The Book of Ptath (Paperback)

~ (Author) "He was Ptath. Not that he thought of his name..." (more)
Key Phrases: temple princess, god chair, boiling mud, Prince Ineznio, Peter Holroyd, Nushir of Nushirvan (more...)

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Product Description

The god Ptath is flung into the far future by a deadly rival and given the mind of a 20th century man. Stranded in this alien world, he must fight to regain his powers before the rival goddess sends the world spinning into chaos and darkness. "Van Vogt's work has a raw power that has never been equalled in science fiction".--Damon Knight.

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Product Details Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Running Press (January 21, 1993) Language: English ISBN-10: 0881847887 ISBN-13: 978-0881847888 Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches Shipping Weight: 3 ounces Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,741,164 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
He was Ptath. Not that he thought of his name. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
temple princess, god chair, boiling mud, citadel palace, golden goddess, prayer stick, gaunt woman

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prince Ineznio, Peter Holroyd, Nushir of Nushirvan, Sea of Teths, Goddess Inezina, Marshal Nand, General Seyteil

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 2 books:

• Cosmic Encounter by A. E. Van Vogt in Front Matter, and page 154
• The Book of Fantasy by Jorge Luis Borges on page 154

 

2 books cite this book:

• Fantasy: The 100 Best Books by James Cawthorne on page 123
• Science Fiction Collections: Fantasy, Supernatural and Weird Tales by Lee Ash on page 122

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	37% buy the item featured on this page: The Book of Ptath 3.2 out of 5 stars (6)
	27% buy Slan: A Novel 3.8 out of 5 stars (35) $11.86
	15% buy The Voyage of the Space Beagle 4.3 out of 5 stars (27) $10.17
	11% buy Transfinite: The Essential A. E. Van Vogt 4.5 out of 5 stars (2) $29.00

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 3.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 14 of 14 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars An Unusual Novel, November 8, 1999 By A Customer After seeing this title with only one review rated at one star I feel I have no choice but to add my own opinion of this unusually-laid out book. The version I read (published by Garland) had a number of illustrations, and the layout was sort of half-religious text half-fantasy novel. Set 2 million years in Earth's future, the God Ptath was reborn (as an almost invincible man with total amnesia) before he was destined to arrive of his own accord. He first finds himself near a stream, only knowing that he must get to a nearby city. After running into some people on a nearby road, and then being tricked into imprisonment by the evil Temple Goddess once at the city, he regains his memories from a former incarnation (an American WWII tank commander)and from there it is an all-out struggle - for the hapless man who now finds himself in a god's body 2 million years in the future - for his very survival against the evil Goddess's plans for continuing world domination. Quite an interesting story I thought which anyone who doesn't mind reading something a little different won't regret reading. 4 of 5 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest fantasy novels ever written, December 29, 2001 By  "icshi" (Ridgecrest, CA United States) - See all my reviews This is one of a few of Van's novels that on the first reading I thought was absolute garbage, but on second reading I thought it was absolutely brilliant. This is not a book to be read and rationalized, but a book to be enjoyed as one would a fantastic dream. The writings of Lord Dunsany and the Dreamworld saga of Lovecraft are similar to this book's style. The plot is, yes, bizarre and often illogical, but that is a great strength rather than a fault. Surrealism permeats this novel, and when you have finished reading it you will remember it like you would a fabulous hazy dream. 4.0 out of 5 stars A god is reborn with a fuzzy memory, January 14, 2009 By  David A. Olson "davidolson22" (WI, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This book tells the tale of a god who is born with no memory. He slowly regains it as the book progresses. A evil godess is working against him, trying to become the only diety by manipulating him. This is the first fantasy book I've read by A. E. van Vogt. It has the same fast pacing as his other books and nearly constant revelatios, as well as numerous setbacks for the hero. I rather enjoyed it. Maybe it isn't a classic, but it is worth a read. I looked over some of the other reviews, and they are correct. This isn't a classic and it does have shortcomings (I've yet to read a book without shortcomings, though). So, I would recommend the book if you are lookign for a quick read, but not if you are looking for the one book that represents everything good about van Vogt's writing. For that, you should probably get Slan or the Voyage of the Space Beagle.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 2.0 out of 5 stars Van Vogt must have had a deadline to meet.... With its very sloppy plot execution and stumbling, verbose, soap opera like dialog, this has too be one of the most poorly written science fantasy novels that I've ever read. Read more Published on September 30, 2001 by H. Powell 3.0 out of 5 stars Though it hurts... I mut say, as much as i admire van-vogt's writing's, that this one is'nt very good. Fast paced, but not deep. Interesting, but not memorable charecters. Read more Published on May 26, 2000 by phyed-rautha 1.0 out of 5 stars Deservedly Out-Of-Print Pedestrian story of an American WWII tank commander who is killed and reborn thousands of years later on a dramatically changed Earth, where he is revealed to be the reincarnation... Read more Published on August 29, 1999 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (January 21, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881847887
• ISBN-13: 978-0881847888
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,741,164 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Unusual Novel, November 8, 1999

By A Customer

After seeing this title with only one review rated at one star I feel I have no choice but to add my own opinion of this unusually-laid out book. The version I read (published by Garland) had a number of illustrations, and the layout was sort of half-religious text half-fantasy novel. Set 2 million years in Earth's future, the God Ptath was reborn (as an almost invincible man with total amnesia) before he was destined to arrive of his own accord. He first finds himself near a stream, only knowing that he must get to a nearby city. After running into some people on a nearby road, and then being tricked into imprisonment by the evil Temple Goddess once at the city, he regains his memories from a former incarnation (an American WWII tank commander)and from there it is an all-out struggle - for the hapless man who now finds himself in a god's body 2 million years in the future - for his very survival against the evil Goddess's plans for continuing world domination. Quite an interesting story I thought which anyone who doesn't mind reading something a little different won't regret reading.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the finest fantasy novels ever written, December 29, 2001

By	"icshi" (Ridgecrest, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is one of a few of Van's novels that on the first reading I thought was absolute garbage, but on second reading I thought it was absolutely brilliant. This is not a book to be read and rationalized, but a book to be enjoyed as one would a fantastic dream. The writings of Lord Dunsany and the Dreamworld saga of Lovecraft are similar to this book's style. The plot is, yes, bizarre and often illogical, but that is a great strength rather than a fault. Surrealism permeats this novel, and when you have finished reading it you will remember it like you would a fabulous hazy dream.

4.0 out of 5 stars A god is reborn with a fuzzy memory, January 14, 2009

By	David A. Olson "davidolson22" (WI, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book tells the tale of a god who is born with no memory. He slowly regains it as the book progresses. A evil godess is working against him, trying to become the only diety by manipulating him.

This is the first fantasy book I've read by A. E. van Vogt. It has the same fast pacing as his other books and nearly constant revelatios, as well as numerous setbacks for the hero. I rather enjoyed it. Maybe it isn't a classic, but it is worth a read.

I looked over some of the other reviews, and they are correct. This isn't a classic and it does have shortcomings (I've yet to read a book without shortcomings, though). So, I would recommend the book if you are lookign for a quick read, but not if you are looking for the one book that represents everything good about van Vogt's writing. For that, you should probably get Slan or the Voyage of the Space Beagle.