The Vang: The Military Form (Mass Market Paperback)

by Christopher B. Rowley (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Del Rey (February 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345331761
• ISBN-13: 978-0345331762
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #224,250 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No escape, no hope, May 3, 2000

By	Anthony Hinde (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Oh boy, this is one scary story. I remember having some fabulous nightmares after reading the first novel in this two part series, (not including Star Hammer). "The Vang: The military form" is fast paced, graphic and horrifically personal. Rowley wrote it nearly ten years after the movie "Alien" was released, so he must have been aware that comparisons would be made. In reality the similarities are more in feel than in format. If Hollywood ever gets around to making a film of the Aliens reaching earth, they could do a lot worse than to use Rowley's book as a template.

The Vang is an aggressive militaristic species that was supposed to have been exterminated by a race, now long dead. The evidence of this is found in archaeological records as well as a large number of post nova solar systems. It seems that the only way this ancient race found to eradicate the Vang, once it had a foot hold on a planet, was to destroy the solar system with a special "Star Hammer" weapon. Such a high price was deemed necessary because the Vang's method of expansion was always at the expense of the species around it. In fact this race was quite happy to utilize the bodies of any other life form as a temporary source of mobility and food. Over all, the Vang are not pleasant neighbors.

The story starts some thousands of years after the last Vang sighting. They are almost considered a myth by this time and so an illegal prospector is unprepared for what he finds on an old derelict in a remote asteroid belt. Naturally he becomes the Vang's first host and as the story progresses we find that this species has many forms, like bees or ants. The genetic codes for each form are contained in each individual and will only be expressed under certain conditions. For example when a bee hive looses it's queen some of the new hatchlings will automatically become queens.

The horror of the story is always generated from a human's point of view as the Vang manage to infest one of the outer worlds, undetected. We are allowed to follow their take-over from multiple view points; the as yet uncaptured humans, the Vang's victims (who are impotent spectators to their body's horrific actions) and the Vang themselves. The Vang are intelligent. They have individual desires and perspectives but are ruled by a hive mentality. It is fascinating and creepy to get into the mind of such a powerfully destructive life form.

I could not put this book down. As soon as it was finished I went straight on to read the sequel, "The Vang: The Battlemaster" which shows us a new twist on the Vang and what drives them. If you're not afraid of nightmares and you love a book that will not let you go, then consider this novel a must.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars christopher rowley, September 4, 2003

By	"altomic" (japan) - See all my reviews

I have never yet read any fantasy by christopher rowley as I find his science fiction to compelling to even even risk the disappointment of another genre by this author.

This may sound preachy but to any reader of Rowleys sci-fi it would sound accurate.

These are books that can be read and read again.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hauntingly Beautiful, October 13, 2004

By	Syte (Honolulu) - See all my reviews

I first read this book many years ago and have read the entire novel 3 times, which is very rare in my reading habits. I am a fan of horror scifi and military scifi, and The Vang delivers on both.

It has been at least 10 years since I last read it, but images and ideas from the book still remain, and I often wonder why I can't seem to find more recently published works that measure up to this one.