Amazon.com: The Voyage of the Space Beagle: A. E. van Vogt: Books

Review

“A. E. van Vogt is truly a grand master of science fiction. He is to Canadian SF what H. G. Wells is to the British variety or Jules Verne is to the French. We all stand on his broad shoulders.”
--Robert J. Sawyer

Product Description

One of the great original classics of modern SF returns!

An all-time classic space saga, The Voyage of the Space Beagle is one of the pinnacles of Golden Age SF, an influence on generations of stories. An episodic novel filled with surprises and provocative ideas, this is the story of a great exploration ship sent out into the unknown reaches of space on a long mission of discovery. They encounter several terrifying alien species, including the Ix, who lay their eggs in human bodies, which then devour the humans from within when they hatch. This is one of the most entertaining and gripping stories in all of classic SF.

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Product Details

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Orb Books; Reprint edition (July 8, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0765320770
ISBN-13: 978-0765320773
Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (27 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,457 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ear tendrils, peasant stage, cyclic history, energy screen, technique room

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Captain Leeth, The Director, Director Morton, Acting Director, Elliott Grosvenor, Gregory Kent, Vogt Grosvenor, The Japanese, Nexial Foundation, Star Time, Gunlie Lester

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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	89% buy the item featured on this page: The Voyage of the Space Beagle 4.3 out of 5 stars (27) $10.17
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Customer Reviews

27 Reviews

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)

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16 of 16 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 (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (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.

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9 of 9 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 (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (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

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I just don't know. maybe a bit flat?, June 9, 2000

By	"phyed-rautha" (Rishon Le Zion Israel) - See all my reviews

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

Let me say first that I'm the youngest and most eager Alfred Elton Van-Vogt fan I know.

I'm 20 years old and so far I've read 11 "Vogtians" , and that's alot for someone in Israel - we don't have his books around.

And ofcourse , everyone says that the "Beagle" is , if not the best , then one of the 3 best Van-Vogt novels.

I disagree. O.k , the story is just too flat. I mean , this space ship flys around and every time it tacklls a problem the only one who's able to solve it is Grosvner , all the other scientists are self-centered impotents.

And besides that , the way the problem just "fall" on the crew when the're finished with the last one - too "Star trek adventures" for me to buy as serius sci-fi , since I know how Van-Vogt can write.

BUT - nextialism is nice. more than that , I think that it could work. As always , the aliens are interesting , well thought-of , and unusual. And there's that master's writing style - I can't put my finger on it , but Van-Vogt just know's how to make you swallow the book instead of reading it. If you're interested in reading full-potential Van-Vogt read :"The silkie" , "Empire of the atom"&"Wizard of lin" , "A world of null-a"&"The players of null-a" and "Slan".

Bye.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Boldly Going to explore strange new worlds
These are the voyages of the the Space Beagle, her five year mission: To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Sacramento Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Nexialism
This book is about wo different things. The first is the four episodic plots where the crew meets a different alien in each plot, then it proceeds to try to kill them, and they... Read more

Published 8 months ago by David A. Olson

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
The original scary Alien is Black Destroyer - the rest isn't up to that standard of this old space opera, as the crew tries to solve alien problems - best when they are... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Blue Tyson

5.0 out of 5 stars Nexialism vs. far-flung complex aliens
Written in 1959 - wiseguy, hard SF space novel readers don't knock it yet! A.E. van Vogt presents, carries and completes a beautiful presentation about a roaming scientific... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Mike Dalke

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic...
You hear that a lot. This is a classic, that is a classic. But this IS a classic.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle is one of those books that have inspirited many later... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Michael Valdivielso

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Sci-Fi and the Basis for Alien
The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt is a book that could best be described as Classic Sci-Fi. Read more

Published on June 11, 2007 by Stephanie Toland

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and imaginative but dated!
With all the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to read Van Vogt's "Voyage of the Space Beagle" with the same clarity and futuristic vision that perhaps inspired Gene Roddenberry to... Read more

Published on April 24, 2007 by Paul Weiss

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent but definitely overrated by some reviewers
This novel is a collection of four novellas that were originally published independently in various pulp magazines from the 30's to the 50's. Read more

Published on October 8, 2006 by Utah Blaine

4.0 out of 5 stars An Amalgamation of Four of Vogt's Novelettes and Short Stories Into One Novel
Van Vogt combined four of his shorter stories into one novel, so although the novel publication dates lists 1950, parts were written in 1939 and 1943. Read more

Published on May 14, 2006 by Antinomian

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
I first found van Vogt at a garage sale and ever since have been scrounging anywhere for these books!

I just wish I had teachers like the Hero! 'nuff said. LOL

Published on April 14, 2006 by Elsbeth Shelley

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