A.E. van Vogt

[J-Sun]

I'm not sure that it's correct to call van Vogt a Scientologist. He was actually interested in all sorts of 'empowering systems', let's say, before and after Scientology. His writing trailed off in the 50s and I think he was actively involved with them during that time, or at least in the early 50s, but I don't think he was a lifelong cultist. He probably just figured it was interesting and easier money. But it probably wouldn't be correct to say he was never anything at all like a Scientologist either. I'm just saying I think it's a complicated case with van Vogt.

Similarly, I wouldn't say Campbell had any crazy Scientologists (or was one). Campbell was a crazy Dianeticist for a time but eventually lost interest in that and I don't think he was ever a Scientologist. (There's a thread here which points to Pohl's blog where Bester describes a Campbell in full Dianetics fever.)

 

[Elflock]

I'm not sure that it's correct to call van Vogt a Scientologist. He was actually interested in all sorts of 'empowering systems', let's say, before and after Scientology. His writing trailed off in the 50s and I think he was actively involved with them during that time, or at least in the early 50s, but I don't think he was a lifelong cultist. He probably just figured it was interesting and easier money. But it probably wouldn't be correct to say he was never anything at all like a Scientologist either. I'm just saying I think it's a complicated case with van Vogt.

Similarly, I wouldn't say Campbell had any crazy Scientologists (or was one). Campbell was a crazy Dianeticist for a time but eventually lost interest in that and I don't think he was ever a Scientologist. (There's a thread here which points to Pohl's blog where Bester describes a Campbell in full Dianetics fever.)

Yeah,fair enough...I was just stirring...to be honest I'd sort of forgotten there was a distinction between Dianetics,being apparently the secular early version of it,and Scientology,being the seriously out-there religious thing that Tom Cruise and those weirdos are into...ok. Whatever,I actually think all religions are equally crazy and silly anyway,so,you know? Apparently another big thing with Van Vogt was the equally silly (I think!) General Semantics thing...hence the Null-A stuff...whatever,a lot of people love that for some reason! I couldn't read it,too annoying and complicated and silly.
I just had a look at the Van Vogt Wikipedia entry,there's a quote at the top that sort of explains why the guy ended up getting involved with all these things...a bit of a lost soul as a kid...

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&s...sg=AFQjCNFpPaY4U0oVtcqknVDZXdtp6lsrtg&cad=rja

Well,I've read a lot of stuff about John Campbell and his crew of nutters (40's-50's at Astounding/Unknown I meant) many of those really famous writers were into Dianetics in the 50's (sorry,but that spells 'nutter' to me!)...Actually I suppose it was L Ron Hubbard's crew of nutters,but Campbell was the king nutter of them all! He was the one who really pushed Dianetics through his magazines,not Hubbard. And he had a long history of involvement with totally wacky stuff long before any of this came along too.
...re Hubbard,
'so he turned to his editor John W. Campbell, who was more receptive due to a long-standing fascination with fringe psychologies and psychic powers ("psionics") that "permeated both his fiction and non-fiction."

Meanwhile I still love a lot of these guys' work regardless of whatever silly ideas they had at different times of their lives.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Just rattled off van Vogt's The Anarchistic Colossus which to my uneducated eye shows he was still very much influenced by his experiences with Dianetics and Scientology even in the 1970s. The novel deals with suppressed memories implanted by hostile aliens, mechanical mind expansion, hypnosis, and characters who can quote obscure mid-twentieth century psychologists at great length in the middle of heated arguments.

It's also stuffed full of truly dreadful writing. Our possible hero, Chip, has been slugged unconcious and woken up in a prison-like 'cruddy room' with two doors and a telephone. After making a few phone calls he stares at the ceiling for a while:

As he lay there he became aware of a crawling sensation reaching into his two temples and to the centre of the back of his head, and inside to the pineal gland. After several minutes more, Chip realized that the tingling extended through an intricate neural network to all his joints - shoulders, hips, knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, fingers, toes - and to some tiny, tiny energizing spot in every organ including his heart.
Tingle, tingle from head to toe.
He hoped that it would recede from the forefront of his awareness. While he waited for the damned thing to sink to the sub awareness level, two half-hour periods went by. At the end of the thirty-minute cycle, Chip made the same phone test as on the 'night' before. Each time the computer reported: 'Corridor H-640 and H-641 unoccupied.'
Everybody still sleeping.
Tingle, tingle, tingle - Boy, Chip thought, this could get unexciting quick!

This is genius stuff.

 

[Diggler]

Which ones did you buy?

Umm..

Moonbeast
The Null-A series
Slan
The Silkie
The Book of Ptath
Empire of the Atom
Wizard of Linn
The Beast
Rogue Ship
The Universe Maker
Mission to the Stars
The House That Stood Still
Man With a Thousand Names
Darkness of Diamondia
Pendulum

Just a couple as you can see

 

[iansales]

The House That Stood Still (AKA Undercover Aliens) is my favourite van Vogt. The Universe Maker and Mission to the Stars aren't bad. I'm not a fan of Slan, though I know it's one of his most popular books. Empire of the Atom is okay, but The Wizard of Linn is just silly. Pendulum is rubbish.

 

[Diggler]

Thanks for pointing out which ones are worth a read Ian. I've had most of these sitting here for probably a year now, and am in the mood for something fast after working my slowly through Boneshaker.

 

[JunkMonkey]

I'm on a real van Vogt roll. I've read seven or eight of his books so far this year. I've have just rattled through Masters of Time. It is a very short, utterly bewildering book and riddled with gems of highest van Vogtian goodnesses. I kept notes:

From Dr. Lell came a barked command, only twisted foreignish words that nevertheless sounded like:"Grab him!"

The man paused. His brown eyes darkened in a frown, then he smiled with equally amazing grimness.

and

They swaggered, did these boys. When they stood, they leaned with casual grace, thumbs nonchalantly tucked into belts or into the armpits of strangely designed vests. Not more than half a dozen of that bold vigorous-looking crew seemed to be the studious type. Here were men of the past, adventurers, soldiers of fortune, who had mutinied as easily as, under slightly different circumstances, they might have decided to fight for, instead of against, their captors.

and probably the best description of an approach to a new world I have ever read:

He stood finally at the wall visiplate, staring out at the burnished immensity of Venus. The planet, already vast, was expanding visibly, like a balloon being blown up. Only it didn't stop expanding, and, unlike an overgrown balloon, it didn't burst.

More!

 

[Bick]

I just read "The Book of Ptath" by van Vogt. It's quality is questionable . This is a pulp fantasy book about a God trying to win back control of Earth, 200 million years in the future. Somehow the "God" is also a reincarnation of a WWII tank leader. Wierd.

I quite enjoyed some of the fantastic scenes he set up, but the overall impression was not so good. The plot is muddled, badly explained, illogical and just plain daft. The writing is also poor. On the plus side, it's very short!

Funnily enough, despite it being a bit dreadful, I didn't completely dislike reading it; it had its moments. Not much to recommend it overall though.

 

[Extollager]

Clifford Simak's (another nutter

Wait, what? Simak a nutter? What?

Someone?

 

[Vince W]

@Bick will be along shortly to take umbrage with this no doubt.

 

[Bick]

@Bick will be along shortly to take umbrage with this no doubt.

Ha ha - Extollager picked up a jovial comment from August 2011 - I think we can let it go. In truth, some of Simak's ideas are pretty imaginative - though I would say they're not nearly as bonkers as van Vogt, who seems to me to be in a category all his own. The other distinction between the two is that Simak was a very good writer

 

[BAYLOR]

I rather enjoyed Slan.

 

[Zendexor]

I just finished "World of Null-A" and I think he was a bot over the top in this one. As usual it is all about ideas for plot (as opposed to character development and world building) but I think that the plot developments were just too crazy. Still entertaining but a somewhat confusing read...

World of Null-A was torn to shreds by Damon Knight in a devastating critique, but Philip K Dick defended the novel, saying in effect, all right, it doesn't make rational sense, but that's true to life...

 

[BAYLOR]

World of Null-A was torn to shreds by Damon Knight in a devastating critique, but Philip K Dick defended the novel, saying in effect, all right, it doesn't make rational sense, but that's true to life...

It's considered a classic by many .