The World of Null-A
by A. E. van Vogt
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Book Reviews of The World of Null-A
Book Review: Times Have Changed
Summary: 4 Stars
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. Or is it? There are some not so enlightened aliens apparently set to take over. The hero, Gilbert Gosseyn, a Null-A'er and a man with two brains and apparent amnesia, gets tangled up in the invasion plans and tries to stop them with the help of some other interesting characters. It is hard to tell if he is successful at the end.
For the most part, I enjoyed the book, as the author used some clever and at times amusingly quaint plot devices, but it does have some downsides.
First, the book was written a long time ago (the 1940's), so presents the future in a somewhat strange fashion, at least viewed from our "more modern" perspective. The author apparently tries to extrapolate future technologies/discoveries based on what existed in his time. For example, he keeps talking about "tubes" whenever dealing with devices - I think he means something like vacuum tubes. Transistors as we know them today probably were not invented or widely known back then. Another example is Venus being covered with plant life and inhabitable by humans without environmental suits. To be fair, he does come up with some Star Trek like transport technology - well sort of like that.
Second, the author does not do a very good job explaining the Null-A philosophy used by the hero in the book. Null-A refers to non-Aristotelian type logic (from the General Semantics of Alfred Korzybski) as opposed to classical two valued logic. Interested readers might take a look at articles on wikipedia if interested in Null-A/General Semantics, but they should be warned that it is not easy reading.
Third, I believe that this book was originally published in serial form which seems to result in some choppy, short chapters which I found most noticeable towards the end.
Fourth, the book ends in a somewhat unsatisfying manner. However, there are sequels.
Despite the downsides mentioned, the book is entertaining, and I think worth reading. Younger readers might find it a bit old fashioned though.
Book Review: Null-A Thinking
Summary: 5 Stars
In 1933 Polish mathematician Alfred Korzybski published a remarkable book,"Science and Sanity", available in this country through the Institute of General Semantics, Lakeville Connecticut. In it Korzybski advanced a number of controversial ideas. The most striking of which was that the Aristotelian method of understanding the world is wrong and the way to scientific advancement and a correct understanding of the universe must rely on non-Aristotelian methods (null `A'). Korzybski also maintained that human cognition was a function of balance between the cortex and thalamus sections of the human brain.
Clearly Van Vogt was familiar with Korzybski's ideas and incorporated them very entertainingly in his "null-A" themed science fiction. This book was originally published as a three part serial in John Campbell's wonderful SiFi magazine "Astounding Science Fiction" (now "Analog"). Its protagonist is Gilbert Gosseyn (the man with `two brains') is a dedicated non-Aristotelian who is central to protecting the Earth, its null-A paradise, Venus and its null-A world view from a ruthless inter Galactic Empire bent on incorporating the solar system into its empire and destroying the null-A mindset. In the end the Aristotelian way of doing business is defeated by the logic and sanity of the null-A forces.
Now this book was written in the 1940s so much of its terminology will undoubtedly appear quaint to 21st Century readers ("atomic torpedoes"). However underlying this is a very serious and very interesting argument in favor of Korzybski's ideas on both science and sanity. In a very real sense Van Vogt was concerned with ideas much more than gadgets in most of his work and certainly this was the case in this book. It is still a fun read that might even precipitate some serious thought.
Book Review: The World of Null-A VS the World of A
Summary: 3 Stars
To start with: for 1945, the science is excellent. Roboplanes, sentient Machines, and a system of instantaneous transportation/communications, that after being called ansible in the seventies or quantum-whatever in our days is still a common device among SF writers. Not to mention an Avatar-like counterattack of peaceful Venusians on the bad guys.
Also, as a reader, I felt I liked the main hero, Gilbert Gosseyn, perhaps because his strong wish to discover his true identity reflects my (and I suppose everyone else's) wish to discover the same in a metaphysical way of thinking.
Moreover, all the loose threads are tied in the last sentence, something that makes the novel quite remarkable.
However, I felt I could have used some more help in:
The World of Null-A VS the World of A. The novel left me in the darkness and I had to search the Internet to find some thought provoking material about Alfred Korzybski and his world of General Semantics. I'm not saying that Van Vogt should have written a thesis instead of a novel, but not all of us were born philosophers or linguists.
Also, for a book that is written in first POV, thinly disguised as third (the story is completely linear, and could have very well been in the form of "I stared out of the window of my hotel room. From a thirty-story vantage point, I could see the city of the Machine spread out below me" etc etc), the narration is convoluted and difficult to follow, like a good film with a bad editor.
All in all, a remarkable, albeit paradoxical novel. 3 ½ stars.
Book Review: Dated, but still fun
Summary: 4 Stars
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. Some of the high-tech foreseen by Vogt includes a society run by a mega-computer which selects leader based on a mental discipline and philosophy called "Null-A." Our hero enrolls in the annual selection by the computer after some years of study. Selected winners are sent to an imaginative colony on Venus. Everything in perfect order, until he finds out that his brain has been tampered with, he isn't who he thinks he is, and nothing is as it seems. The Earth is a pawn in a galaxy wide political plot wherein one evil dictator is planning to destroy Earth and Mars as and use it as justification to start a huge interstellar war. Our hero finds out that his brain has been genetically augmented to give him extra abilities, and his body is being cloned and the clones receiving his mental patterns so that when he is killed the clone takes over without loss, a sort of immortality. Typical of early sci-fi the characters are mostly cardboard cutouts. There is a woman in the plot, and he almost but not quite manages a relationship. In Vogt style it ends when he gets tired of writing without the reader finding out what ever became of the space war. Still, it's an entertaining read on a lazy afternoon.Book Review: Unsane Planet
Summary: 4 Stars
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 space battles to intricate plotlines and socio-political themes. Here van Vogt created a world ruled by machines and logical philosophy - which serves as both a stinging commentary on the managed ideological societies arising during that time period, and as a forerunner of future cyberspace fiction. This novel also features bizarre psychological skullduggery and some commentary on the futility of war. Unfortunately, the storyline is a bit dissatisfying as van Vogt piled on layer upon layer of cloak-and-dagger shenanigans and conspiracies, focusing on relentless (and eventually tiresome) action rather than fulfilling resolutions to his thematic issues of freedom and humanity. Intriguing plot elements like a galactic war and a pro-human insurrection are also left unresolved at the end of the book. This leads to some trouble with reading this book in itself, but the historically-minded sci-fi fan will surely notice its considerable influence on the future of the field, and van Vogt deserves credit for his breakthrough. [~doomsdayer520~]