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The World of Null-A (Paperback)

~ A. E. van Vogt (Author) "THE OCCUPANTS of each floor of the hotel must as usual during the games form their own protective groups. . . ..." (more)
Key Phrases: galactic base, galactic agent, extra brain, Patricia Hardie, Gilbert Gosseyn, Games Machine (more...)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A. E. Van Vogt's early stories broke like claps of thunder through the science fiction field. Such novels as Slan, The Weapon Shops of Isher, and The World of Null-A, all were written with invention, dramatic impact, and a sense of breathless wonder that won him instant popularity" -- Jack Williamson

"After more than half a century I can still recall the impact of his early stories". --Arthur C. Clarke

"Interplanetary skullduggery in the year 2650. Gilbert Gosseyn has a pretty startling time of it before he gets to the root of things. Fine for addicts of science-fiction" --The New Yorker

"One of those once-in-a-decade classics" --John W. Campbell

"A. E. van Vogt was one of the first genre writers ever to publish an actual science fiction book, at a time when science fiction as a commercial publishing category did not yet exist, and almost all SF writers--even later giants such as Robert A. Heinlein--were able to publish novels only as serials in science fiction magazines. It's indicative of the prestige and popularity that van Vogt could claim at the time that he was one of the first authors to whom publishers would turn when taking the first tentative steps toward establishing science fiction as a viable publishing category. . . . Nobody, possibly with the exception of the Bester of The Stars My Destination, ever claim close to matching van Vogt for headlong, breakneck pacing, or for the electric, crackling paranoid tension with which he was capable of suffusing his work." --Gardner Dozois
-- Review


Review

"A. E. Van Vogt's early stories broke like claps of thunder through the science fiction field. Such novels as Slan, The Weapon Shops of Isher, and The World of Null-A, all were written with invention, dramatic impact, and a sense of breathless wonder that won him instant popularity" -- Jack Williamson

"After more than half a century I can still recall the impact of his early stories". --Arthur C. Clarke

"Interplanetary skullduggery in the year 2650. Gilbert Gosseyn has a pretty startling time of it before he gets to the root of things. Fine for addicts of science-fiction" --The New Yorker

"One of those once-in-a-decade classics" --John W. Campbell

"A. E. van Vogt was one of the first genre writers ever to publish an actual science fiction book, at a time when science fiction as a commercial publishing category did not yet exist, and almost all SF writers--even later giants such as Robert A. Heinlein--were able to publish novels only as serials in science fiction magazines. It's indicative of the prestige and popularity that van Vogt could claim at the time that he was one of the first authors to whom publishers would turn when taking the first tentative steps toward establishing science fiction as a viable publishing category. . . . Nobody, possibly with the exception of the Bester of The Stars My Destination, ever claim close to matching van Vogt for headlong, breakneck pacing, or for the electric, crackling paranoid tension with which he was capable of suffusing his work." --Gardner Dozois
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Orb Books (October 25, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765300974
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765300973
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #400,277 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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A. E. VanVogt
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Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THE OCCUPANTS of each floor of the hotel must as usual during the games form their own protective groups. . . . Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
galactic base, galactic agent, extra brain, plastic arm, galactic empire
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Patricia Hardie, Gilbert Gosseyn, Games Machine, Eldred Crang, Teresa Clark, President Hardie, Amelia Prescott, Cress Village, Dan Lyttle, John Prescott, Galactic League, Michael Hardie, Semantics Institute, Jim Thorson, Miss Hardie, Non-Aristotelian Venus, The Egotist
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78% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, But Not His Best, March 15, 2005
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"The World Of Null-A" is a tremendously influential work in the SF genre. It was first published in August - October of 1945 in "Astounding Science Fiction", however that version is quite a bit different from the version which was published in book form in 1948. A final revision was published in 1970, which was very close to the 1948 version.

The core of the story is set in the year 2650, and is told from the point of view of Gilbert Gosseyn, who discovers very early on that all his memories are not real. He is being used as a pawn in a struggle for power.

The story of Gosseyn is interesting and the reader does want to find out what happens to him, but there are problems with the story as well. Key to the plot is the philosophy of Null-A (non-Aristotelianism), which is never clearly defined and thus can easily leave the reader confused. This is the first of three books in this series, so perhaps this problem will be resolved in the other books.

For my tastes, "Slan" was a better example of van Vogt's work. In addition, his Isher series is easier to follow as well. The other two books in the Null-A series are: "The Players of Null-A" and "Null-A Three".
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to permanently alter the way you think, March 22, 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: World of Null-A (Paperback)
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.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Man Who Doesn't Exist, October 17, 2007
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 to this approach can be found within Science and Sanity, first published in 1933.

Another theme is the transportation of objects by causing them to become similar to within twenty decimal places. Supposedly, such similarity will cause the greater to bridge space to the lesser. Although such transits take finite time, the bridging occurs at speeds much greater than lightspeed. Thus, this principle provides a practical way to travel among the stars.

This novel is first of three in the series. The next volume is The Pawns of Null-A (also entitled The Players of Null-A). Enjoy.

Highly recommended for van Vogt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of high adventure, political intrigue, and strange talents.

-Arthur W. Jordin
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Gosseyn or Go Home
The World of Null-A by A. E. Van Vogt is a classic Sci-Fi novel. It was awarded a Retro Hugo Nominee and is considered one of the founding books of the golden age. Read more
Published 1 month ago by John Bradley

4.0 out of 5 stars Times Have Changed
In his book, The World of Null-A, author A E van Vogt gives readers an Earth far in the future that is being run using Null-A philosophy and is seemingly better off than today. Read more
Published 6 months ago by C. Richard

5.0 out of 5 stars Null-A Thinking
In 1933 Polish mathematician Alfred Korzybski published a remarkable book,"Science and Sanity", available in this country through the Institute of General Semantics, Lakeville... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Retired Reader

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Free SF Reader
Extra brain galactic empire immortality plot.

An odd book, detailing a philosophy to select the top guys, a machine running the place, and a plot to get involved in a... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Blue Tyson

4.0 out of 5 stars Unsane Planet
This breakthrough golden age sci-fi novel from the 1940s deserves its status as a classic. A.E. van Vogt was a key player in the general evolution of sci-fi from derivative pulp... Read more
Published 12 months ago by doomsdayer520

5.0 out of 5 stars One from SF's Golden Age ... hooboy!
This is one of the best bad books I know.

It was first published as a three-part serial in the pulpy pages of Astounding Science Fiction Magazine during the second... Read more
Published on March 15, 2007 by L. E. Cantrell

4.0 out of 5 stars Dated, but still fun
As a classic Sci-Fi novel it reads pretty good. Much of the futuristic speculative science is not yet either obsolete nor proven impossible 60 years later. Read more
Published on February 21, 2004 by The Old Philosopher

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic in its time
If this book was released today I don't think it would be as critically praised as it has been and regarded as an outright classic of Golden Age SF. Read more
Published on January 16, 2002 by Michael Battaglia

3.0 out of 5 stars NULL-Sci-Fi
Have you ever read a story and then wondered what you had read? That was my question after finishing this bedtime thriller. Read more
Published on December 8, 2001 by Worldreels

5.0 out of 5 stars when emotional intelligence was still science fiction!
This book is more than "just another science fiction novel". It comes with a message: to get further in life, you have to get yourself to thinking sane. Read more
Published on July 19, 2001 by Patrick Merlevede

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