Fix-up
A fix-up is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame story or other interstitial narration, is written for the new work.
The term was coined by the science fiction writer A. E. van Vogt, who published several fix-ups of his own, including The Voyage of the Space Beagle, but the practice also exists outside of science fiction. The use of the term in science fiction criticism was popularised by the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by Peter Nicholls, which credited van Vogt with the term’s creation.
The name “fix-up” comes from the changes that the author needs to make in the original texts, to make them fit together as though they were a novel. Foreshadowing of events from the later stories may be jammed into an early chapter of the fix-up, and character development may be interleaved throughout the book. Contradictions and inconsistencies between episodes are usually worked out.
Some fix-ups in their final form are more of a short story cycle or composite novel, rather than a traditional novel with a single main plotline. Examples are Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, both of which read as a series of short stories which may share plot threads and characters, but which still act as self-contained stories. By contrast, van Vogt's The Weapon Shops of Isher is structured like a continuous novel, although it incorporates material from three previous van Vogt short stories.
Fix-ups became an accepted practice in American publishing during the 1950s, when science fiction and fantasy—once published primarily in magazines—increasingly began appearing in book form. Large book publishers like Doubleday and Simon & Schuster entered the market, greatly increasing demand for fiction. Authors created new manuscripts from old stories, to sell to publishers. Algis Budrys in 1965 described fixups as a consequence of the lack of good supply during the "bad years for quality" of the mid-1950s, although citing The Martian Chronicles and Clifford D. Simak's City as exceptions.
Examples
Slan by A. E. van VogtThe Book of Ptath by A. E. van VogtThe World of Null-A by A. E. van VogtTriplanetary by E. E. SmithThe Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van VogtThe Martian Chronicles by Ray BradburyThe Dying Earth by Jack VanceI, Robot by Isaac AsimovFoundation by Isaac AsimovCity by Clifford D. SimakThe Mixed Men by A. E. van VogtFoundation and Empire by Isaac AsimovMore Than Human by Theodore SturgeonMutant by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore Second Foundation by Isaac AsimovThe Weapon Shops of Isher by A. E. van VogtEarthman, Come Home by James BlishMen, Martians and Machines by Eric Frank RussellHell's Pavement by Damon KnightLest We Forget Thee, Earth by Robert Silverberg The Outward Urge by John Wyndham A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.The War Against the Rull by A. E. van VogtThe Great Explosion by Eric Frank RussellHothouse by Brian W. AldissSavage Pellucidar by Edgar Rice BurroughsStormbringer by Michael MoorcockRogue Ship by A. E. van VogtThe Beast by A. E. van VogtThe Eyes of the Overworld by Jack VanceCounter-Clock World by Philip K. DickPavane by Keith RobertsThe Silkie by A. E. van VogtThe Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffreyQuest for the Future by A. E. van VogtHalf Past Human by T. J. BassOperation Chaos by Poul AndersonPuzzle of the Space Pyramids by Eando BinderTo Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José FarmerThe Fabulous Riverboat by Philip José FarmerThe World Inside by Robert Silverberg334 by Thomas M. DischThe Godmakers by Frank HerbertTo Ride Pegasus by Anne McCaffreyA World Out of Time by Larry NivenIn the Ocean of Night by Gregory BenfordThe Mercenary by Jerry PournelleIf the Stars are Gods by Gregory Benford and Gordon EklundBorn to Exile by Phyllis EisensteinSpace War Blues by Richard A. LupoffCatacomb Years by Michael BishopThe World and Thorinn by Damon KnightWindhaven by George R. R. Martin and Lisa TuttleThe Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen KingThe Crucible of Time by John BrunnerIcehenge by Kim Stanley RobinsonEmergence by David R. PalmerThe Postman by David BrinSaturnalia by Grant CallinTuf Voyaging by George R. R. MartinLife During Wartime by Lucius ShepardA Different Flesh by Harry TurtledovePrince of Mercenaries by Jerry PournelleMirabile by Janet KaganThe Sword of Destiny by Andrzej SapkowskiCrashlander by Larry NivenAmnesia Moon by Jonathan Lethem Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen BaxterKirinyaga by Mike ResnickRainbow Mars by Larry NivenFrom the Dust Returned by Ray BradburyCoyote by Allen SteeleSister Alice by Robert ReedRoma Eterna by Robert SilverbergThe Carpet Makers by Andreas EschbachAccelerando by Charles StrossFrom the Files of the Time Rangers by Richard BowesCentral Station by Lavie TidharDriftwood by Marie Brennan
Other genres
Scenes of Bohemian Life by Henri MurgerSunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen LeacockThe Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax RohmerThe Inimitable Jeeves by P. G. WodehouseThe Big Four by Agatha ChristieThe Pastures of Heaven and The Red Pony by John SteinbeckThe Unvanquished by William FaulknerThe Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely and The Lady in the Lake by Raymond ChandlerReport on England, November 1940 by Ralph IngersollGo Down, Moses by William FaulknerDandelion Wine by Ray BradburyThree for the Chair by Rex StoutLives of Girls and Women by Alice MunroWho Do You Think You Are? by Alice MunroThe Things They Carried by Tim O'BrienGreen Shadows, White Whale by Ray BradburyTrainspotting by Irvine WelshThroat Sprockets by Tim LucasHaunted by Chuck PalahniukA Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer EganThe Seven Wonders by Steven Saylor