The World of Null-A

It is difficult to review the books of A.E. van Vogt. In fact, even during his time, he was difficult to review by the professional reviewers. His books, I think it can be said, are different from anyone else's. There wasn't anyone like him during his prime years (the 1940's), nor has there been anyone like him since. He is not everyone's cup of tea. His stories are often illogical and are filled with loose-ends that do not get tied up. They have often been described as dreamlike, and there is the paradox. For their power lies in their dreamlike intensity, wild ideas and concepts, and roller-coaster plots. If they were more logical, and more carefully plotted and constructed, they would lose much of their power and intensity. Of all of his books, this is the one that is the most powerful and the most memorable, in my opinion. In fact, 30 years after reading it for the first time, I still consider it the most unforgettable book I have ever read. You are hooked from the outset, and you must find out - as the main character must find out - who is Gilbert Gosseyn? It is exciting, spell-binding, confusing, mind-bending and totally absorbing. And along the way, you will be introduced to this thing called General Semantics. If you are like me, you will have to know more about it, too. The sequel, The Players of Null-A, is also a great read. Together, these two books are among my two favorite series of all-time, rivaled only by Dan Simmons' Hyperion and Endymion books. Although van Vogt returned to Null-A with a third book in the 1980's (Null-A Three), this third book is a weak entry and does not really continue the story in a meaningful way. For a better return to the Null-A universe, try John C. Wright's Null-A Continuum (published in 2008). Wright does something I thought impossible - he emulates van Vogt's style - not just in the way he uses the language, but also by the roller-coaster plot and the vastness of the ideas and concepts. In some ways, Wright's book becomes almost incomprehensible - but, then, so do many of van Vogt's books! Wright's ending is great, as it takes the books full circle, right back to where it all began...with the World of Null-A.

The World of Null-A (1948) is the first SF novel in the Null-A series. The Earth has been gradually influenced by the principles of General Semantics over several centuries under the direction of the Semantic Institute and the Games Machine. Those who show the greatest comprehension of these principles are transported to Venus to live in a Non-Aristotelian society. Those who don't score high enough to be allowed on Venus are awarded with high offices on Earth. In this novel, Gilbert Gosseyn has traveled to the city of the Machine to participate in the annual Games. Joining the local self-protection group, his identity is challenged by a resident of his home town. A lie detector confirms that he is not Gilbert Gosseyn, but states that his true identity is not known within his mind. Ejected by the hotel staff into the crime filled night, Gilbert is bewildered by these events. Without any warning, a young woman runs into him and almost knocks them both off their feet. The woman claims to be pursued by two men, but Gilbert doesn't see them. Teresa Clark tells him that she has been evicted from her boarding house and lacks a place to spend the night. Gilbert finds them a vacant lot and they settle down amidst the bushes. During their discussion, various things she says and does contradict her story. The next day, he learns that she is actually Patricia Hardie, the woman that he had believed to be his dead wife. In this story, Gilbert meets various members of a group that has taken over the government of Earth and Venus. Patricia's father is the President of Earth. Thorson is the personal representative of the leader of the Greatest Empire. Elred Crang is the commander of the local Greatest Empire forces and John Prescott is his vice-commander. Dr. 'X' is a gravely injured Earth scientist whose personality has been distorted toward megalomania. They all seem to be interested in his brain. After his interrogation and examination, Gilbert is carried down, still bound to his chair, into a dungeon and locked up. Later, Patricia releases him and they escape to her room. Then guards come searching for him and he slips out the window. As he is approaching the Games Machine, cars come out of the trees and attack him. He is shot by projectile weapons and burned by energy guns, quickly passing out from the blood loss. Later, Gilbert wakes up on Venus. He doesn't have any scars or other signs of the wounds and burns, but he still has all his memories, including those of extreme pain. He visits the house of Prescott and Crang, but is then captured and returned to Earth. There he is shown the corpse of Gosseyn I. Apparently he is Gosseyn II, alive and well after the death of his previous body. This story has several themes, one of which is the practice of General Semantics. This approach to mental discipline, based upon the theories of Alfred Korzybski, is claimed to provide greatly stability and adaptation to change. An introduction

The first hard-cover science fiction novel published by a major publisher after World War 2 (Simon and Schuster, 1948). Null-A was listed by the New York area library association among the hundred best novels of 1948. It won the Manuscripters Club award. Translated into nine languages, it made its author the most popular writer in France in terms of copies sold; and all by itself, it created the French science fiction market. If you can't get this book here, get a used copy. It's a real page-turner, creating a unique and exciting future. The hero uses the Null-A discipline to out-think his rivals. It's the clash of minds that makes it so exciting. The Null-A discipline actually exists; and many people who read Null-A went on to study the discipline of Null-A, and found their lives enriched. If you read this book and are intrigued, then I suggest you go on to Science and Sanity, by Alfred Korzybski, a book that Russell Meyers, the noted neurologist, once described as "The most profound, insightful, and globally significant book I have ever read." But first read the World of Null-A, as it sets the stage, and makes the purpose and scope of the Null-A discipline (and Science and Sanity) truly understandable (as no other introduction can).

Van Vogt wrote this suspenseful account of a computer controlled utopia in 1945. Classic, edge-of-the-seat Van Vogt! This, along with Slan (1940), and The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1939) are his best works. IMHB.

This book changed my brain. The story centers on the 'life' of Gilbert Gosseyn (Go-Sane), a man with a very special brain. As a contestant in the Game, a challenging test of one's ability to master Null-A (non-Aristotelian logic), Gilbert hopes to achieve one of the better prizes, citizenship on Venus or even the Presidency. But a conspiracy of shadowy players and public figures have other plans for Gilbert and his special brain. Gilbert is a surprisingly resilient challenge to their power. And a great surprise to himself, as well. As he discovers more about himself, he also learns more about a larger game being played by hidden masters who control whole galaxies. At first a humble and unwitting pawn, Gilbert is quickly promoted as he progresses through the ranks in unorthodox and interesting ways. In addition to the great pulp-style sci-fi story, A.E. Van Vogt adds a lot of interesting semantic theory by beginning each chapter with a quote for Alfred Korzybski's work SCIENCE AND SANITY. "The Map is not the territory it represents" is one of the shorter, and most easily understood. They get progressively more challenging, mirroring Gilbert's story. The Korzybski excepts are worth the price of the book alone. If you're interested in a good old sci-fi tale with conspiracies, space battle and other planets, as well as some thing which actually challenges your own mental processes, check it out.