The Weapon Shops of Isher

The Weapon Shops of Isher is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt, first published in 1951. The novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops civilization: The Weapon Shops of Isher and its sequel The Weapon Makers detail the workings of Isher civilization and the adventures of Robert Hedrock, The One Immortal Man, as he keeps it in balance in the face of attempts by the Weapon Makers, who hav... more

The Weapon Shops of Isher is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt, first published in 1951. The novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops civilization: The Weapon Shops of Isher and its sequel The Weapon Makers detail the workings of Isher civilization and the adventures of Robert Hedrock, The One Immortal Man, as he keeps it in balance in the face of attempts by the Weapon Makers, who have forgotten their purpose as a permanent opposition, and the strong government of the Empress, Innelda Isher, to undermine each other. The Weapon Shops provide the populace with defensive weapons and an alternative legal system. 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... less