes it obviously to the readers that they are reading an allegory of World War II with some twists and turns. The story of Victory features a war hero, a captain who returns to his homeland on Earth after having fought in a war against aliens. The war ended with a victory over the aliens, but upon return the captain sees that victory has come for a huge price – though Earth continues to be a rich planet, it is no longer defended by its inhabitants and Earthmen are no longer able to display any courage, having become weak cowards. However, the captain is in for a surprise – Earthman may seem feeble, but in fact they have a plan. First published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction in August, 1955, Victory is considered to be the best writing by del Rey, but it is only one example of the story-telling genius of the great and prolific science fiction master. Del Rey, whose identity is just as mysterious as some of his stories, became well-known to science fiction fans in the late 1930s, in a decade that was rightly called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. He later on published stories not only in science fiction magazines, but also in fantasy and horror magazines, gaining more and more fans and in 1938 one of del Rey’s stories, Helen O’Loy, was chosen for The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, an anthology of great prestige. Del Rey received numerous awards for his work, such as the Balrog Award in 1985, and, in 1990, the Science Fiction Writers of America awarded del Rey with the Grand Master title.