The Voyage of the Space Beagle [Mass Market Paperback]

A. E. Van Vogt (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Manor Books (1976)
• ASIN: B000YMSHRW
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)

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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rousing ride, January 18, 2002

By 

Michael Battaglia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voyage of the Space Beagle (Paperback)

One of Van Vogt's most loved books, I have to admit that there was a certain thrill in here that was lacking in "The World of Null-A" probably because it's much less based in an unfamiliar philosophy, but at the same time it's much less complex. Still for straightforward authentic Golden Age SF it doesn't get much better than this. Basically you have four stories (it's all treated as one story but it's four separate situations) of the crew of the Space Beagle as they explore the vast reaches of space. Each is a little mini-adventure, two involve horrific aliens, one is a tad dopey and the last involves an alien so big that only in the Golden Age could you get away with it. Beyond the ideas the stories themselves are exciting, even if in the beginning the crew comes off as a bunch of total idiots (twice they bring the alien onto the ship! twice!) and they never really stop being self centered. Much of the book is seen through the eyes of Grosvenor, the new guy with the new science of Nexialism which is apparently a way to integrate all the sciences, among other things . . . unfortunately this means that the stories fall into a pattern where everyone has the wrong solutions to everything because they are self centered and can't see past their own disciplines until Grosvenor basically forcefeeds them the solution. But, as typical for novels from this period, you don't read them for the staggering charactizations but the ideas and Van Vogt writes like a madman here, cramming so many fanciful into each chapter and making you believe them that you find yourself devouring the book more than reading it, especially the bits with the aliens (the second alien was an obvious influence on the movie Alien, right down to it picking people off in the ship) which are genuinely frightening . . . it's a credit to Van Vogt that he can write the scenes from the aliens POV convincingly, sometimes more convincingly than the people. It may or may not be his best book, but it definitely ranks as one of the few all out fun classics from the Golden Age of SF. Sadly it's only available used these days but even then a little searching can probably dig it up.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Into the Unknown, October 15, 2007

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voyage of The Space Beagle (Mass Market Paperback)

The Voyage of the Space Beagle (1950) is a standalone SF novel. The Space Beagle is a roving laboratory ship that is outward bound to another galaxy. Almost every human science is represented onboard the great ship, including one Nexialist. These scientists are searching for new and unusual data that they can use to evaluate and revise existing scientific theories.

In this novel, Ellott Grosvenor -- the Nexialist -- observes as the other scientists encounter a huge black cat-like animal on a previously unexplored planet. The creature is obviously intelligent, as is shown by its straight-forward, yet cautious, approach to the scientists. It even has manipulative tentacles around its neck.

Coeurl is hungry, but knows that it cannot directly attack the small strangers and survive. It acts friendly and later ambushes a lone individual among the ruins of the Builders. For the first time in weeks, it absorbs life sustaining id from the body. But its feeding is interrupted by the approach of a small flyer.

The strangers are suspicious of Coeurl after the body is found. Gregory Kent -- head of the chemistry department -- is very angry at the death of his friend Jarvey. He wants to terminate the creature immediately, but is overruled by Hal Morton, the expedition director.

The chemistry department analyses the remains and discovers a shortage of potassium. They prepare a soup of potassium suspended in an organic compound similar to its state within the human body and Kent presents a bowl filled with the substance to the alien creature. Before most of the department heads, Coeurl angrily dumps the contents of the bowl into Kent's face.

After being thrown off his feet by the forcefully thrown substance, Kent responds by drawing his vibrator gun and shooting the creature. He is quickly disarmed, but the whole incident results in a loud argument. Eventually one of the participants notes that Kent's shot struck Coeurl without harming the creature.

In this story, Grosvenor leads the creature into a specimen cage and the doors are locked from the outside. Grosvenor submits a report to the director about the incident and points out that, with the creature's known and suspected abilities, the current confinement has certain flaws. Later that night period, Coeurl manipulates the electrical lock with its control of electromagnetic energy and starts killing off the humans.

At first, the creature kills humans in individual bedrooms and returns to the cage in sufficient time to fool the roving guards. When it reaches a dormitory, however, Coeurl goes into a killing frenzy and returns late to the cage. As it is killing the guards, one cries out and sets off alarms throughout the ship. It throws the bodies far down the corridor and slips into the cage, locking the door behind it.

This story tells of the battle between Coeurl and the humans. It also relates the experiences of the ship's crew and passengers when they encounter the bird-like Riim espers, the almost unkillable space-living Ixtl, and the galaxy-spanning dispersed intelligence of the Anabis. As the ship's captain says, "scientists can find trouble where it never existed before."

This is one of the earliest novels by the author and is based on his first published short story -- "Black Destroyer" -- from the July 1939 issue of Astounding. It contains most of the elements that earned him a lofty reputation: high adventure, exotic science, and extraordinary individuals. While the book publication was almost sixty years ago, this story still seems to be as futuristic as the latest tales in SF magazines. The science of Nexialism could be announced anytime in the next year or so.

Obviously, the title and plot of this story refer to the voyages of the HMS Beagle. This nineteenth century brig was used for three voyages of exploration, but is remembered mostly for the second voyage. In 1831, the Beagle sailed from Plymouth with the naturalist Charles Darwin onboard. While visiting the Galapagos Islands, Darwin collected the data that eventually led to his theory of evolution.

This story, however, expands upon the voyages of the Beagle. Rather than a small vessel, the space version is a huge starship capable of tremendous velocities through intergalactic space. Moreover, the ship carries over eight hundred scientists and hundreds of tons of tools and instruments. The author doesn't think small.

Highly recommended for van Vogt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure, advanced mental training, and unknown worlds.

-Arthur W. Jordin

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Sci-Fi and the Basis for Alien, June 11, 2007

By 

Stephanie Toland "stephlee77" (Peoria, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Voyage of the Space Beagle (Hardcover)

The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt is a book that could best be described as Classic Sci-Fi. Science Fiction in general is a genre that is very new to me, and I have never read any van Vogt. So I decided to go on a voyage!

This book was originally 4 short stories that were put together in a "fixup" by van Vogt. The stories are all about the crew of the Space Beagle (a Darwin reference) and its intergalactic expedition. The crew is made up of military personnel and scientists that are on board to study alien life in other galaxies. Eliot Grosvenor, is the books protagonist. He is the lone Nexialist aboard the ship. Nexialism is a relatively new science. It is one that encompasses ALL the other sciences and relates them together. It is more generalized than specific, but it also adds an element of hypnotism and mind control. At first, Grosvenor isn't given much thought. He is left to himself until trouble comes aboard and his skills are called into play.

Each story, or section, in the book describes contact with an alien race. In the first story, the crew members explore what they think is a seemingly deserted planet. The stumble across Coeurl, a cat-like creature that has tentacles and an incredible hunger. He pretends to be just another dumb animal, and the crew members "capture" him and take him aboard the ship to study. But Coeurl is hungry and he has an agenda. He quickly escapes and terrorizes the ship.

They also encounter the Riim, a bird-like creature that has great hypnotic power; the Ixtl, a devil-like alien that is keen on breeding, by implanting his eggs in the stomach of the crew members; and Anabis, who is galaxy-wide and is waiting to take over planets.

While the aliens are the main part of the storyline, what appealed to me even more was the relationships of the crew members. If the creatures outside don't get you, the people inside just might! There is a political undertone that reflects the climate on the ship. The military and the scientists always seem to be at odds with each other and underlies the harmony on the ship. It seems to be a pretty accurate assessment of ventures even today that involve the same types of people. While a lot of the "scientific" stuff is really dated, I was intrigued by the politicking going on inside the walls of the Beagle. This was a short, fun read. I can see a lot of present day science fiction that was influenced by this writer. Overall, I highly enjoyed it!!