The Snow Queen (Joan Vinge) читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги

The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge

To the Lady, who gives, and who takes away.

“…strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

—Matthew 7:14

“You shall have joy, or you shall have power, said God; you shall not have both.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the inspiration and artistry of Hans Christian Andersen, whose folk tale “The Snow Queen” gave me the seeds of this story; and Robert Graves, whose book The White Goddess provided me with the rich Earth in which it grew. And I would like to thank those people who helped me weed, and tend, and harvest the fruits of my labor: my husband Vernor, and my editors Don Bensen and Jim Frenkel, without whose perceptive and sensitive suggestions this book would not have grown as strong or as truly. I would also like to thank my father, for his love of science fiction; and my mother, for teaching me a woman’s strength and giving me the freedom to become.