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The War Against the Rull
When A.E. van Vogt wove several of his classic stories of The Rull into a novel, he created a work of enduring popularity in the science fiction field.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
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525 people want to read
About the author
A.E. van Vogt
648 books457 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 - 30 of 69 reviews
October 30, 2020
The War Against the Rull is certainly one of van Vogt's most popular fix up novels, second only perhaps to The Voyage of the Space Beagle. I had already read most of the stories comprising the book, but van Vogt manages to bridge them nicely and create something I think that's more than just the sum of its parts.
Strangely, the Rull, humanity's implacable and enigmatic extra-galactic enemy, don't actually make an appearance until about halfway through the book. Yet, in my mind, the most memorable part of the story are the initial chapters, with Trevor Jamieson, chief scientist, bureaucrat and adventurer extraordinaire marooned on the desolate planet of Eristan II along with a deadly Ezwal. Much like Harry Harrison's classic Deathworld 1 (published one year later in 1960), Eristan II is full of lethal surprises at every turn, whether from hungry mega predators, deadly fauna or the planet itself.
The story is remarkably coherent by van Vogt standards, yet still full of his trademark exuberance. The only real head scratcher are the chapters focused on Jamieson's son, Diddy, a nine year old boy who goes on a kind of ritual walkabout to discover the source of "the sound" in his city. van Vogt gives few clues as to what that could be, and later on proves to be the humming/vibrations from an enormous atomic pile/reactor beneath the city. Weird. Diddy has some of his own adventures after being kidnapped by Rull spies. van Vogt's go to trope, mind control, also plays an important role, as does telepathy. Mind control here is accomplished via line patterns, written on any surface by the enemy, which inexplicably trigger some forced behavior on any human that glimpses it.
Not generally known for his eloquent prose, nevertheless there are some choice lines to be found.
"Human beings have created what they call civilization, which is actually merely a material barrier between themselves and their environment, so vast and unwieldy that keeping it going occupies the entire existence of the race. Individually, man is a frivolous, fragile, inconsequential slave, who tugs his mite at the wheel, and dies wretchedly of some flaw in his disease-ridden body. Unfortunately, the monstrous, built-up weakling with his power lusts and murderous instincts is the greatest danger extant to the sane, healthy races of the universe. He must be prevented from contaminating his betters."
The last story, tacked on at the end of this edition, The First Rull, is ironically van Vogt's last Rull story, published in 1978. Unfortunately, it's a dud, adding virtually nothing new to our knowledge of the Rull nor how their conflict with humanity began.
"He felt a sharp sadness as he came to that thought. It was a little hard for the rational men of the Earth Administration to realize that periodically the enemy was not the Rulls but other men. It was a weakness in men, for which there could never be an adequate reckoning. For entire groups of people, or for individuals, to sink below the necessary standards of courage and good sense -perhaps some day an adequate punishment would be devised in some superhuman court of justice. On that distant day, the accused would stand before the bar, and the charge would be: self-pity, excessive grief, inability to feel shame or guilt, failure to live up to human potentiality. Barbara Whitman, in her own confused fashion, had realized something of that truth. And so, she had stayed to take the risks with him. But it was a mixed-up solution for a problem that could exist only in a world of fallen people. Sometimes, as now, awareness would come to Jamieson of how vast was the number of human weaklings in a universe menaced by the remorseless Rull enemy."
"The will to death is in all life. Every organic cell ecphorizes the inherited engrams of its inorganic origin. The pulse of life is a squamous film superimposed on an under lying matter so intricate in its delicate balancing of different energies that life itself is but a brief, vain straining against that balance. For an instant of eternity a pattern is at tempted. It takes many forms, but these are apparent. The real shape is always a time and not a space shape. And that shape is a curve. Up and then down. Up from darkness into the light, then down again into the blackness."
Strangely, the Rull, humanity's implacable and enigmatic extra-galactic enemy, don't actually make an appearance until about halfway through the book. Yet, in my mind, the most memorable part of the story are the initial chapters, with Trevor Jamieson, chief scientist, bureaucrat and adventurer extraordinaire marooned on the desolate planet of Eristan II along with a deadly Ezwal. Much like Harry Harrison's classic Deathworld 1 (published one year later in 1960), Eristan II is full of lethal surprises at every turn, whether from hungry mega predators, deadly fauna or the planet itself.
The story is remarkably coherent by van Vogt standards, yet still full of his trademark exuberance. The only real head scratcher are the chapters focused on Jamieson's son, Diddy, a nine year old boy who goes on a kind of ritual walkabout to discover the source of "the sound" in his city. van Vogt gives few clues as to what that could be, and later on proves to be the humming/vibrations from an enormous atomic pile/reactor beneath the city. Weird. Diddy has some of his own adventures after being kidnapped by Rull spies. van Vogt's go to trope, mind control, also plays an important role, as does telepathy. Mind control here is accomplished via line patterns, written on any surface by the enemy, which inexplicably trigger some forced behavior on any human that glimpses it.
Not generally known for his eloquent prose, nevertheless there are some choice lines to be found.
"Human beings have created what they call civilization, which is actually merely a material barrier between themselves and their environment, so vast and unwieldy that keeping it going occupies the entire existence of the race. Individually, man is a frivolous, fragile, inconsequential slave, who tugs his mite at the wheel, and dies wretchedly of some flaw in his disease-ridden body. Unfortunately, the monstrous, built-up weakling with his power lusts and murderous instincts is the greatest danger extant to the sane, healthy races of the universe. He must be prevented from contaminating his betters."
The last story, tacked on at the end of this edition, The First Rull, is ironically van Vogt's last Rull story, published in 1978. Unfortunately, it's a dud, adding virtually nothing new to our knowledge of the Rull nor how their conflict with humanity began.
"He felt a sharp sadness as he came to that thought. It was a little hard for the rational men of the Earth Administration to realize that periodically the enemy was not the Rulls but other men. It was a weakness in men, for which there could never be an adequate reckoning. For entire groups of people, or for individuals, to sink below the necessary standards of courage and good sense -perhaps some day an adequate punishment would be devised in some superhuman court of justice. On that distant day, the accused would stand before the bar, and the charge would be: self-pity, excessive grief, inability to feel shame or guilt, failure to live up to human potentiality. Barbara Whitman, in her own confused fashion, had realized something of that truth. And so, she had stayed to take the risks with him. But it was a mixed-up solution for a problem that could exist only in a world of fallen people. Sometimes, as now, awareness would come to Jamieson of how vast was the number of human weaklings in a universe menaced by the remorseless Rull enemy."
"The will to death is in all life. Every organic cell ecphorizes the inherited engrams of its inorganic origin. The pulse of life is a squamous film superimposed on an under lying matter so intricate in its delicate balancing of different energies that life itself is but a brief, vain straining against that balance. For an instant of eternity a pattern is at tempted. It takes many forms, but these are apparent. The real shape is always a time and not a space shape. And that shape is a curve. Up and then down. Up from darkness into the light, then down again into the blackness."
March 28, 2017
„Войната срещу Рулите” е роман обединение от пет по-стари разказа на автора, редактирани и съшити с бели конци, но това не разваля качеството на произведението, поради простата причина, че разказите винаги са били по-силната страна на ван Вогт (който не вярва да прочете например „Чудовището” в читанката, за да разбере за какво говоря). Книгата не прави изключение и ако се разглежда просто като сборник от разкази за оцеляването на враждебни планети, вместо като роман с хлабав сюжет, удоволствието от четенето е гарантирано. А ако го беше пуснал като сборник, щеше да застане редом до берсеркерите на Саберхаген.
Човечеството се е разселило из целия Млечен път и е изградило контакти с редица братя по разум, когато на ръба на галактика се сблъсква с Рулите – безмилостна раза, също завладяла своята галактика и търсеща нови хоризонти. Тревор Джеймисън е единственият човек, който знае, че звероподобните изуоли притежават развит разум и целенасочено пречат на завоюването на родната им планета Карсън. Той трябва да се пребори с предразсъдаците и болката от човешки загуби и да убеди човечеството да започне мирни преговори със силната им раса от телепати, за съвместни бойни действия срещу Рулите.
На фона на тази ситуация имаме отделни епизоди с Джеймисън, двама различни изуоли, синът на Джеймисън и няколко други чуждопланетни форми на живот, всичките обединени от оцеляването в агресивна среда или срещу интелигентен враг.
Както казах, тук частите са по-добри от цялото и финалът е лееко наивен, за сметка на отделните епизоди. Това ми беше първата прочетена книга от автора и все още ми стои като чудесен пример за военна фантастика, достоен да застане до вече споменатите Берсеркери, „Звездни рейнджъри” и многотомника на Бюджолт.
Човечеството се е разселило из целия Млечен път и е изградило контакти с редица братя по разум, когато на ръба на галактика се сблъсква с Рулите – безмилостна раза, също завладяла своята галактика и търсеща нови хоризонти. Тревор Джеймисън е единственият човек, който знае, че звероподобните изуоли притежават развит разум и целенасочено пречат на завоюването на родната им планета Карсън. Той трябва да се пребори с предразсъдаците и болката от човешки загуби и да убеди човечеството да започне мирни преговори със силната им раса от телепати, за съвместни бойни действия срещу Рулите.
На фона на тази ситуация имаме отделни епизоди с Джеймисън, двама различни изуоли, синът на Джеймисън и няколко други чуждопланетни форми на живот, всичките обединени от оцеляването в агресивна среда или срещу интелигентен враг.
Както казах, тук частите са по-добри от цялото и финалът е лееко наивен, за сметка на отделните епизоди. Това ми беше първата прочетена книга от автора и все още ми стои като чудесен пример за военна фантастика, достоен да застане до вече споменатите Берсеркери, „Звездни рейнджъри” и многотомника на Бюджолт.
January 19, 2025
I am not reading that copy; the one with the dumb arse red codpiece in the middle of the cover. Mine is the Panther edition with the cool SF artwork and the complete inability to credit the cover artist, which Panther is sadly notorious for.
This novel is actually a series of stories that were mashed together as a fix up. The individual stories were interesting AS stories, but the attempt to mash them up into a novel really did not work as well.
The war against the Rull, as a volume, barely mentions Rull for a large part of the story. I did enjoy the Erwas telepathic alien concept but I was not blown away here.
I have to say, that van Vogt's lack of zoological knowledge and complete ineptitude as imagining any believably, did contribute to making the reading experience humorous.
This is reviewed on YouTube, with the correct cover :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pk9Q...
This novel is actually a series of stories that were mashed together as a fix up. The individual stories were interesting AS stories, but the attempt to mash them up into a novel really did not work as well.
The war against the Rull, as a volume, barely mentions Rull for a large part of the story. I did enjoy the Erwas telepathic alien concept but I was not blown away here.
I have to say, that van Vogt's lack of zoological knowledge and complete ineptitude as imagining any believably, did contribute to making the reading experience humorous.
This is reviewed on YouTube, with the correct cover :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pk9Q...
October 19, 2019
Alfred Etan van Vogt (1912-2000) was one of the great science fiction writers for the pulps in the 40s. And this book, published in 1959, is comprised of six short stories van Vogt wrote for "Astounding Science Fiction" from 1942 to 1948. As such, it's somewhat disjointed. Our hero is Jamieson, who finds himself in the war against the Rull, an insectlike species who seem to be intent on the conquest of the galaxy. He gets help from another alien species-the ezwal, huge six-legged critters, who turn out to be telepathic. I enjoy reading these stories from the 40s. They're fun, although dated--they have gone back to using ticker-tape typewriters in the far future. And an extremely sexist attitude toward women is certainly on display. I'll give this one *** mainly because the ending is a cheat. The horrible Rull are defeated all too easily. Although this is not one of Van Vogt's better efforts, it's important to remember A.E. van Vogt was one of the most influential SF writers from the 40s. Somewhat bizarre--the Canadian-born van Vogt moved to LA, where he met L. Ron Hubbard and became influenced by Dianetics, but he's a great original.
October 19, 2019
The exposition is all over the place in this one. The plot makes sense once you finish the book, but while you are reading it you are mostly confused with why everything is happening the way it does. To give an example, you are told there is an alien invasion going on for decades, only after you pass the midpoint. Up until then, you are left wondering what the heck the alien telepath and the assassination attempt have to do with each other.
In media res is one thing, failing to establish the most fundamental aspects of a setting is another. The exposition infodumps most of the character mentality and the effects of technology in a way that doesn’t feel organic. You are reading the book and at completely random moments the author will feel like stopping the plot for shoehorning a long exposition about stuff he had forgotten to introduce up until that point. This shows mostly when you are told what the Rull or the Ploia are. They are vital in the story and they should have been established from the first pages instead of in the second half.
Another problem is the misuse of multiple points of view. You are following the human side most of the time, but there are chapters where the Izual or the Rull are the protagonists. Although this helps to see how each race sees the world differently from the others, it doesn’t last enough to have an impact. It is slapped on.
The last problem is the resolution to the conflicts. It comes through cheap means, often feeling juvenile and unfit of the intellect the enemy possesses. The beasts which the human soldier is facing in the early parts are bested in ludicrous ways before you even get to like or hate them (one by eating bladed grass, the other by licking a blade until it dies by its own bloodlust). Even the Rull, the main enemies, are fooled through mind-control, which has nothing to do with strategy. It doesn’t help when the soldier can predict the outcome of all these plans before he even sets them in motion, further making it seem like all aliens have a predictable one-track mind and are thus easy to defeat.
As a whole, there are lots of good ideas but their presentation is unacceptably lacking.
In media res is one thing, failing to establish the most fundamental aspects of a setting is another. The exposition infodumps most of the character mentality and the effects of technology in a way that doesn’t feel organic. You are reading the book and at completely random moments the author will feel like stopping the plot for shoehorning a long exposition about stuff he had forgotten to introduce up until that point. This shows mostly when you are told what the Rull or the Ploia are. They are vital in the story and they should have been established from the first pages instead of in the second half.
Another problem is the misuse of multiple points of view. You are following the human side most of the time, but there are chapters where the Izual or the Rull are the protagonists. Although this helps to see how each race sees the world differently from the others, it doesn’t last enough to have an impact. It is slapped on.
The last problem is the resolution to the conflicts. It comes through cheap means, often feeling juvenile and unfit of the intellect the enemy possesses. The beasts which the human soldier is facing in the early parts are bested in ludicrous ways before you even get to like or hate them (one by eating bladed grass, the other by licking a blade until it dies by its own bloodlust). Even the Rull, the main enemies, are fooled through mind-control, which has nothing to do with strategy. It doesn’t help when the soldier can predict the outcome of all these plans before he even sets them in motion, further making it seem like all aliens have a predictable one-track mind and are thus easy to defeat.
As a whole, there are lots of good ideas but their presentation is unacceptably lacking.
January 7, 2016
I first read this book around 40 years ago and nominated it as Reader Pick for the Space Opera Group. Imagine my surprise when it was randomly chosen. Anyway, did it live up to my recollections or had things moved on too much since it was written 60 years ago ?
Well I gave it four stars, and did in fact enjoy the book. One could tell that it had been written and originally published (in Astounding ?) as a series of short stories before being re-badged as a novel, but hey, that is still being done today, albeit in a different medium (John Scalzi and the Old Man's War series, excellent that it is, springs to mind). So this was not really a problem. Yes it is dated, some of the interaction between the main character and his wife is very 50s, but I suppose if one can accept that then it is still a fast paced and interesting book.
Are my four stars too much, well probably, but some of my mark has to be the nostalgic factor of re-reading one of the first sci-fi books I read, and so I will stick with it. I will be interested to see what other people make of my choice and my thoughts.
Well I gave it four stars, and did in fact enjoy the book. One could tell that it had been written and originally published (in Astounding ?) as a series of short stories before being re-badged as a novel, but hey, that is still being done today, albeit in a different medium (John Scalzi and the Old Man's War series, excellent that it is, springs to mind). So this was not really a problem. Yes it is dated, some of the interaction between the main character and his wife is very 50s, but I suppose if one can accept that then it is still a fast paced and interesting book.
Are my four stars too much, well probably, but some of my mark has to be the nostalgic factor of re-reading one of the first sci-fi books I read, and so I will stick with it. I will be interested to see what other people make of my choice and my thoughts.
October 14, 2014
‘Man has conquered Space and spread throughout the galaxy. Many civilisations on several thousand planets are joined in a vast confederation whose very existence is now threatened by The Rull – a paranoid, murderous race from beyond the frontiers of human territory.
Equal to Man in intelligence, The Rull have a technology that may even be superior. Their spaceships have already captured several hundred planets. The final titanic showdown that will decide Man’s fate and the fate of the whole galaxy is imminent.’
This is one of Van Vogt’s more successful fix-up novels. Earlier published stories – Repetition (1940), Cooperate or Else (1942), The Second Solution (1942), The Rull (1948) and The Sound (1950) – have been re-edited and combined with fresh material into a novel-length narrative.
David Pringle, editor of Interzone, describes Van Vogt as a ‘slapdash’ writer, and in some cases, one can’t argue with this. Van Vogt’s hastily-written work can be easily spotted and examples of it can be found here.
Van Vogt has other flaws also. The innate sexism in this novel in particular jars somewhat. The hero, Trevor Jamieson, when trapped (with a woman intent on killing him) on a moon teeming with predators, manages to overpower her. The woman accedes to his male superiority and Jamieson who ‘knows women’, is sure that she won’t try to kill him again, and indeed she doesn’t.
Later, Jamieson’s son is kidnapped by the alien Rull. He keeps the news to himself, sure that his ‘very feminine’ wife will not be strong enough to handle such news.
Of course, this is not a flaw exclusive to Van Vogt. Such misrepresentation of women was more or less the norm and in many cases was presumably endorsed or policed by editors with such views. Radical portrayals of women may well have been frowned upon.
Jamieson of course, is the hero, and despite the aforesaid flaws in the writing he is an unusual hero in that the solutions to his problems come from logic and reason.
It is logic and deduction which convinces him that the monstrous three eyed six-thousand pound six-limbed Ezwals of Carson’s Planet are not just dangerous beasts, but are highly intelligent and telepathic.
The human race is at war with The Rull, a shape-shifting insectoid race from another galaxy, and Carson’s Planet plays a key defensive role.
Jamieson’s character is very much in the mould of Gilbert Gosseyn (The Pawns of Null-A) in that he refuses to allow emotions to sway his judgement.
He moves from one adventure to another from the outset where he is stranded on a hostile planet with a hostile Ezwal – wanting to kill Jamieson to preserve the secret of Ezwal intelligence, but forced into an alliance with him in order to survive.
The best section is probably ‘The Sound’ set in The City of The Ship where for decades the people of the city – including Jamieson and his family – have been hard at work on a vast spaceship on which they will all eventually leave.
A rite-of-passage ritual has developed where once a year younger children are allowed to stay out all night to hunt for the source of the sound which permeates their lives.
This stands out from the rest of the novel for the attention paid to both the background and the detail.
The final section sadly, is the weakest and provides a far from satisfactory denouement, certainly not the ‘titanic showdown’ promised in the blurb.
The end depends far too much on unbelievable coincidence, a ‘Deus Ex Machina’ alien composed of electrical charges and little else.
Before you know it, the century long war is over, Jamieson has saved the galaxy and The Rull are pulling their forces back.
Having said that, this isn’t a bad novel. The disparate stories have been conflated cleverly into a single narrative, one of the bonuses of which is that we are given glimpses of various parts of Van Vogt’s huge Universe. They are tantalisingly brief and – particularly in the case of ‘The Sound’ – add an unexpected touch of realism to events.
The development of the Ezwal sub-plot is handled well but suffers from any conclusion in that we never get to discover how Jamieson’s Ezwal ally fares in negotiating with his own people.
Looking at this book from another perspective it does also show once more a view of diplomacy which is intrinsically American.
The Ezwals want the humans off their planet and so launch guerrilla attacks, killing many humans. Jamieson, after eventually befriending an orphaned Ezwal child, tells him that that if the Ezwals (who have a purely pastoral civilisation) develop a machine civilisation and can defend themselves from the Rull, then the humans will leave. No negotiation. No leeway. Essentially, the ‘American’ view is that if you develop your culture to be just like us, we’ll go away.
Equal to Man in intelligence, The Rull have a technology that may even be superior. Their spaceships have already captured several hundred planets. The final titanic showdown that will decide Man’s fate and the fate of the whole galaxy is imminent.’
This is one of Van Vogt’s more successful fix-up novels. Earlier published stories – Repetition (1940), Cooperate or Else (1942), The Second Solution (1942), The Rull (1948) and The Sound (1950) – have been re-edited and combined with fresh material into a novel-length narrative.
David Pringle, editor of Interzone, describes Van Vogt as a ‘slapdash’ writer, and in some cases, one can’t argue with this. Van Vogt’s hastily-written work can be easily spotted and examples of it can be found here.
Van Vogt has other flaws also. The innate sexism in this novel in particular jars somewhat. The hero, Trevor Jamieson, when trapped (with a woman intent on killing him) on a moon teeming with predators, manages to overpower her. The woman accedes to his male superiority and Jamieson who ‘knows women’, is sure that she won’t try to kill him again, and indeed she doesn’t.
Later, Jamieson’s son is kidnapped by the alien Rull. He keeps the news to himself, sure that his ‘very feminine’ wife will not be strong enough to handle such news.
Of course, this is not a flaw exclusive to Van Vogt. Such misrepresentation of women was more or less the norm and in many cases was presumably endorsed or policed by editors with such views. Radical portrayals of women may well have been frowned upon.
Jamieson of course, is the hero, and despite the aforesaid flaws in the writing he is an unusual hero in that the solutions to his problems come from logic and reason.
It is logic and deduction which convinces him that the monstrous three eyed six-thousand pound six-limbed Ezwals of Carson’s Planet are not just dangerous beasts, but are highly intelligent and telepathic.
The human race is at war with The Rull, a shape-shifting insectoid race from another galaxy, and Carson’s Planet plays a key defensive role.
Jamieson’s character is very much in the mould of Gilbert Gosseyn (The Pawns of Null-A) in that he refuses to allow emotions to sway his judgement.
He moves from one adventure to another from the outset where he is stranded on a hostile planet with a hostile Ezwal – wanting to kill Jamieson to preserve the secret of Ezwal intelligence, but forced into an alliance with him in order to survive.
The best section is probably ‘The Sound’ set in The City of The Ship where for decades the people of the city – including Jamieson and his family – have been hard at work on a vast spaceship on which they will all eventually leave.
A rite-of-passage ritual has developed where once a year younger children are allowed to stay out all night to hunt for the source of the sound which permeates their lives.
This stands out from the rest of the novel for the attention paid to both the background and the detail.
The final section sadly, is the weakest and provides a far from satisfactory denouement, certainly not the ‘titanic showdown’ promised in the blurb.
The end depends far too much on unbelievable coincidence, a ‘Deus Ex Machina’ alien composed of electrical charges and little else.
Before you know it, the century long war is over, Jamieson has saved the galaxy and The Rull are pulling their forces back.
Having said that, this isn’t a bad novel. The disparate stories have been conflated cleverly into a single narrative, one of the bonuses of which is that we are given glimpses of various parts of Van Vogt’s huge Universe. They are tantalisingly brief and – particularly in the case of ‘The Sound’ – add an unexpected touch of realism to events.
The development of the Ezwal sub-plot is handled well but suffers from any conclusion in that we never get to discover how Jamieson’s Ezwal ally fares in negotiating with his own people.
Looking at this book from another perspective it does also show once more a view of diplomacy which is intrinsically American.
The Ezwals want the humans off their planet and so launch guerrilla attacks, killing many humans. Jamieson, after eventually befriending an orphaned Ezwal child, tells him that that if the Ezwals (who have a purely pastoral civilisation) develop a machine civilisation and can defend themselves from the Rull, then the humans will leave. No negotiation. No leeway. Essentially, the ‘American’ view is that if you develop your culture to be just like us, we’ll go away.
March 28, 2009
In this far-future novel, based on five related stories, humanity has been fighting a century-long war against the shape-changing Rull, and things are not going well.
Carson's World is a vital part of Earth's defense. It is inabited by large, blue creatures, with teeht and claws, called ezwals. Trevor Jamieson is the only human who knows that the ezwal are highly intelligent and telepathic. It's best for everyone, human and ezwal, if no one else knows this. The ezwal want all humans off their planet, so there is plenty of hatred, mistrust and dead bodies on both sides. For humanity, the only criterion to determine a civilization's intelligence is whether or not they will assist in defense against the Rull.
A lifeboat crashes on a very hostile jungle planet, carrying Jamieson and an adult ezwal. It's the sort of place where all sorts of disgusting and carnivorous creatures come out at night, and Jamieson's blaster is almost depleted. The ezwal would like nothing more than to tear Jamieson into lots of little pieces, but they end up having to work together to get off the planet.
A ship crash-lands in Alaska, carrying an adult and baby ezwal. The mother is murdered by a human in revenge for the carnage on Carson's World. The baby survives, and is hunted by humans all over the Alaskan landscape. It is rescued by Jamieson, and is willing to tone down its conditioned hatred of humans.
A Rull survey ship, and Jamieson, who seems to have nine lives, crash land near each other on a desolate mountain. Neither ship is going anywhere, so Jamieson uses this once-in-a-lifetime chance to conduct some psychological experiments on a captive Rull, to see what makes them tick.
This is a fine piece of space opera from science fiction's early days. It's got intelligence, weird alien planets, and lots of good writing. Nearly anything by van Vogt is recommended, and this is no exception.
Carson's World is a vital part of Earth's defense. It is inabited by large, blue creatures, with teeht and claws, called ezwals. Trevor Jamieson is the only human who knows that the ezwal are highly intelligent and telepathic. It's best for everyone, human and ezwal, if no one else knows this. The ezwal want all humans off their planet, so there is plenty of hatred, mistrust and dead bodies on both sides. For humanity, the only criterion to determine a civilization's intelligence is whether or not they will assist in defense against the Rull.
A lifeboat crashes on a very hostile jungle planet, carrying Jamieson and an adult ezwal. It's the sort of place where all sorts of disgusting and carnivorous creatures come out at night, and Jamieson's blaster is almost depleted. The ezwal would like nothing more than to tear Jamieson into lots of little pieces, but they end up having to work together to get off the planet.
A ship crash-lands in Alaska, carrying an adult and baby ezwal. The mother is murdered by a human in revenge for the carnage on Carson's World. The baby survives, and is hunted by humans all over the Alaskan landscape. It is rescued by Jamieson, and is willing to tone down its conditioned hatred of humans.
A Rull survey ship, and Jamieson, who seems to have nine lives, crash land near each other on a desolate mountain. Neither ship is going anywhere, so Jamieson uses this once-in-a-lifetime chance to conduct some psychological experiments on a captive Rull, to see what makes them tick.
This is a fine piece of space opera from science fiction's early days. It's got intelligence, weird alien planets, and lots of good writing. Nearly anything by van Vogt is recommended, and this is no exception.
May 18, 2013
I liked the individual parts of this fix up and wish I could have read them as individual stories, because they are not fixed up very well. The stories, Repitition (1940), Cooperate or Else (1942), The Second Solution (1942) The Rull (1948), and The Sound (1950) were published in the sci-fi pulp magazine, Astounding Science Fiction as stand alone stories.
It is quite easy to tell where the seams are. Van Vogt put little effort into the rewrite to concoct a novel from these unconnected stories. What emerges is a disjointed, difficult to follow tale with no character development or arc and no real plot line.
Van Vogt's penchant for doing fix up novels, some would argue, reduced his standing in the science fiction community. Those readers new to Van Vogt's work might pick up one of these fix up novels and wonder how this man ever got published.
As science fiction transitioned from the pulp magazine short stories and serials into full blown novels, some authors made the transition and some did not. Van Vogt wrote some good novels and many excellent short stories. He should have kept the two separate.
As a novel, The War Against the Rull is poor. Reading the individual chapters was great fun and takes one back to those days when pulp sci-fi was light years ahead of Hollywood in creativity.
It is quite easy to tell where the seams are. Van Vogt put little effort into the rewrite to concoct a novel from these unconnected stories. What emerges is a disjointed, difficult to follow tale with no character development or arc and no real plot line.
Van Vogt's penchant for doing fix up novels, some would argue, reduced his standing in the science fiction community. Those readers new to Van Vogt's work might pick up one of these fix up novels and wonder how this man ever got published.
As science fiction transitioned from the pulp magazine short stories and serials into full blown novels, some authors made the transition and some did not. Van Vogt wrote some good novels and many excellent short stories. He should have kept the two separate.
As a novel, The War Against the Rull is poor. Reading the individual chapters was great fun and takes one back to those days when pulp sci-fi was light years ahead of Hollywood in creativity.
February 19, 2017
An old book from 1959 which I just re-read. It consists of several incidents involving the same main character as he does his part to resist the expansionist invasion of our galaxy by a talented and ruthless enemy (the Rull) from another galaxy. One story is told from the viewpoint of his son.
The main character is highly capable from the start and is in a fairly high position in the scientific organization that combats the Rull. So, no "coming of age" story here (except that of his son). But I like competent heroes, so that's not a problem for me. He does have challenges that are just as big, so it's not like he's a bulldozer, rolling over the opposition.
Well told and definitely not boring.
The main character is highly capable from the start and is in a fairly high position in the scientific organization that combats the Rull. So, no "coming of age" story here (except that of his son). But I like competent heroes, so that's not a problem for me. He does have challenges that are just as big, so it's not like he's a bulldozer, rolling over the opposition.
Well told and definitely not boring.
January 22, 2016
This was a re read - it was an important book to me when I first read it - I was maybe 14.
It has aged gracefully. I enjoyed this reading too. One long day plus - done.
It has aged gracefully. I enjoyed this reading too. One long day plus - done.
September 15, 2022
A.E. van Vogt in stato di grazia: ogni quattro pagine un colpo di scena, ogni due capitoli massimo un cambio di scenario.
E tuttavia la trama si mantiene fluida e non cade nella ripetizione alla "John Carter".
Da notare il rapporto con le donne... le protagoniste femminili di questo romanzo (protagoniste, vabbè, diciamo personaggi) sono solo due e sono caratterizzate da un'emotività verso cui il protagonista iper-razionale prova tenerezza nei momenti buoni, fastidio e disprezzo tutto il resto del tempo.
Un'altra cosa da sottolineare direi potrebbe essere il richiamo alle proxy war e alla necessità di dimostrarsi migliori dell'avversario in ogni singola scaramuccia e di fronte a possibili alleati, molto americano direi.
Concluderei dicendo che è una storia che scorre velocemente, intrattiene piacevolmente e mai annoia o stufa.
E tuttavia la trama si mantiene fluida e non cade nella ripetizione alla "John Carter".
Da notare il rapporto con le donne... le protagoniste femminili di questo romanzo (protagoniste, vabbè, diciamo personaggi) sono solo due e sono caratterizzate da un'emotività verso cui il protagonista iper-razionale prova tenerezza nei momenti buoni, fastidio e disprezzo tutto il resto del tempo.
Un'altra cosa da sottolineare direi potrebbe essere il richiamo alle proxy war e alla necessità di dimostrarsi migliori dell'avversario in ogni singola scaramuccia e di fronte a possibili alleati, molto americano direi.
Concluderei dicendo che è una storia che scorre velocemente, intrattiene piacevolmente e mai annoia o stufa.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2023
С тази книга ван Вогт не успя да ме впечатли. Да, имаше приятен свят, да чудовищата бяха интересни, но някак си не успях да ми бъде така интересно, както в "Космически хищници". Сякаш историята беше... Суха. От мен 2 точки.
June 21, 2013
Πρόκειται για την ιστορία του Τζέημσον, ενός ανθρώπου για τον οποίο "τα πάντα – η οικογενειακή ζωή, η ανατροφή των παιδιών, η αγάπη και οι προσωπικές επιθυμίες – έρχονταν σε δεύτερη μοίρα", ενός ανθρώπου αναγκασμένου "απ' τις περιστάσεις να αντισταθεί με μοναδικό όπλο την ευφυϊα του απέναντι σ' ένα ή περισσότερα Ραλ, εχθρούς πιο έξυπνους απ΄αυτόν".
Ο van Vogt αφηγείται την ιστορία αυτή με λόγο λιτό και πυκνό. Δημιουργεί υπέροχους κόσμους, με απειλητικές ζούγκλες, τοπία απέραντης σιωπής, προστατευμένες πόλεις με πόρτες ορθάνοικτες που δονούνται από ατέλειωτες σειρές θορύβων: Εριστάν ΙΙ, Κάρσον, Μίρα 23, Πλόια, Λαέρτης. Και τοποθετεί σε αυτούς όντα διαφορετικής μορφής, ευφυείς μορφές ζωής, που αναμετρώνται καταρχήν με την ίδια την ικανότητά τους να επιβιώνουν.
Μέσα από αυτή την τόσο γοητευτική περιπέτεια, ο αναγνώστης μπορεί, αν το θελήσει, να ξαναστοχαστεί τα προβλήματα και αδιέξοδα της καθημερινής του ζωής. Να μάθει για την ιστορία των ανθρώπινων πολέμων. Να κρίνει το παρελθόν, το παρόν και το μέλλον της ανθρωπότητας. Εδώ, στον πλανήτη Γη.
Για τον Τζέημσον, όπως και για όλους τους αναπτυγμένους ανθρώπους του καιρού του "που είχαν μια γαλαξιακή αντίληψη της ζωής και του σύμπαντος", "πιο σπουδαίος ήταν ο πόλεμος ενάντια στα Ραλ που κρατούσε ήδη έναν αιώνα και καταβρόχθιζε τα πάντα". Για εμάς;
Ο van Vogt αφηγείται την ιστορία αυτή με λόγο λιτό και πυκνό. Δημιουργεί υπέροχους κόσμους, με απειλητικές ζούγκλες, τοπία απέραντης σιωπής, προστατευμένες πόλεις με πόρτες ορθάνοικτες που δονούνται από ατέλειωτες σειρές θορύβων: Εριστάν ΙΙ, Κάρσον, Μίρα 23, Πλόια, Λαέρτης. Και τοποθετεί σε αυτούς όντα διαφορετικής μορφής, ευφυείς μορφές ζωής, που αναμετρώνται καταρχήν με την ίδια την ικανότητά τους να επιβιώνουν.
Μέσα από αυτή την τόσο γοητευτική περιπέτεια, ο αναγνώστης μπορεί, αν το θελήσει, να ξαναστοχαστεί τα προβλήματα και αδιέξοδα της καθημερινής του ζωής. Να μάθει για την ιστορία των ανθρώπινων πολέμων. Να κρίνει το παρελθόν, το παρόν και το μέλλον της ανθρωπότητας. Εδώ, στον πλανήτη Γη.
Για τον Τζέημσον, όπως και για όλους τους αναπτυγμένους ανθρώπους του καιρού του "που είχαν μια γαλαξιακή αντίληψη της ζωής και του σύμπαντος", "πιο σπουδαίος ήταν ο πόλεμος ενάντια στα Ραλ που κρατούσε ήδη έναν αιώνα και καταβρόχθιζε τα πάντα". Για εμάς;
January 6, 2010
This is one of Vogt's patchwork novels, where he takes a bunch of short stories and fixes them up into a novel. It's very easy to tell where the stories start and end,still it does work as a cohesive whole of sorts. THe only real problem I had is that the stories got worse. THe first three are really good but the last two seemed forced and uninspired. So, five stars for the first three and one star for the last two.
July 14, 2010
This book is based on a series of short science fiction stories by Van Vogt which he later combined into a novel. I recall very little of it after all of these years--except, of course, the cover.
August 2, 2017
I will never forget the sacrifice the mother ezwal made for her child. I think I cried when I read it (years ago now). Probably would cry again.
June 18, 2023
Un romanzetto di SF leggibile senza spunti degni di nota
December 1, 2025
Vogt was one of the authors who really made John Campbell a SciFi icon, largely because he could write quality stories within Campbell's limits. While there wasn't a specific formula for acceptance into the pages of Astounding, there were expectations. From descriptions of Campbell's editorial style and from reading enough stories from the magazine under his leadership, there are a few clear points he insisted upon:
1. That each tale focus upon one technology, and it had to be technology. Fantasy was unacceptable unless it was grounded in a scientific premise.
2. That the hero be resourceful and an independent thinker.
3. That the resolution of the central crisis be something both clever and obvious given the circumstances.
4. That when humans encounter alien races it always be on a peer basis. For every advantage an alien race my have, there is a counterbalancing advantage on the human side.
5. A woman's role is to be in peril.
Robert A. Heinlein finally ended up becoming frustrated by Campbell's inflexibility on these points, and that is what finally moved him on to the slicks and juveniles of his mid-period. As explained in Grumbles From The Grave, Heinlein's primary complaint was that these strictures prevented him from exploring philosophic concepts. So I guess we have Campbell to blame for late-stage Heinlein's horn dog libertarianism. Mixed blessings there.
Similarly, Asimov felt so constrained by Campbell's rules that he invented an all-human, all-male universe to get around to what he was interested in; Robots.
Now Vogt was different. He was certainly among the best of the pulp hacks in that he could take these strictures and riff endlessly upon them in interesting and inventive ways. There was one huge disadvantage to adhering to the Campbell style that wasn't immediate obvious though, and that was that it did not lend itself well to long, novel length, fiction. Astounding's requirements demanded either a series of unconnected stories in a single universe, each piece devoted to one technology. Or the style required a unified novella length serial devoted to solving one problem. As the pulps waned this presented something of a problem for a writer like Vogt, who had a large back catalogue of unified stories that under other circumstances could be collected into a novel. Problem was, the Campbell method ensured that even stories that shared a single situation and characters needed considerable rewriting to form a narrative out of the disjointed episodes. So Vogt set to rewrites in the 1950s. These rewrites, referred to by Vogt as 'fix-ups', are most of what remains in print today and are the works for which Vogt is best known.
The stitches patching the stories together is very obvious in this volume. There are basically four main plots, the first involving humanity encountering a species of telepaths. The second plot is back on Earth where there is a devious plot to destroy humanity's best hope to end the war. The third is about using a tamed telepath to communicate with a non-corporeal but sentient species. The fourth resolves the war against the Rull through a classic mano-a-mano situation.
Separately, each of these satisfies the Campbell criteria of clever humans confront and out think the Rull, defeating them step-wise, then - boom - an abrupt change takes place to get us to where the next story begins. The Vogt trademark here is to resolve a plot conflict through one really clever trick. Because it's Astounding, it's usually through some lateral thinking by the resourceful and independent main character, who in this collection isn't some space jockey. No, he's the head of a critical galactic agency who still feels it's his place at the bleeding edge of exploration. On the front lines of the war.
This seems a less than optimal way for the head of a galactic bureaucracy upon which the future of humanity depends to spend his energies. Just saying.
Anyway, classic space nonsense. I love it
1. That each tale focus upon one technology, and it had to be technology. Fantasy was unacceptable unless it was grounded in a scientific premise.
2. That the hero be resourceful and an independent thinker.
3. That the resolution of the central crisis be something both clever and obvious given the circumstances.
4. That when humans encounter alien races it always be on a peer basis. For every advantage an alien race my have, there is a counterbalancing advantage on the human side.
5. A woman's role is to be in peril.
Robert A. Heinlein finally ended up becoming frustrated by Campbell's inflexibility on these points, and that is what finally moved him on to the slicks and juveniles of his mid-period. As explained in Grumbles From The Grave, Heinlein's primary complaint was that these strictures prevented him from exploring philosophic concepts. So I guess we have Campbell to blame for late-stage Heinlein's horn dog libertarianism. Mixed blessings there.
Similarly, Asimov felt so constrained by Campbell's rules that he invented an all-human, all-male universe to get around to what he was interested in; Robots.
Now Vogt was different. He was certainly among the best of the pulp hacks in that he could take these strictures and riff endlessly upon them in interesting and inventive ways. There was one huge disadvantage to adhering to the Campbell style that wasn't immediate obvious though, and that was that it did not lend itself well to long, novel length, fiction. Astounding's requirements demanded either a series of unconnected stories in a single universe, each piece devoted to one technology. Or the style required a unified novella length serial devoted to solving one problem. As the pulps waned this presented something of a problem for a writer like Vogt, who had a large back catalogue of unified stories that under other circumstances could be collected into a novel. Problem was, the Campbell method ensured that even stories that shared a single situation and characters needed considerable rewriting to form a narrative out of the disjointed episodes. So Vogt set to rewrites in the 1950s. These rewrites, referred to by Vogt as 'fix-ups', are most of what remains in print today and are the works for which Vogt is best known.
The stitches patching the stories together is very obvious in this volume. There are basically four main plots, the first involving humanity encountering a species of telepaths. The second plot is back on Earth where there is a devious plot to destroy humanity's best hope to end the war. The third is about using a tamed telepath to communicate with a non-corporeal but sentient species. The fourth resolves the war against the Rull through a classic mano-a-mano situation.
Separately, each of these satisfies the Campbell criteria of clever humans confront and out think the Rull, defeating them step-wise, then - boom - an abrupt change takes place to get us to where the next story begins. The Vogt trademark here is to resolve a plot conflict through one really clever trick. Because it's Astounding, it's usually through some lateral thinking by the resourceful and independent main character, who in this collection isn't some space jockey. No, he's the head of a critical galactic agency who still feels it's his place at the bleeding edge of exploration. On the front lines of the war.
This seems a less than optimal way for the head of a galactic bureaucracy upon which the future of humanity depends to spend his energies. Just saying.
Anyway, classic space nonsense. I love it
August 30, 2024
1.5/5
I've never read something that is so transparently a bunch of serialized short stories fashioned into a novel, nor have I read something so obviously made for an audience of 1940's teenage boys. My first impression of van Vogt has not been a pleasant one, though I suppose that's it's important for me to get some reading in from this age of SF for context to my other reading in the genre.
The War against the Rull is a collection of hastily pasted together short stories that originally didn't even have the same main character, Trevor Jamison, who seemingly can do no wrong whatsoever. Van Vogt was churning out these types of fix-ups in the 50's after his decade of original productivity in the 40's. In these stories humanity is in an endless war with a race of shape-shifting aliens called the Rull, who can take the place of humans easily, thus much of the conflict happens in human networks as Rull spies are discovered and thwarted. Surprisingly, the Rull are really only a part of half of these stories. The other main focus is another another alien race, the Ezwal, who are gargantuan bear-like creatures with six legs, three eyes, herculean strength, and telepathic powers. Jamison is the only human who knows that the Ezwal are telepathic, let alone intelligent, and tries to convince them and humanity of the truth throughout the stories. There are a lot of side tangents in these stories, one involving Jamison's son, one involving an alien species that eats electricity, and another with a failed assassination attempt on Jamison's life.
The end result of all of these side tangents is a 'novel' that is so disjointed and poorly framed that I couldn't even really consider it a cohesive work. Van Vogt does such a poor job of bringing the stories together that he might as well not even tried, and simply left the stories as they were. Most of these stories amount to nothing more than adventurous scenes of conflict intended as a power fantasy for adolescent boys. The women are casually thought of as nothing more than the sum of their looks with annoying emotions attached. The main character is so resourceful, witty, and competent that he looses all basis in reality. The writing is repetitive, dull, and unimaginative.
I've read that van Vogt often used his dreams as a starting point for his plot lines, and boy does it show. The first few stories, while not necessarily noteworthy, were at least understandable. I can't say the same for the last story, which devolves in structure to the point that I wasn't exactly clear what was going on. I'm honestly surprised that serialized pulp stories that are this incomprehensible were that successful.
The relationship between human and the Ezwal could've been interesting, but instead they end up being used a tool of the plot more so than a focal point of exploration. I was disappointed at how basis the main conflict between the Rull and humans was, which maybe at the time wasn't stereotypical, but now it certainly is. Not even worth the time to finish even though it was so short to begin with.
I've never read something that is so transparently a bunch of serialized short stories fashioned into a novel, nor have I read something so obviously made for an audience of 1940's teenage boys. My first impression of van Vogt has not been a pleasant one, though I suppose that's it's important for me to get some reading in from this age of SF for context to my other reading in the genre.
The War against the Rull is a collection of hastily pasted together short stories that originally didn't even have the same main character, Trevor Jamison, who seemingly can do no wrong whatsoever. Van Vogt was churning out these types of fix-ups in the 50's after his decade of original productivity in the 40's. In these stories humanity is in an endless war with a race of shape-shifting aliens called the Rull, who can take the place of humans easily, thus much of the conflict happens in human networks as Rull spies are discovered and thwarted. Surprisingly, the Rull are really only a part of half of these stories. The other main focus is another another alien race, the Ezwal, who are gargantuan bear-like creatures with six legs, three eyes, herculean strength, and telepathic powers. Jamison is the only human who knows that the Ezwal are telepathic, let alone intelligent, and tries to convince them and humanity of the truth throughout the stories. There are a lot of side tangents in these stories, one involving Jamison's son, one involving an alien species that eats electricity, and another with a failed assassination attempt on Jamison's life.
The end result of all of these side tangents is a 'novel' that is so disjointed and poorly framed that I couldn't even really consider it a cohesive work. Van Vogt does such a poor job of bringing the stories together that he might as well not even tried, and simply left the stories as they were. Most of these stories amount to nothing more than adventurous scenes of conflict intended as a power fantasy for adolescent boys. The women are casually thought of as nothing more than the sum of their looks with annoying emotions attached. The main character is so resourceful, witty, and competent that he looses all basis in reality. The writing is repetitive, dull, and unimaginative.
I've read that van Vogt often used his dreams as a starting point for his plot lines, and boy does it show. The first few stories, while not necessarily noteworthy, were at least understandable. I can't say the same for the last story, which devolves in structure to the point that I wasn't exactly clear what was going on. I'm honestly surprised that serialized pulp stories that are this incomprehensible were that successful.
The relationship between human and the Ezwal could've been interesting, but instead they end up being used a tool of the plot more so than a focal point of exploration. I was disappointed at how basis the main conflict between the Rull and humans was, which maybe at the time wasn't stereotypical, but now it certainly is. Not even worth the time to finish even though it was so short to begin with.
April 6, 2021
Când nava spaţială se pierdu în ceaţa deasă a planetei Eristan II, Trevor Jamieson îşi scoase arma. Se simţea ameţit, epuizat de puternicul curent de aer al uriaşei nave, care îl azvârlise şi-l răsucise pe toate părţile. Însă, conştient de pericol, rămase cu atenţia încordată, cu costumul prins în hăţişul de cabluri al platformei antigravitaţionale de deasupra lui. Îl privea cu ochii mijiţi pe ezwal, care, la rândul lui, îl cerceta iscoditor peste marginea treptei purtătoare, ce se mai legăna încă.
Cei trei ochi ai ezwalului, cenuşii şi reci ca oţelul îl priveau fix; capul său mare, albastru, se legăna în expectativă şi – Jamieson ştia – gata să se retragă degrabă, dacă i-ar fi ghicit intenţia de a apăsa pe trăgaci.
— Ei bine, spuse Jamieson aspru, iată-ne pe amândoi la mii de ani lumină de planeta-mumă; azvârliţi într-un purgatoriu primitiv, pe care tu, după experienţa de viaţă izolată de pe planeta Carson, nu-l poţi încă concepe, în ciuda abilităţii tale de a citi gândurile. Nici măcar un ezwal de trei sute de kilograme nu poate supravieţui, acolo jos, singur.
O labă uriaşă, cu gheare lungi, se apropie de navă şi scutură unul dintre cele trei cabluri subţiri, agăţate de costumul lui Jamieson. Cablul se desprinse cu un şuierat ascuţit, iar forţa smuciturii îl ridică pe Jamieson cu câţiva metri. Căzu la loc şi începu să se legene, atârnat de celelalte două cabluri ca de un trapez. Cu arma în mână îşi întinse gâtul, încercând să apere cele două legături ce mai rămăseseră de un nou atac.
Cei trei ochi ai ezwalului, cenuşii şi reci ca oţelul îl priveau fix; capul său mare, albastru, se legăna în expectativă şi – Jamieson ştia – gata să se retragă degrabă, dacă i-ar fi ghicit intenţia de a apăsa pe trăgaci.
— Ei bine, spuse Jamieson aspru, iată-ne pe amândoi la mii de ani lumină de planeta-mumă; azvârliţi într-un purgatoriu primitiv, pe care tu, după experienţa de viaţă izolată de pe planeta Carson, nu-l poţi încă concepe, în ciuda abilităţii tale de a citi gândurile. Nici măcar un ezwal de trei sute de kilograme nu poate supravieţui, acolo jos, singur.
O labă uriaşă, cu gheare lungi, se apropie de navă şi scutură unul dintre cele trei cabluri subţiri, agăţate de costumul lui Jamieson. Cablul se desprinse cu un şuierat ascuţit, iar forţa smuciturii îl ridică pe Jamieson cu câţiva metri. Căzu la loc şi începu să se legene, atârnat de celelalte două cabluri ca de un trapez. Cu arma în mână îşi întinse gâtul, încercând să apere cele două legături ce mai rămăseseră de un nou atac.
February 6, 2021
Boyhood favorite by past SF-master of suspenseful action, superhumans and cool aliens, A. E Van Vogt. His creations inspiration for at least Star trek and Alien I would say.
Just listen to the first two-and-a-half paragraphs of this book:
"As the spaceship vanished into the steamy mists of Eristan II Trevor Jamieson drew his gun. He felt dizzy, sickened by the way he had been tossed and buffeted by the furious wind stream of the great ship. But awareness of danger held him tense there in the harness that was attached by cables to the anti-gravity plate above him. With narrowed eyes, he stared up at the ezwal which was peering down at him over the edge of the still swaying skyraft.
Its three-in-line eyes, as gray as dully polished steel, gazed at him, unwinking; its massive blue head poised alertly and - Jamieson knew - ready to jerk back the instant it read in his thoughts an intention of shooting.
"Well", said Jamieson harshly, "here we are, both of us-thousands of light-years from our respective home planets. And we are falling down into a primitive hell that you, with only your isolated life on Carson's Planet to judge by cannot begin to imagine [...]"
Just listen to the first two-and-a-half paragraphs of this book:
"As the spaceship vanished into the steamy mists of Eristan II Trevor Jamieson drew his gun. He felt dizzy, sickened by the way he had been tossed and buffeted by the furious wind stream of the great ship. But awareness of danger held him tense there in the harness that was attached by cables to the anti-gravity plate above him. With narrowed eyes, he stared up at the ezwal which was peering down at him over the edge of the still swaying skyraft.
Its three-in-line eyes, as gray as dully polished steel, gazed at him, unwinking; its massive blue head poised alertly and - Jamieson knew - ready to jerk back the instant it read in his thoughts an intention of shooting.
"Well", said Jamieson harshly, "here we are, both of us-thousands of light-years from our respective home planets. And we are falling down into a primitive hell that you, with only your isolated life on Carson's Planet to judge by cannot begin to imagine [...]"
January 9, 2018
This is one of a group of novels I discovered in my hometown library, when I was between ten and twelve years old. The covers caught my eye and I was already hooked on science fiction, so that was the extent of my selection process back then. It's been decades since I read this one, but scenes from it remained stuck in my memory. This is one of his "fix ups," (like Voyage of the Space Beagle which I reread last year after a similar decades-long delay) and it suffers from a series of disconnects in the plot. The ending seemed weak to me, as if the author was having trouble wrapping it up and finally said enough's enough and walked away. Knowing no better as a boy, I apparently enjoyed the book - what I understood of it. This time around, it was a bit of a disappointment.
December 21, 2023
It is an interesting story. The war mentioned in the title is galaxy-spanning. However, each of the linked episodes in the book is very local in nature, and concerns only a few characters. This is definitely not obvious from the blurb on the back, which suggests that the book is likely to be about fleet engagements!
November 14, 2019
Read ACE Books 1972 edition.
Enjoyed reading. Van Vogt is a favorite author very skilled at creating Aliens for his stories. This Novel has three unusual aliens who interact creatively within the fast moving story.
With only 221 pages the novel is a fast read but well worth reading.
Enjoyed reading. Van Vogt is a favorite author very skilled at creating Aliens for his stories. This Novel has three unusual aliens who interact creatively within the fast moving story.
With only 221 pages the novel is a fast read but well worth reading.
May 27, 2020
Absolute quality this book. Definitely recommend to anyone who likes science-fiction.
The premise is good and the book rolls along at a reasonable pace. Suggest this as a good starting point to fill your library with Van Vogt books!
The premise is good and the book rolls along at a reasonable pace. Suggest this as a good starting point to fill your library with Van Vogt books!
April 17, 2025
I'm surprised by how much I like this book. I was willing to discount it as an over written gosh-wow type of early SF, but it proves to be a well thought out and nicely crafted work. Not high art, but good solid SF with some very pleasing writing.
July 20, 2018
Reading Van Vogt is like reading science fiction by the guy who wrote the Boy Scout manual.
November 4, 2018
A.E. van Vogt is often hit and miss. The fix-up novel is a miss even if a couple of the constituent stories are quite good, e.g. Cooperate or Else!
As a whole, the novel did not work for me.
As a whole, the novel did not work for me.
January 6, 2019
I really love this author.
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