A. E. van Vogt
Encyclopedia
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.
, Canada. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German
in the home. Van Vogt's father, a lawyer, moved his family several times and his son found these moves difficult, remarking in later life:
After starting his writing career by writing for "true confession" style pulp magazines like True Story
, van Vogt decided to switch to writing something he enjoyed, science fiction
.
Van Vogt's first published SF story, "Black Destroyer" (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1939), was inspired by Voyage of the Beagle
by Charles Darwin
. The story depicted a fierce, carnivorous alien
, the coeurl
, stalking the crew of an exploration spaceship. It was the cover story of the issue of Astounding that is sometimes described as having ushered in the "Golden Age" of science fiction. The story served as the inspiration for a number of science fiction movies.
In 1950 it was combined with "War of Nerves" (1950), "Discord in Scarlet" (1939) and "M33 in Andromeda" (1943) to form the novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle
(1950).
In 1941, van Vogt decided to become a full-time writer, quitting his job at the Canadian Department of National Defence
. Extremely prolific for a few years, van Vogt wrote a large number of short stories
. In the 1950s, many of them were retrospectively patched together into novels, or "fixups" as he called them, a term which entered the vocabulary of science fiction criticism. When the original stories were related (e.g. The War against the Rull) this was often successful. When not (e.g. Quest for the Future) the disparate stories thrown together generally made for a less coherent plot.
One of van Vogt's best-known novels of this period is Slan
, which was originally serialised in Astounding Science Fiction (September - December 1940). Using what became one of van Vogt's recurring themes, it told the story of a 9-year-old superman living in a world in which his kind are slain by Homo sapiens.
. Van Vogt was always interested in the idea of all-encompassing systems of knowledge (akin to modern meta-systems
) -- the characters in his very first story used a system called 'Nexialism' to analyze the alien's behaviour, and he became interested in the General Semantics
of Alfred Korzybski
.
He subsequently wrote three novels merging these overarching themes, The World of Null-A
and The Pawns of Null-A in the late 1940s, and Null-A Three
in the early 1980s. Null-A, or non-Aristotelian logic
, refers to the capacity for, and practice of, using intuitive
, inductive reasoning
(compare fuzzy logic
), rather than reflexive, or conditioned, deductive reasoning
.
Van Vogt was also profoundly affected by revelations of totalitarian police state
s that emerged after World War II
. He wrote a mainstream novel that was set in Communist China, The Violent Man (1962); he said that to research this book he had read 100 books about China. Into this book he incorporated his view of "the violent male type", which he described as a "man who had to be right", a man who "instantly attracts women" and who he said were the men who "run the world".
At the same time, in his fiction, van Vogt was consistently sympathetic to absolute monarchy as a form of government. This was the case, for instance, in the Weapon Shop
series, the Mixed Men
series and in single stories such as "Heir Apparent", whose protagonist was described as a "benevolent dictator".
Van Vogt systematized his writing method, using scenes of 800 words or so where a new complication was added or something resolved. Several of his stories hinge upon temporal conundra
, a favorite theme. He stated that he acquired many of his writing techniques from three books, "Narrative Technique" by Thomas Uzzell, and "The Only Two Ways to Write a Story" plus "Twenty Problems of the Short-Story Writer", both by John Gallishaw
.
He said many of his ideas came from dreams; throughout his writing life he arranged to be awakened every 90 minutes during his sleep period so he could write down his dreams.
In 1950, van Vogt was briefly appointed as head of L. Ron Hubbard's
Dianetics operation in California. Dianetics
was the secular precursor to Hubbard's Church of Scientology
. The operation went broke 9 months later, but never went bankrupt, due to van Vogt's arrangements with creditors. Van Vogt and his wife opened their own Dianetics centre, partly financed by his writings, until he "signed off" around 1961. At the time of his interview with Charles Platt, van Vogt was still president of the Californian Association of Dianetic Auditors. Between 1950 and 1960, van Vogt produced collections, notable fixups such as: The Mixed Men
(1952) and The War Against the Rull (1959), and the two "Clane" novels, Empire of the Atom
(1957) and The Wizard of Linn
(1962), which were inspired (like Asimov
's Foundation series) by the fall of the Roman Empire
, specifically Claudius. He resumed writing again in the 1960s, mainly at Frederik Pohl
's invitation. His later novels included fixups such as The Beast (aka Moonbeast) (1963), Rogue Ship
(1965), Quest for the Future (1970) and Supermind
(1977); expanded short stories (The Darkness on Diamondia (1972), Future Glitter (aka Tyranopolis) (1973); original novels such as Children of Tomorrow
(1970), The Battle of Forever (1971) and The Anarchistic Colossus (1977); plus sequels to his classic works, many of which were promised, but only one of which appeared, Null-A Three
(1984; originally published in French). Several later books were original in Europe, and at least one novel has only ever appeared in Italian, no English version yet published.
On January 26, 2000, van Vogt died in Los Angeles, USA from Alzheimer's disease
, and was survived by his second wife, the former Lydia Bereginsky.
An early and articulate critic was the noted author Damon Knight
. In a chapter-long essay reprinted in In Search of Wonder
, entitled "Cosmic Jerrybuilder: A. E. van Vogt", Knight famously remarked that van Vogt "is no giant; he is a pygmy who has learned to operate an overgrown typewriter." Knight described The World of Null-A as "one of the worst allegedly-adult science fiction stories ever published." About van Vogt's writing in general, Knight said:
About Empire of the Atom
Knight wrote:
Knight also expressed misgivings about van Vogt's politics, noting that his stories almost invariably present absolute monarchy
in a favorable light.
On the other hand, when science fiction author Philip K. Dick
was asked which science fiction writers had influenced his work the most, he replied:
Dick also defended van Vogt against Damon Knight’s criticisms:
In a review of Transfinite: The Essential A.E. van Vogt, science fiction writer Paul Di Filippo
said:
In The John W. Campbell
Letters, Campbell says, "The son-of-a-gun gets hold of you in the first paragraph, ties a knot around you, and keeps it tied in every paragraph thereafterincluding the ultimate last one."
Harlan Ellison
(who began reading van Vogt as a teenager) wrote, "Van was the first writer to shine light on the restricted ways in which I had been taught to view the universe and the human condition."
Writing in 1984 David Hartwell said:
The literary critic Leslie A. Fiedler said something similar:
The American literary critic Fredric Jameson
says of van Vogt:
Nevertheless, van Vogt still has his critics. For example Darrell Schweitzer
writing to the New York Review of Science Fiction in 1999 quoted a passage from the original van Vogt novelette “The Mixed Men”, which he was then reading, and remarked:
, were co-Guests of Honor at the fourth World Science Fiction Convention.
In 1980, van Vogt received a "Casper Award" (precursor to the Canadian Aurora Award
s) for Lifetime Achievement. In 1995 he was awarded the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA). There was controversy over how late in van Vogt’s lifetime the SFWA left it to bestow their highest award. Writing an obituary of van Vogt a fellow Canadian writer of science fiction remarked:
It is generally held that the “damnable SFWA politics” relates to Damon Knight, the founder of the SFWA, who abhorred van Vogt’s style and politics and thoroughly demolished his literary reputation in the 1950s.
Harlan Ellison writing in 1999 the introduction to Futures Past: The Best Short Fiction of A.E. van Vogt was more explicit:
In 1996, van Vogt was recognized on two occasions: the World Science Fiction Convention presented him with a Special Award for six decades of golden age science fiction, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame included him among its initial four inductees.
The works of van Vogt were translated into French by the surrealist Boris Vian
(The World of Null-A as Le Monde des Å in 1958), and van Vogt’s works were “viewed as great literature of the surrealist school”.
's death, van Vogt commented:
Golden Age of Science Fiction
The first Golden Age of Science Fiction — often recognized as the period from the late 1930s through the 1950s — was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published...
" of the genre.
Early life and writings
Van Vogt was born on a farm in Edenburg, a Russian Mennonite community east of Gretna, ManitobaGretna, Manitoba
Gretna is a town in south-central Manitoba, Canada. It is located just north of the Canada - United States border on PTH 30. As of 2006, the population of Gretna was 574. It is bordered on the west, north, and east by the Rural Municipality of Rhineland. On the south it is bordered by Pembina...
, Canada. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German
Plautdietsch
Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory. The word is another pronunciation of Plattdeutsch, or Low German...
in the home. Van Vogt's father, a lawyer, moved his family several times and his son found these moves difficult, remarking in later life:
After starting his writing career by writing for "true confession" style pulp magazines like True Story
True Story (magazine)
True Story was an American magazine published by Dorchester Publishing. It was the first of the confessions magazines genre, having launched in 1919...
, van Vogt decided to switch to writing something he enjoyed, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Van Vogt's first published SF story, "Black Destroyer" (Astounding Science Fiction, July 1939), was inspired by Voyage of the Beagle
Voyage of the Beagle
The voyage of the Beagle can refer to:*The second voyage of HMS Beagle*Charles Darwin's book about that voyage, The Voyage of the Beagle*Other voyages of HMS Beagle...
by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
. The story depicted a fierce, carnivorous alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, the coeurl
Coeurl
Coeurl is a fictional alien race of predators created by the late science fiction novelist A. E. van Vogt and featured in his first published short story "Black Destroyer" , later incorporated in the novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle...
, stalking the crew of an exploration spaceship. It was the cover story of the issue of Astounding that is sometimes described as having ushered in the "Golden Age" of science fiction. The story served as the inspiration for a number of science fiction movies.
In 1950 it was combined with "War of Nerves" (1950), "Discord in Scarlet" (1939) and "M33 in Andromeda" (1943) to form the novel The Voyage of the Space Beagle
The Voyage of the Space Beagle
The Voyage of the Space Beagle is a classic novel of science fiction by A. E. van Vogt in the space opera subgenre.The novel is a "fix-up" compilation of four previously published SF stories:...
(1950).
In 1941, van Vogt decided to become a full-time writer, quitting his job at the Canadian Department of National Defence
Department of National Defence (Canada)
The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...
. Extremely prolific for a few years, van Vogt wrote a large number of short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
. In the 1950s, many of them were retrospectively patched together into novels, or "fixups" as he called them, a term which entered the vocabulary of science fiction criticism. When the original stories were related (e.g. The War against the Rull) this was often successful. When not (e.g. Quest for the Future) the disparate stories thrown together generally made for a less coherent plot.
One of van Vogt's best-known novels of this period is Slan
Slan
Slan is a science fiction novel written by A. E. van Vogt, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction . It was subsequently published in hardcover in 1946 by Arkham House, in an...
, which was originally serialised in Astounding Science Fiction (September - December 1940). Using what became one of van Vogt's recurring themes, it told the story of a 9-year-old superman living in a world in which his kind are slain by Homo sapiens.
Post-war philosophy
In 1944, van Vogt moved to Hollywood, California, where his writing took on new dimensions after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Van Vogt was always interested in the idea of all-encompassing systems of knowledge (akin to modern meta-systems
Meta-systems
Meta-systems have several definitions. In general, they link the concepts "system" and "meta-". A "meta-system" is a system about other systems, such as describing, generalizing, modelling, or analyzing the other system....
) -- the characters in his very first story used a system called 'Nexialism' to analyze the alien's behaviour, and he became interested in the General Semantics
General Semantics
General semantics is a program begun in the 1920's that seeks to regulate the evaluative operations performed in the human brain. After partial program launches under the trial names "human engineering" and "humanology," Polish-American originator Alfred Korzybski fully launched the program as...
of Alfred Korzybski
Alfred Korzybski
Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski was a Polish-American philosopher and scientist. He is remembered for developing the theory of general semantics...
.
He subsequently wrote three novels merging these overarching themes, The World of Null-A
The World of Null-A
The World of Null-A, sometimes written The World of Ā, is a 1948 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was originally published as a three-part serial in Astounding Stories...
and The Pawns of Null-A in the late 1940s, and Null-A Three
Null-A Three
Null-A Three, usually written Ā Three, is a 1985 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It incorporates concepts from the General semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic....
in the early 1980s. Null-A, or non-Aristotelian logic
Non-Aristotelian logic
The term non-Aristotelian logic, sometimes shortened to null-A, means any non-classical system of logic which rejects one of Aristotle's premises .-History:...
, refers to the capacity for, and practice of, using intuitive
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
, inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning, also known as induction or inductive logic, is a kind of reasoning that constructs or evaluates propositions that are abstractions of observations. It is commonly construed as a form of reasoning that makes generalizations based on individual instances...
(compare fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic; it deals with reasoning that is approximate rather than fixed and exact. In contrast with traditional logic theory, where binary sets have two-valued logic: true or false, fuzzy logic variables may have a truth value that ranges in degree between 0 and 1...
), rather than reflexive, or conditioned, deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning
Deductive reasoning, also called deductive logic, is reasoning which constructs or evaluates deductive arguments. Deductive arguments are attempts to show that a conclusion necessarily follows from a set of premises or hypothesis...
.
Van Vogt was also profoundly affected by revelations of totalitarian police state
Police state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
s that emerged after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He wrote a mainstream novel that was set in Communist China, The Violent Man (1962); he said that to research this book he had read 100 books about China. Into this book he incorporated his view of "the violent male type", which he described as a "man who had to be right", a man who "instantly attracts women" and who he said were the men who "run the world".
At the same time, in his fiction, van Vogt was consistently sympathetic to absolute monarchy as a form of government. This was the case, for instance, in the Weapon Shop
The Weapon Shops of Isher
The Weapon Shops of Isher is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt, first published in 1951. The novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops and Isher civilization:...
series, the Mixed Men
The Mixed Men
The Mixed Men is a fix-up novel of science fiction stories by author A. E. van Vogt. It was released in 1952 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. It was reprinted by Berkley Books in 1955 under the title Mission to the Stars. Most of the stories had previously appeared in the magazine...
series and in single stories such as "Heir Apparent", whose protagonist was described as a "benevolent dictator".
Van Vogt systematized his writing method, using scenes of 800 words or so where a new complication was added or something resolved. Several of his stories hinge upon temporal conundra
Conundrum
Conundrum may refer to:* A riddle whose answer is or involves a pun or unexpected twist* A logical postulation that evades resolution, an intricate and difficult problem- Literature :...
, a favorite theme. He stated that he acquired many of his writing techniques from three books, "Narrative Technique" by Thomas Uzzell, and "The Only Two Ways to Write a Story" plus "Twenty Problems of the Short-Story Writer", both by John Gallishaw
John Gallishaw
John Gallishaw was a Canadian author and teacher.-Biography:He studied at Harvard until the First World War broke out in 1914...
.
He said many of his ideas came from dreams; throughout his writing life he arranged to be awakened every 90 minutes during his sleep period so he could write down his dreams.
In 1950, van Vogt was briefly appointed as head of L. Ron Hubbard's
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
Dianetics operation in California. Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
was the secular precursor to Hubbard's Church of Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
. The operation went broke 9 months later, but never went bankrupt, due to van Vogt's arrangements with creditors. Van Vogt and his wife opened their own Dianetics centre, partly financed by his writings, until he "signed off" around 1961. At the time of his interview with Charles Platt, van Vogt was still president of the Californian Association of Dianetic Auditors. Between 1950 and 1960, van Vogt produced collections, notable fixups such as: The Mixed Men
The Mixed Men
The Mixed Men is a fix-up novel of science fiction stories by author A. E. van Vogt. It was released in 1952 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. It was reprinted by Berkley Books in 1955 under the title Mission to the Stars. Most of the stories had previously appeared in the magazine...
(1952) and The War Against the Rull (1959), and the two "Clane" novels, Empire of the Atom
Empire of the Atom
Empire of the Atom is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in 1957 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 2,000 copies. The novel is a fix-up of the first five of van Vogt's Gods stories which originally appeared in the magazine Astounding. The remaining Gods stories...
(1957) and The Wizard of Linn
The Wizard of Linn
The Wizard of Linn is a science fiction novel written by A. E. van Vogt and a sequel to Empire of the Atom. The novel was originally serialized in the science fiction magazine Astounding Science Fiction...
(1962), which were inspired (like Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's Foundation series) by the fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, specifically Claudius. He resumed writing again in the 1960s, mainly at Frederik Pohl
Frederik Pohl
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. is an American science fiction writer, editor and fan, with a career spanning over seventy years — from his first published work, "Elegy to a Dead Planet: Luna" , to his most recent novel, All the Lives He Led .He won the National Book Award in 1980 for his novel Jem...
's invitation. His later novels included fixups such as The Beast (aka Moonbeast) (1963), Rogue Ship
Rogue Ship
Rogue Ship is a 1965 novel by A E Van Vogt created and adapted from 3 short stories to form a novel. The 3 short stores used were:- Centarus II Originally published in Astounding Science-Fiction in 1947...
(1965), Quest for the Future (1970) and Supermind
Supermind
*Supermind in philosophy of S.Aurobindo*Professor Supermind and Son a comic from the 1940s...
(1977); expanded short stories (The Darkness on Diamondia (1972), Future Glitter (aka Tyranopolis) (1973); original novels such as Children of Tomorrow
Children of Tomorrow
Children of Tomorrow is a 1970 novel by American author A. E. van Vogt.-Plot introduction:Commander John Lane returns from a ten year mission in spaceto find that the teenagers of Spaceport City have organized...
(1970), The Battle of Forever (1971) and The Anarchistic Colossus (1977); plus sequels to his classic works, many of which were promised, but only one of which appeared, Null-A Three
Null-A Three
Null-A Three, usually written Ā Three, is a 1985 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It incorporates concepts from the General semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic....
(1984; originally published in French). Several later books were original in Europe, and at least one novel has only ever appeared in Italian, no English version yet published.
On January 26, 2000, van Vogt died in Los Angeles, USA from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, and was survived by his second wife, the former Lydia Bereginsky.
Critical reception
Critical opinion about the quality of van Vogt's work has been sharply divided.An early and articulate critic was the noted author Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
. In a chapter-long essay reprinted in In Search of Wonder
In Search of Wonder
In Search of Wonder: Essays on Modern Science Fiction is a collection of critical essays by Damon Knight. Most of the material in the book was originally published between 1952 and 1955 in various science fiction magazines including Infinity Science Fiction, Original SF Stories, and Future SF...
, entitled "Cosmic Jerrybuilder: A. E. van Vogt", Knight famously remarked that van Vogt "is no giant; he is a pygmy who has learned to operate an overgrown typewriter." Knight described The World of Null-A as "one of the worst allegedly-adult science fiction stories ever published." About van Vogt's writing in general, Knight said:
About Empire of the Atom
Empire of the Atom
Empire of the Atom is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in 1957 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 2,000 copies. The novel is a fix-up of the first five of van Vogt's Gods stories which originally appeared in the magazine Astounding. The remaining Gods stories...
Knight wrote:
Knight also expressed misgivings about van Vogt's politics, noting that his stories almost invariably present absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
in a favorable light.
On the other hand, when science fiction author Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
was asked which science fiction writers had influenced his work the most, he replied:
Dick also defended van Vogt against Damon Knight’s criticisms:
In a review of Transfinite: The Essential A.E. van Vogt, science fiction writer Paul Di Filippo
Paul Di Filippo
Paul Di Filippo is an American science fiction writer. He has been published in Postscripts...
said:
In The John W. Campbell
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction , from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in...
Letters, Campbell says, "The son-of-a-gun gets hold of you in the first paragraph, ties a knot around you, and keeps it tied in every paragraph thereafterincluding the ultimate last one."
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
(who began reading van Vogt as a teenager) wrote, "Van was the first writer to shine light on the restricted ways in which I had been taught to view the universe and the human condition."
Writing in 1984 David Hartwell said:
The literary critic Leslie A. Fiedler said something similar:
The American literary critic Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson
Fredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
says of van Vogt:
Nevertheless, van Vogt still has his critics. For example Darrell Schweitzer
Darrell Schweitzer
Darrell Charles Schweitzer is an American writer, editor, and essayist in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror, although he does also work in science fiction and fantasy...
writing to the New York Review of Science Fiction in 1999 quoted a passage from the original van Vogt novelette “The Mixed Men”, which he was then reading, and remarked:
Recognition
In 1946, van Vogt and his first wife, Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull
Edna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer....
, were co-Guests of Honor at the fourth World Science Fiction Convention.
In 1980, van Vogt received a "Casper Award" (precursor to the Canadian Aurora Award
Aurora Award
The Prix Aurora Awards are given out annually for the best Canadian science fiction and fantasy literary works, artworks, fan activities from that year, and are awarded in both English and French...
s) for Lifetime Achievement. In 1995 he was awarded the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is an award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It is awarded to a living author for lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy. Officially, it is not a Nebula Award though it is awarded at the Nebula ceremony...
by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA). There was controversy over how late in van Vogt’s lifetime the SFWA left it to bestow their highest award. Writing an obituary of van Vogt a fellow Canadian writer of science fiction remarked:
It is generally held that the “damnable SFWA politics” relates to Damon Knight, the founder of the SFWA, who abhorred van Vogt’s style and politics and thoroughly demolished his literary reputation in the 1950s.
Harlan Ellison writing in 1999 the introduction to Futures Past: The Best Short Fiction of A.E. van Vogt was more explicit:
In 1996, van Vogt was recognized on two occasions: the World Science Fiction Convention presented him with a Special Award for six decades of golden age science fiction, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame included him among its initial four inductees.
The works of van Vogt were translated into French by the surrealist Boris Vian
Boris Vian
Boris Vian was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer. He is best remembered today for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sullivan were bizarre parodies of criminal fiction, highly controversial at the time of their...
(The World of Null-A as Le Monde des Å in 1958), and van Vogt’s works were “viewed as great literature of the surrealist school”.
Notable quotes
Concerning Theodore SturgeonTheodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
's death, van Vogt commented:
Novels
(dates given are for the first publication in book form)- SlanSlanSlan is a science fiction novel written by A. E. van Vogt, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction . It was subsequently published in hardcover in 1946 by Arkham House, in an...
(1946) [from serial] - The Weapon MakersThe Weapon MakersThe Weapon Makers is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt.The novel was originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in February–April 1943. In book form , this serial was first published in 1947...
(1947) (serial 1943)(revised 1952)(also published as One Against Eternity (1964)) - The Book of PtathThe Book of PtathThe Book of Ptath is a science fiction novel by author A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in book form in 1947 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 3,021 copies. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Unknown in October 1943...
(1947) (in Unknown Worlds, 1947)(later as Two Hundred Million A.D. [1964] and Ptath [1976]) - The World of Null-AThe World of Null-AThe World of Null-A, sometimes written The World of Ā, is a 1948 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was originally published as a three-part serial in Astounding Stories...
(1948) (revised from 1945 serial)(revised again 1970) - The House That Stood StillThe House That Stood StillThe House That Stood Still is a science fiction novel by American author A. E. van Vogt, first published in 1950. It was also published under the titles The Mating Cry and The Undercover Aliens .-Plot outline:...
(1950), also published as The Mating Cry and The Undercover Aliens. The sexual interludes anonymously added to The Mating Cry for its Galaxy Beacon edition have been retained in many later editions. - The Voyage of the Space BeagleThe Voyage of the Space BeagleThe Voyage of the Space Beagle is a classic novel of science fiction by A. E. van Vogt in the space opera subgenre.The novel is a "fix-up" compilation of four previously published SF stories:...
(1950) [from shorts] - The Weapon Shops of IsherThe Weapon Shops of IsherThe Weapon Shops of Isher is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt, first published in 1951. The novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops and Isher civilization:...
(1951) [fix up] - The Mixed MenThe Mixed MenThe Mixed Men is a fix-up novel of science fiction stories by author A. E. van Vogt. It was released in 1952 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. It was reprinted by Berkley Books in 1955 under the title Mission to the Stars. Most of the stories had previously appeared in the magazine...
(1952), also published as Mission to the Stars [fix up] - The Universe MakerThe Universe MakerThe Universe Maker is a science fiction novel by American author A.E. van Vogt, published in 1953 by Ace Books. It takes place 400 years into the future. The main character is Morton Cargill, a U.S. army officer who served in the Korean War.-Synopsis:...
(1953) (revised from 1950 story, 'The Shadow Men') - Planets for Sale (1954), with Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer....
[from shorts] - The Players of Null-AThe Players of Null-AThe Players of Null-A, usually written The Players of Ā, is a 1956 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt originally published as a four-part serial in Astounding Stories from October 1948 to January 1949...
(1956), also published as The Pawns of Null-A - The Mind CageThe Mind CageThe Mind Cage is a 1957 novel by A E Van Vogt created and adapted from a short story The Great Judge ....
(1957) [expanded from short, 'The Great Judge', 1948] - Empire of the AtomEmpire of the AtomEmpire of the Atom is a science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in 1957 by Shasta Publishers in an edition of 2,000 copies. The novel is a fix-up of the first five of van Vogt's Gods stories which originally appeared in the magazine Astounding. The remaining Gods stories...
(1957) [from shorts] - Siege of the Unseen (1959) [as 'The Chronicler' (1946)][also published as The Three Eyes of Evil]
- The War against the Rull (1959) [fixup]
- Earth's Last Fortress (1960), first stand-alone publication, previously titled Recruiting Station and Masters of Time
- The Wizard of LinnThe Wizard of LinnThe Wizard of Linn is a science fiction novel written by A. E. van Vogt and a sequel to Empire of the Atom. The novel was originally serialized in the science fiction magazine Astounding Science Fiction...
(1962) (serial, 1950) - The Violent Man (1962), political thriller set in China
- The Beast (1963), also published as Moonbeast [fixup]
- Rogue ShipRogue ShipRogue Ship is a 1965 novel by A E Van Vogt created and adapted from 3 short stories to form a novel. The 3 short stores used were:- Centarus II Originally published in Astounding Science-Fiction in 1947...
(1965) [fixup] - The Winged Man (1966), with Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer....
- The Changeling (1967) stand-alone publication of story first published in 1942 and 1944 in Astounding Stories
- The SilkieThe Silkie (novel)The Silkie is a fix-up science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt, first published in complete form in 1969. The component stories had previously been published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.-Plot introduction:...
(1969) [from short stories] - Children of TomorrowChildren of TomorrowChildren of Tomorrow is a 1970 novel by American author A. E. van Vogt.-Plot introduction:Commander John Lane returns from a ten year mission in spaceto find that the teenagers of Spaceport City have organized...
(1970) - Quest for the Future (1970) [fixup]
- The Battle of Forever (1971)
- The Darkness on Diamondia (1972) [from short story]
- Future Glitter (1973), also published as Tyranopolis
- The Man with a Thousand NamesThe Man with a Thousand NamesA short novel written by A. E. van Vogt. Published in August 1974 by DAW, and in December 1975 by Sidgwick and Jackson.-Plot summary:The main character is Steven Masters. A spoiled 23-year-old who happens to be the only son of the world's richest man. At a party he states that he wishes to go on a...
(1974) - The Secret Galactics (1974), also published as Earth Factor X
- Supermind (1977) [from short stories]
- The Anarchistic Colossus (1977)
- The Enchanted Village (1979), chapbook
- Renaissance (1979)
- Cosmic Encounter (1979)
- Computerworld (1983), also published as Computer Eye
- Null-A ThreeNull-A ThreeNull-A Three, usually written Ā Three, is a 1985 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It incorporates concepts from the General semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic....
(1984) - To Conquer Kiber (1985)
Collections
- Out of the UnknownOut of the Unknown (collection)Out of the Unknown is a collection of fantasy short stories written by A. E. van Vogt and E. Mayne Hull. It was first published in 1948 by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in an edition of 1,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the magazine Unknown.-Contents:* "The Sea Thing" by A. E. van...
(1948), with Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer.... - Masters of TimeMasters of TimeMasters of Time is a collection of two science fiction novellas by author A. E. van Vogt. It was first published in 1950 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 4,034 copies. The novellas originally appeared in the magazine Astounding....
(1950) (aka Recruiting Station) [also includes The Changeling, both works were later published separately] - Triad (1951) omnibus of The World of Null A, The Voyage of the Space Beagle, Slan.
- Away and Beyond (1952) (abridged in paperback in 1959; abridged (differently) in paperback in 1963)
- Destination: Universe!Destination: Universe!Destination: Universe! is the second collection of science fiction short stories by A. E. van Vogt, published in hardcover by Pellegrini & Cudahy in 1952, and repeatedly reprinted in paperback, by three different publishers, over the next 25 years. The first British edition appeared in 1953,...
(1952) - The Twisted Men (1964)
- MonstersMonsters (collection)-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.-Short...
(1965) (later as SF Monsters (1967)) abridged as The Blal (1976) - A Van Vogt Omnibus (1967), omnibus of Planets for Sale (with Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer....
), The Beast, The Book of Ptath - The Far Out Worlds of Van Vogt (1968)
- The Sea Thing and Other Stories (1970) (expanded from Out of the UnknownOut of the Unknown (collection)Out of the Unknown is a collection of fantasy short stories written by A. E. van Vogt and E. Mayne Hull. It was first published in 1948 by Fantasy Publishing Company, Inc. in an edition of 1,000 copies. The stories originally appeared in the magazine Unknown.-Contents:* "The Sea Thing" by A. E. van...
by adding an original story by Hull; later abridged in paperback as Out of the Unknown by removing 2 of the stories) - M33 in AndromedaM33 in AndromedaM33 in Andromeda is a collection of six science fiction stories by A. E. van Vogt first published in April 1971.-Contents:* "Siege of the Unseen"...
(1971) - More Than SuperhumanMore Than SuperhumanMore Than Superhuman is a collection of stories by A.E. van Vogt, published in 1971. It included the short stories/novellas The Reflected Men, Him, Research Alpha, Humans, Go Home! and All the Loving Androids....
(1971) - The Proxy Intelligence and Other Mind Benders), with Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer....
(1971), revised as The Gryb (1976) - Van Vogt Omnibus 2 (1971), omnibus of The Mind Cage, The Winged Man (with Edna Mayne HullEdna Mayne HullEdna Mayne Hull was a science fiction writer who published under the name E. Mayne Hull. She was the first wife of A. E. van Vogt, also a science fiction writer....
), Slan. - The Book of Van Vogt (1972), also published as Lost: Fifty Suns (1979)
- The Three Eyes of Evil Including Earth's Last Fortress (1973)
- The Best of A. E. van Vogt (1974) later split into 2 volumes
- The Worlds of A. E. van Vogt (1974) (expanded from The Far Out Worlds of Van Vogt by adding 3 stories)
- The Best of A. E. van Vogt (1976) [differs to 1974 edition]
- Pendulum (1978) (almost all original stories and articles)
- Futures Past: The Best Short Fiction of A.E. Van Vogt (1999)
- Transfinite: The Essential A.E. van Vogt (2002)
- Transgalactic (2006)
Non-fiction
- The Hypnotism Handbook (1956, Griffin Publishing Company, with Charles Edward Cooke)
- The Money Personality (1972, Parker Publishing Company Inc, West Nyack, NY, ISBN 978-0-13-600676-3)
- Reflections of A. E. Van Vogt: The Autobiography of a Science Fiction Giant (1979, Fictioneer Books Ltd, Lakemont, GA)
- A Report on the Violent Male (1992, Paupers' Press, UK, ISBN 978-0-946650-40-8)
External links
- Earthlink.net - 'Icshi: the A.E. van Vogt information site'
- van Vogt's Obituary at LocusOnline
- MMedia.is - 'Weird Worlds of A. E. van Vogt: 1912–2000'
- SciFan.com - 'Writers: A. E. van Vogt (1912–2000, Canada)' (bibliography)
- Man Beyond Man: The Early Stories of A.E. van Vogt by noted SF author and critic Alexei Panshin
- A. E. van Vogt's fiction available at Free Speculative Fiction Online