Transfinite: The Essential A. E. Van Vogt

by A.E. van Vogt

Contains the most popular and important stories from van Vogt's wide and varied career.


13 • The Man in the Labyrinth • essay by Joe Rico
15 • Alfred E. van Vogt • essay by Hal Clement
19 • Black Destroyer • [Space Beagle] • (1939) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
47 • The Monster • (1948) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt (variant of Resurrection)
63 • Film Library • (1946) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
81 • Enchanted Village • (1950) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
93 • Asylum • (1942) • novella by A. E. van Vogt
135 • Vault of the Beast • (1940) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
155 • The Ghost • (1942) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
185 • The Rull • [Rull] • (1948) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
207 • Recruiting Station • (1942) • novella by A. E. van Vogt (variant of Masters of Time)
277 • A Can of Paint • (1944) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
289 • The Search • (1943) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
315 • Dear Pen Pal • (1949) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
321 • The Harmonizer • (1944) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
329 • The Great Judge • (1948) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
333 • Far Centaurus • (1944) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
351 • Secret Unattainable • (1942) • novella by A. E. van Vogt
389 • Future Perfect • (1973) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
409 • The Great Engine • [Pendrake] • (1943) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
437 • Dormant • (1948) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
451 • The Sound • [Rull] • (1949) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
471 • The Rulers • (1944) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
487 • Final Command • (1949) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
505 • War of Nerves • [Space Beagle] • (1950) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
523 • Don't Hold Your Breath • (1973) • shortstory by A. E. van Vogt
541 • Discord in Scarlet • [Space Beagle] • (1939) • novelette by A. E. van Vogt
573 • Afterword (Transfinite: The Essential A. E. van Vogt) • essay by Rick Katze

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Collections

576 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2003

About the author

Alfred 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.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 stars. I have not read all of the stories in this "best of" collection so the rating/review below is only for the listed stories listed (I will update the rating/review as I read additional stories). Overall, I enjoyed these stories and would recommend the collection (at least those listed below). I certainly intend to read the balance of these stories at some point.

The Monster (3.0 stars): Pretty cool story about an alien race visiting a long dead Earth and finding more than they bargained for. This was my least favorite of the stories I read and I was still pretty good.

Enchanted Village (3.5 to 4.0 stars): Another surpisingly good short story about the last survivor of the first manned expedition to Mars. I kind of saw the ending coming, but it was still a very good story.

Far Centaurus (4.0 stars): Great short story that describes the 500 year journey of four astronauts from Earth to Alpha Centauri, accomplished by means of an "Eternity Drug" that puts the crew to sleep for 50 years at a pop and from which the awake periodically to check the instruments before returning to sleep. The first half of this story was really amazing and would have gotten 5 stars as the atmosphere created by Van Vogt of the 500 year journey to Alpha Centauri was superb. The end of the story was a little weaker but still good enough to get 4 stars overall.

Dormant (5.0 stars): This was a brilliant short story that is hard to describe without giving spoilers so I will just say it is about aliens, war, communication and the dangers of atomic weapons. I loved it.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A.E. Van Vogt was one of my favorite authors as a teen and into young adulthood, some fifty years ago. As I explored the possibilities present by my kindle, I decided to get kindle editions of some of those books that I grew up on, with A.E. Van Vogt at the top of the list.

This was one of the first books I purchased and read, a fine representative collection of his works, that I feel in my opinion would get the persons unfamiliar with his writings hooked. In this book were stories both familiar and ones I never encountered before. 'A Can of Paint' was an old favorite along with 'The Monster', which is part of a bunch of works written around the space craft 'Space Beagle' story-lines. Beside a good number of stories about the Space Beagle, we also encounter a couple of stories about the 'Rull'. What I didn't see were stories from the 'Null-A' or the 'Weapon Shop' story-lines, which I also purchased and re-enjoyed.

These stories are dated, especially when it came to atomic energy usage, but well written and clever in plot and well worth any money invested in its purchase.

[Jon]

Reading the 1941 Retro Hugo nomination for Best Novelette:

“Vault of the Beast” by A.E. Van Vogt

3.5 stars (almost got four stars for the mathematics theme but prime numbers have expanded quite a bit since 1940).

[Victor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish it . Black destroyer was good but that Japanese archeologist was a total humbug . Then everything started going downhill.The problem is that there are ideas and situations but the stories are told in a manner that is not compelling . There is no sense of personality in anybody and there is no description that creates any sense of place. Then the killing stuff is that the author just does not know when or how to finish it . Not my kind of author …

[CRAB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear Pen Pal.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lurid teeth-clenched prose...and the ideas! Jeez, they seem huge (even now). "The Search" (excellent)--also part of Quest For the Future (like "Film Library" and "Far Centaurus"--maybe the first sci-fi story I ever read!). "A Can Of Paint" funny--though I'd've liked it better if it had been a relic left there by an alien long ago. Problem: I was looking forward to re-reading "Seesaw"--but it's not in here; however, settled for "Recruiting Station"--a variation on a theme. Lukewarm (at best) intro by Hal Clement. The guy on the book cover says it: "crude dark colors...dreamlike conviction." And talk about proto-Dick!

[Tim Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the foundations of modern SF, and worth reading for that alone.

Some of the stories feel dated because of the style of writing, but some remain remarkably fresh. They're all intelligent and thought-provoking.

I hope this brings Van Vogt some of the credit he deserves among modern readers.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I don't like many of the stories in this collection. But I still give four stars because it contains one of the best short stories I've ever read -- "The Monster"! An absolutely brillant piece with sheer imagination and a haunting end.

[Jonah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of A.E. van Vogt short stories -- has all the "Space Beagle" stories excepting "M33 in Andromeda", which is an unusual omission. Wonderful sample of early science fiction.

[Alec Doughty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A E Van Vogt is easily my favorite author from the Golden Age of Science Fiction. An anthology of some of the best short-stories i have ever read, many of which would make great movies.

[Chinook]

Only The Monster (aka Resurrection)

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars.