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SCIENCE FICTION MONSTERS
Monsters is a collection of 8 Science Fiction short stories written by A.E. van Vogt; during 1940 and 1950, and assembled by Forrest J. Ackerman in 1965. This compilation of short stories, describe unknown creatures that hanker for men's blood, and seek their destruction.
154 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1948
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About the author
A.E. van Vogt
648 books458 followersAlfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded by some as one of the most popular and complex science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century—the "Golden Age" of the genre.
van Vogt was born to Russian Mennonite family. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German in the home.
He began his writing career with 'true story' romances, but then moved to writing science fiction, a field he identified with. His first story was Black Destroyer, that appeared as the front cover story for the July 1939 edtion of the popular "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine.
van Vogt was born to Russian Mennonite family. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German in the home.
He began his writing career with 'true story' romances, but then moved to writing science fiction, a field he identified with. His first story was Black Destroyer, that appeared as the front cover story for the July 1939 edtion of the popular "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
September 12, 2020
This is a very good collection of van Vogt's short fiction that includes stories from the late 1930s through the early 1950s, the height of his career. Van Vogt revisited many of the titles later to incorporate them into fix-up novels, but I find them superior in their original form in many cases. Not Only Dead Men is a good WWII story, Final Command is an interesting robot intrigue tale, and War of Nerves is part of my favorite of all of his works, The Voyage of the Space Beagle. Enchanted Village is a classic, my favorite of the stories in this book, a Martian story that can stand with Ray Bradbury's Chronicles. Concealment is one of his reality-questioning stories that hasn't aged well compared to the rest, The Sea Thing is one of his rare, early fantasy stories from Unknown, Resurrection, as the title implies, is a good monster story, and the book concludes with Vault of the Beast, a very good, early combination of traditional horror and science fiction themes. I'd call it a classic, too.
The volume itself has an interesting history. Paperback Library published it as Science Fiction Monsters edited and introduced by Forrest J. Ackerman in the mid 1960s and it went through several printings before Zebra reprinted it as The Blal by van Vogt in 1976 with Ackerman's name and ebullient and effervescent and enthusiastic comments omitted. (4SJ made Stan Lee look reserved and shy when he was on a roll, and he was like butter... always on a roll.) The Zebra printings kept the odd "genus" labeling of the titular monsters that Ackerman assigned above the individual story titles (I suspect that was merely an oversight), and also, strangely, deleted the table of contents. The Blal drew many negative comments at the time because many readers bought it without realizing they already owned it under a different title. It's a good collection in either case, but I recommend the earlier iteration with 4E's introduction if you can find it; the man always sounded like he was having fun.
The volume itself has an interesting history. Paperback Library published it as Science Fiction Monsters edited and introduced by Forrest J. Ackerman in the mid 1960s and it went through several printings before Zebra reprinted it as The Blal by van Vogt in 1976 with Ackerman's name and ebullient and effervescent and enthusiastic comments omitted. (4SJ made Stan Lee look reserved and shy when he was on a roll, and he was like butter... always on a roll.) The Zebra printings kept the odd "genus" labeling of the titular monsters that Ackerman assigned above the individual story titles (I suspect that was merely an oversight), and also, strangely, deleted the table of contents. The Blal drew many negative comments at the time because many readers bought it without realizing they already owned it under a different title. It's a good collection in either case, but I recommend the earlier iteration with 4E's introduction if you can find it; the man always sounded like he was having fun.
January 15, 2020
My first foray into one of the pioneers of sci-fi was a mixed bagged. Some stories, RESURRECTION and ENCHANTED VILLAGE in particular were a lot of fun, whereas others, NOT ONLY DEAD MEN, WAR OF NERVES didn't work for me. Below are my thoughts of each of the 8 stories collected in this volume:
Short story #1 - NOT ONLY DEAD MEN, is not very good. Lacked atmosphere and the writing style made it difficult to discern perspective. A mash-up of alien surprise and waterfront horror which missed the mark on both fronts.
Short story #2 – FINAL COMMAND, comprises near exclusively of a dull conversation between leaders of both robot and human factions in a distant future as the two trade verbal blows in a bid to avoid war. Had some trickery but was mostly forgettable.
Short story #3 – WAR OF NERVES, is vintage sci-fi which showed promise thanks to an sustained sense of urgency aboard a seemingly doomed spacecraft destined for a collision with a star but had a tendency to get bogged down with nonsensical tech-speak.
Short story #4 – ENCHANTED VILLAGE, a sole survivor story on a long desolate planet (Mars) in which the single character evolves into one of the ‘monsters’ who’d previously inhabited a living town. A clever and atmospheric story which would be great in longer forms of fiction too. A real highlight of the collection.
Short story #5 - CONCEALMENT, whilst not a ‘monster’ themed story, CONCEALMENT is high on enjoyment and is centred around a lone character suspended in space who tries to end his life when descendants from Earth discover his star/solar storm watching station in deep space. I liked this one.
Short story #6 – THE SEA THING, a monster lurks in the murky waters; an amphibian of legend in the form of a ‘shark God’ (dumb name, cool and well executed concept though) terrorises a group of men in an isolated and atmospheric setting. A horrorifc sheep in wolves clothing theme adds depth to the straight forward scare tactics.
Short story #7 - RESURRECTION, pure sci-fi with a nice twist on the alien invasion / colonization theme. Earth’s long been a desolate place with no life, until aliens arrive to resurrect the dead in a bid to understand the extension level event and the state of humanity proceeding it, however, they didn’t bargain on the resurrection of an almost supernatural-like being... This one would’ve been great as a full length.
Short story #8 – VAULT OF THE BEAST, a spine tingling shape shifting space story reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers which blurs the line between sci-fi and horror.
Short story #1 - NOT ONLY DEAD MEN, is not very good. Lacked atmosphere and the writing style made it difficult to discern perspective. A mash-up of alien surprise and waterfront horror which missed the mark on both fronts.
Short story #2 – FINAL COMMAND, comprises near exclusively of a dull conversation between leaders of both robot and human factions in a distant future as the two trade verbal blows in a bid to avoid war. Had some trickery but was mostly forgettable.
Short story #3 – WAR OF NERVES, is vintage sci-fi which showed promise thanks to an sustained sense of urgency aboard a seemingly doomed spacecraft destined for a collision with a star but had a tendency to get bogged down with nonsensical tech-speak.
Short story #4 – ENCHANTED VILLAGE, a sole survivor story on a long desolate planet (Mars) in which the single character evolves into one of the ‘monsters’ who’d previously inhabited a living town. A clever and atmospheric story which would be great in longer forms of fiction too. A real highlight of the collection.
Short story #5 - CONCEALMENT, whilst not a ‘monster’ themed story, CONCEALMENT is high on enjoyment and is centred around a lone character suspended in space who tries to end his life when descendants from Earth discover his star/solar storm watching station in deep space. I liked this one.
Short story #6 – THE SEA THING, a monster lurks in the murky waters; an amphibian of legend in the form of a ‘shark God’ (dumb name, cool and well executed concept though) terrorises a group of men in an isolated and atmospheric setting. A horrorifc sheep in wolves clothing theme adds depth to the straight forward scare tactics.
Short story #7 - RESURRECTION, pure sci-fi with a nice twist on the alien invasion / colonization theme. Earth’s long been a desolate place with no life, until aliens arrive to resurrect the dead in a bid to understand the extension level event and the state of humanity proceeding it, however, they didn’t bargain on the resurrection of an almost supernatural-like being... This one would’ve been great as a full length.
Short story #8 – VAULT OF THE BEAST, a spine tingling shape shifting space story reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers which blurs the line between sci-fi and horror.
September 10, 2020
This is a very good collection of van Vogt's short fiction that includes stories from the late 1930s through the early 1950s, the height of his career. Van Vogt revisited many of the titles later to incorporate them into fix-up novels, but I find them superior in their original form in many cases. Not Only Dead Men is a good WWII story, Final Command is an interesting robot intrigue tale, and War of Nerves is part of my favorite of all of his works, The Voyage of the Space Beagle. Enchanted Village is a classic, my favorite of the stories in this book, a Martian story that can stand with Ray Bradbury's Chronicles. Concealment is one of his reality-questioning stories that hasn't aged well compared to the rest, The Sea Thing is one of his rare, early fantasy stories from Unknown, Resurrection, as the title implies, is a good monster story, and the book concludes with Vault of the Beast, a very good, early combination of traditional horror and science fiction themes. I'd call it a classic, too.
The volume itself has an interesting history. Paperback Library published it as Science Fiction Monsters edited and introduced by Forrest J. Ackerman in the mid 1960s and it went through several printings before Zebra reprinted it as The Blal by van Vogt in 1976 with Ackerman's name and ebullient and effervescent and enthusiastic comments omitted. (4SJ made Stan Lee look reserved and shy when he was on a roll, and he was like butter... always on a roll.) The Zebra printings kept the odd "genus" labeling of the titular monsters that Ackerman assigned above the individual story titles (I suspect that was merely an oversight), and also, strangely, deleted the table of contents. The Blal drew many negative comments at the time because many readers bought it without realizing they already owned it under a different title. It's a good collection in either case, but I recommend the earlier iteration with 4E's introduction if you can find it; the man always sounded like he was having fun.
The volume itself has an interesting history. Paperback Library published it as Science Fiction Monsters edited and introduced by Forrest J. Ackerman in the mid 1960s and it went through several printings before Zebra reprinted it as The Blal by van Vogt in 1976 with Ackerman's name and ebullient and effervescent and enthusiastic comments omitted. (4SJ made Stan Lee look reserved and shy when he was on a roll, and he was like butter... always on a roll.) The Zebra printings kept the odd "genus" labeling of the titular monsters that Ackerman assigned above the individual story titles (I suspect that was merely an oversight), and also, strangely, deleted the table of contents. The Blal drew many negative comments at the time because many readers bought it without realizing they already owned it under a different title. It's a good collection in either case, but I recommend the earlier iteration with 4E's introduction if you can find it; the man always sounded like he was having fun.
May 15, 2012
This is a very cool little compilation containing some wild, loopy and unpredictable SF tales from Van Vogt, with an emphasis on some of the weird and genuinely alien creatures he often came up with. Some of his most known shorts are in here, but a few oddities that I hadn't read before, too. Forrest Ackerman's introductions to each story are more obnoxious than helpful as they "kindly" reveal stuff about the stories that Van Vogt probably wanted to remain hidden until partway through. Forrest really seems like he was a bit of an arse at times; actually I'm surprised that he worked on this thing as I seem to remember having read about him being very critical of Van Vogt's "anything goes, including the kitchen sink!" attitude to storytelling. Hey, very perceptive of you to have noted that, Mr. Ackerman; it just happens that some of us like a Van Vogt story for this very reason.
April 6, 2015
A surprisingly different take here, for Van Vogt. Having read a number of his novels, I was expecting more of the same: a single, unnaturally intelligent hero who uses supetechnology to overcome a corrupt government. While he often demonstrated unusual and interesting concept in those stories, the plotting and characterization tended to be rather flat.
Yet here, in the short story form, he shows himself capable of variance and depth. We get supernatural horror tales, reverse-role alien/human contact, and even a menacing dystopia that could be the prototype for Philip K. Dick's oeuvre. The dialogue and psychology in some of these tales was unexpectedly complex and insightful compared to the power fantasies of his longer works.
Yet, what still stands out the most are his novel ideas. In one story, a group of aliens who have traveled to Earth lament that they do not have enough energy to take down the menace they followed to our little world because of a recent fight with space pirates. Most sci fi authors of the period would not have thought to give alien characters in a short story such an involved backstory to explain a minor element of the plot of a pulp adventure. Though this type of in-depth worldbuilding has become common in sci fi since Dune, much of it comes from Van Vogt's influence.
I now wish that he could have expanded some of these stories into larger books, because I'm curious what a Van Vogt novel would look like if it was not based around a political power fantasy.
Yet here, in the short story form, he shows himself capable of variance and depth. We get supernatural horror tales, reverse-role alien/human contact, and even a menacing dystopia that could be the prototype for Philip K. Dick's oeuvre. The dialogue and psychology in some of these tales was unexpectedly complex and insightful compared to the power fantasies of his longer works.
Yet, what still stands out the most are his novel ideas. In one story, a group of aliens who have traveled to Earth lament that they do not have enough energy to take down the menace they followed to our little world because of a recent fight with space pirates. Most sci fi authors of the period would not have thought to give alien characters in a short story such an involved backstory to explain a minor element of the plot of a pulp adventure. Though this type of in-depth worldbuilding has become common in sci fi since Dune, much of it comes from Van Vogt's influence.
I now wish that he could have expanded some of these stories into larger books, because I'm curious what a Van Vogt novel would look like if it was not based around a political power fantasy.
May 15, 2020
This is why I read SciFi...good escapist fun! These may be preliminary sketches that Vogt wrote early in his career. Nonetheless, this collection of short stories is prescient, such as the “monster” of Vault of the Beast being borrowed for such movies as the Terminator series. Out of print, by a non existent publisher.
April 7, 2015
A.E. van Vogt was a wonderful writer who delivered complex ideas contained within plots that were often almost incomprehensible, and required from his readers leaps in logic, faith and intellect to make sense of it all. Since his ideas were best expressed in longer formats, the short story form was not his forte. He did, however, write a lot of them, mostly for economic reasons (he and his wife had to eat), but also because he started writing in 1939 and it would be more than two decades before the science fiction novel began to eclipse the science fiction short story. The short form may not have been the best canvas for what he wanted to say, but he managed to write many excellent tales among the average and not-so-good stories. Van Vogt was known for expanding stories into novels, but also for compiling series of stories into a kind of episodic novel, as he did with “The Voyage of the Space Beagle.” I think that was the impression low budget publisher Zebra wanted to invoke with this 1976 collection, an impression reinforced by the editorial decision to omit a table of contents. Actually, it’s just an anthology of disparate stories, mostly from the Forties, built around the notion that they all present different science fiction “monsters.” Every story starts out with the editorial insertion of the “genus” of monster involved: “space” or “avianoid” or “hidden” or whatever, but since most of the stories were not initially written as monster stories, it is a concept often stretched beyond the breaking point. Theme aside, however, about half of the stories are among van Vogt’s best.
In “Not Only Dead Men,” van Vogt gives us the answer to a puzzling nautical mystery (an enigma that would have seemed very possible to wartime readers), and tells the story twice, successfully, from both alien and human points of view. In my opinion “Enchanted Village” is one of van Vogt’s finest short stories, a tale of survival on Mars, but also one of adaptation with an ending that even today is startling. In “The Sea Thing,” van Vogt writes a story that leaves the reader gasping to keep up, requires the reader to fill in the gaps in his narrative through speculation, and writes from a viewpoint that is very much non-human. Van Vogt’s ability to write from an alien point of view is also evident in “Vault of the Beast,” as is his skill in inserting both wonder and terror into an otherwise mundane world. The other four tales in the book, “Final Command,” “War of Nerves,” Concealment,” and “Resurrection,” are all solid tales that showcase van Vogt’s strengths and flaws, but don’t quite rise to the quality of the other four.
Van Vogt is probably not a good writer for the casual reader, or someone who likes to have everything laid out for him or all points explained. He’s also not the best choice for readers who want exquisite characterization or an elegant literary narrative. However, for the reader who is up to the challenge (and enjoys being challenged) van Vogt can be a very rewarding discovery.
In “Not Only Dead Men,” van Vogt gives us the answer to a puzzling nautical mystery (an enigma that would have seemed very possible to wartime readers), and tells the story twice, successfully, from both alien and human points of view. In my opinion “Enchanted Village” is one of van Vogt’s finest short stories, a tale of survival on Mars, but also one of adaptation with an ending that even today is startling. In “The Sea Thing,” van Vogt writes a story that leaves the reader gasping to keep up, requires the reader to fill in the gaps in his narrative through speculation, and writes from a viewpoint that is very much non-human. Van Vogt’s ability to write from an alien point of view is also evident in “Vault of the Beast,” as is his skill in inserting both wonder and terror into an otherwise mundane world. The other four tales in the book, “Final Command,” “War of Nerves,” Concealment,” and “Resurrection,” are all solid tales that showcase van Vogt’s strengths and flaws, but don’t quite rise to the quality of the other four.
Van Vogt is probably not a good writer for the casual reader, or someone who likes to have everything laid out for him or all points explained. He’s also not the best choice for readers who want exquisite characterization or an elegant literary narrative. However, for the reader who is up to the challenge (and enjoys being challenged) van Vogt can be a very rewarding discovery.
January 24, 2021
fantastic story - loved the world-building, the slow and creepy revelation that the visiting species were actually the villainous colonizers & your eventual joy when you realized the revived species won a major battle (and likely, eventually, a larger war) against the colonizing species.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2020
In his exuberant introduction, the inimitable Forrest J. Ackerman expresses not only his own admiration for A.E. Van Vogt, but also quotes a praising review of one of Van Vogt’s stories by none other than a young Ray Bradbury. The theme of this collection is—as the uninspired title specifies—Science Fiction Monsters (giving the impression of a reference book rather than a phenomenal fiction collection) and there are eight of them covering different themes and classified by ol’ Uncle Forry himself.
“Not Only Dead Men” (Genus: Space Monster) – During WWII, a whaling ship equipped with machine guns encounters what at first appears to be a Japanese submarine off the coast of Alaska. Upon closer inspection, the captain and crew are shocked to learn that the vessel is actually an alien spacecraft…
“Final Command” (Genus: Robot Monster) – On a future Earth, a war is brimming between robots seeking equality and their human masters who wish to destroy them, but an alien prisoner of war might hold the key to peace between the two races.
In “War of Nerves” (Genus: Arianoid Monster), the interstellar Earth vessel, Space Beagle, is threatened by a telepathic alien race known as the Riim. After setting the ship on a direct course for a nearby star, the Riim use their powers to spark a mutiny, pitting scientists against the military. Elliott Grosvenor, a scientist with special mental training known as Nexialism, is the only one unaffected by the mental manipulation, but can he devise a way to defeat the Riim before the Space Beagle plunges to its destruction?
“Enchanted Village” (Genus: Martian Monster) describes the travails of Bill Jenner, the last survivor of a doomed expedition to Mars. When Jenner encounters an abandoned village, he soon realizes that it is alive and can adapt to the physiology of its residents… or is it the other way around?
“The Sea Thing” (Genus: Oceanic Monster) drops us on a remote South Pacific island where a shapeshifting creature emerges from the depths, adopts the form of a man, and seeks revenge on a band of shark hunters.
In “Resurrection,” an alien race known as the Ganae arrive on a post-apocalyptic Earth with technology that can revive long dead lifeforms for the purpose of information retrieval. After resurrecting three humans from various time periods—and subsequently killing them—they finally come upon a man with advance capabilities of his own, posing a threat to the Ganae. Uncle Forry provided no genus for this story, but I would suggest Interstellar Monsters.
Saving the best until last, we have “Vault of the Beast” (Genus: Multimorph Monster) in which a shapeshifting android is sent to Earth by an alien race to find a human mathematician capable of liberating a beast, known as Kalorn, from an ancient Martian prison.
The least among these stories, in my opinion, was “Concealment” (Genus: Mystery Monster). A battleship from Earth invades the Dellian star system and encounters a Watcher—a meteorologist who monitors storms in the space lanes and warns approaching vessels. The captain of the ship attempts to interrogate the seemingly feeble Watcher for the location of his homeworld and gets more than she bargained for.
“Not Only Dead Men” (Genus: Space Monster) – During WWII, a whaling ship equipped with machine guns encounters what at first appears to be a Japanese submarine off the coast of Alaska. Upon closer inspection, the captain and crew are shocked to learn that the vessel is actually an alien spacecraft…
“Final Command” (Genus: Robot Monster) – On a future Earth, a war is brimming between robots seeking equality and their human masters who wish to destroy them, but an alien prisoner of war might hold the key to peace between the two races.
In “War of Nerves” (Genus: Arianoid Monster), the interstellar Earth vessel, Space Beagle, is threatened by a telepathic alien race known as the Riim. After setting the ship on a direct course for a nearby star, the Riim use their powers to spark a mutiny, pitting scientists against the military. Elliott Grosvenor, a scientist with special mental training known as Nexialism, is the only one unaffected by the mental manipulation, but can he devise a way to defeat the Riim before the Space Beagle plunges to its destruction?
“Enchanted Village” (Genus: Martian Monster) describes the travails of Bill Jenner, the last survivor of a doomed expedition to Mars. When Jenner encounters an abandoned village, he soon realizes that it is alive and can adapt to the physiology of its residents… or is it the other way around?
“The Sea Thing” (Genus: Oceanic Monster) drops us on a remote South Pacific island where a shapeshifting creature emerges from the depths, adopts the form of a man, and seeks revenge on a band of shark hunters.
In “Resurrection,” an alien race known as the Ganae arrive on a post-apocalyptic Earth with technology that can revive long dead lifeforms for the purpose of information retrieval. After resurrecting three humans from various time periods—and subsequently killing them—they finally come upon a man with advance capabilities of his own, posing a threat to the Ganae. Uncle Forry provided no genus for this story, but I would suggest Interstellar Monsters.
Saving the best until last, we have “Vault of the Beast” (Genus: Multimorph Monster) in which a shapeshifting android is sent to Earth by an alien race to find a human mathematician capable of liberating a beast, known as Kalorn, from an ancient Martian prison.
The least among these stories, in my opinion, was “Concealment” (Genus: Mystery Monster). A battleship from Earth invades the Dellian star system and encounters a Watcher—a meteorologist who monitors storms in the space lanes and warns approaching vessels. The captain of the ship attempts to interrogate the seemingly feeble Watcher for the location of his homeworld and gets more than she bargained for.
August 2, 2017
I enjoyed three of the stories in here.
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June 24, 2019Full review: https://supermonsternovels.com/2019/0...
January 22, 2014
L'esplorazione dei pianeti porterà molte sorprese: alcune indubbiamente positive, altre imprevedibili, altre ancora tremende. Per esempio, che cosa ci fa un mausoleo sigillato su Marte perchè tutti lo evitano e lo temono? E' possibile che in epoche antichissime gli abitanti di un mondo morente abbiano voluto lasciarvi un messaggio che la nostra razza non può assolutamente permettersi il lusso di ignorare? A queste e ad altre diaboliche domande risponde, in un numero mozzafiato, Alfred E. van Vogt, decano della fantascienza americana e padre di alcune delle più convincenti "creatures" che la sf ci abbia regalato dai tempi di Wells. Esseri che non sono soltanto mostri, ma che indubbiamente preferiremmo non incontrare di notte o su un pianeta sconosciuto...
April 8, 2016
Il titolo originale, Monsters, è più aderente al contenuto di questa deliziosa serie di racconti a tema, mostruoso per l'appunto.
Ci sono mostri marini, mostri robotici, mostri alieni e mostri terrestri, ma ognuno dei racconti presenta un nuovo e sorprendete punto di vista e porta al suo (lieto) fine in modo per niente stucchevole.
Ci sono mostri marini, mostri robotici, mostri alieni e mostri terrestri, ma ognuno dei racconti presenta un nuovo e sorprendete punto di vista e porta al suo (lieto) fine in modo per niente stucchevole.
August 15, 2013
Impossibile che Van Vogt scriva storie banali. Anche questi racconti sui "mostri", sebbene di respiro più breve rispetto ai suoi romanzi, non fanno eccezione. Lasciano sempre un sorriso beffardo sulle labbra e la voglia di continuare a leggere per sapere della creatura successiva.
Il voto sarebbe quindi 3 stelle e mezza, se si potesse inserirlo.
Il voto sarebbe quindi 3 stelle e mezza, se si potesse inserirlo.
September 11, 2012
True Sci-fi old school, some badass original story lines. This guy is pre-bradbury. I like it a lot, but if you're not into the genre you may not be interested.
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June 24, 2014A good read.
June 1, 2015
1981 grade B+
short stories
short stories
September 25, 2020
A monster is a person. The last person on earth. Resurrected by aliens, he had to be killed again... And then to be the most interesting.
February 21, 2021
A very clever concept that's all about the rational deductions and world building with no attention paid to character or emotion.
September 4, 2022
An incredible story.
February 2, 2023
Hard to understand if you don't already enjoy classic sci-fi.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews