Thursday, March 03, 2016

Classically Awful or Awfully Classic: Van Vogt’s The World of Null-A

Classically Awful or Awfully Classic: Van Vogt’s The World of Null-A

7 comments:

George said...

Van Vogt is in a class by himself. His stories don't always make sense but they have an undeniable power.

Walker Martin said...

I read it as a teenager in the ASTOUNDING back issues and I remember that John Campbell was very excited about the serial. At the time I liked it but I recently tried to reread it and it did not hold up at all.

Seepy Benton said...

When I was in elementary school, "Null-A" was THE huge science fiction book I read. Somehow, it prepared me for higher mathematics where the Hebrew "Aleph-Null" represents the first infinite cardinal number.

mybillcrider said...

I read it as a teenager and haven't read it since. I thought it was cool at the time.

Tom Johnson said...

PAWNS OF NULL-A was the first I read in the series, and it made me a fan of his early on. I read WORLDS OF NULL-A LATER, then thirty years later read NULL-A THREE, and finally NULL-A CONTINUUM. Granted, looking back the series was good but maybe doesn't hold up as well today. Still, it's one of the series that made me a SF fan, and I will always remember it with fondness.

Graham Powell said...

This one was better than SLAN, but not as good as the novel version of THE WEAPONS SHOPS OF ISHER. As I recall I found it confusing in places, so vintage van Vogt.

lastromantic49 said...

I was possibly in high school or college when I read Players of Null-A. I still remember the Cortical - Thalamic pause, and the protagonist drawing power from nearby electrical outlets. Never did come across the rest of the series. Enjoyed that one, though. Much food for thought.