''The World of Null-A'', sometimes written ''The World of Ā'', is a
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel by Canadian-American writer
A. E. van Vogt
Alfred Elton van Vogt ( ; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born American science fiction writer. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He was one of th ...
. It was originally published as a three-part serial in 1945 in ''
Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
''. It incorporates concepts from the
general semantics
General semantics is a school of thought that incorporates philosophy, philosophic and science, scientific aspects. Although it does not stand on its own as a separate list of schools of philosophy, school of philosophy, a separate science, or ...
of
Alfred Korzybski
Alfred Habdank Skarbek Korzybski (; ; July 3, 1879 – March 1, 1950) was a Polish-American philosopher and independent scholar who developed a field called general semantics, which he viewed as both distinct from, and more encompassing than, ...
. The name Ā refers to
non-Aristotelian logic
Non-classical logics (and sometimes alternative logics or non-Aristotelian logics) are formal systems that differ in a significant way from standard logical systems such as propositional and predicate logic. There are several ways in which this ...
.
Plot summary
Gilbert Gosseyn (pronounced ''go-sane''), a man living in an apparent utopia where those with superior understanding and mental control rule the rest of humanity, wants to be tested by the giant Machine that determines such superiority. However, he finds that his memories are false. In his search for his real identity, he discovers that he has extra bodies that are activated when he dies (so that, in a sense, he cannot be killed), that a galactic society of humans exists outside the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
, a large interstellar empire wishes to conquer both the Earth and Venus (inhabited by masters of
non-Aristotelian logic
Non-classical logics (and sometimes alternative logics or non-Aristotelian logics) are formal systems that differ in a significant way from standard logical systems such as propositional and predicate logic. There are several ways in which this ...
), and he has extra brain matter that, when properly trained, can allow him to move matter with his mind.
Publication history
The novel originally appeared as a serial entitled "The World of Ā" in the August 1945 to October 1945 issues of the magazine ''
Astounding Science Fiction
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', which was edited by
John W. Campbell, Jr.
Van Vogt significantly revised and shortened the tale for the 1948 novel release. Like the serial, the 1948 hardcover (
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
) and the 1950 hardcover (
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898.
The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group.
In recent years, through the P ...
) editions were entitled ''The World of Ā''. To reduce printing costs, the 1953 and 1964
Ace Books
Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...
paperback editions were entitled ''The World of Null-A'', and the symbol Ā was replaced with "null-A" throughout the text. The 1970 revision kept this change, added some brief new passages to chapters 10, 24, and 35, and also included a new introduction in which van Vogt defended the controversial work, but also admitted that the original serial had been flawed.
Critical reception
It won the Manuscripters Club Award. It was listed by the New York area library association among the hundred best novels of 1948. ''World of Null-A'' has been translated into nine languages, and when first published, created the French Science Fiction Market all by itself - according to Jacques Sadoul, editor of ''Editions OPTA''. ''The World of Null-A'' finished second in the Retro Hugo award voting for Best Novel of 1945 presented in 1996 at L.A.con III.
For many years, two quotes appeared on the paperback editions of this novel. "Without doubt one of the most exciting, continuously complex and richly patterned science fiction novels ever written!" - Groff Conklin; and "One of those once-in-a-decade classics!" - John Campbell.
In 1945, the novel was the subject of an extended critical essay by fellow author and critic
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of " To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind ...
.
In the review, which was later expanded into "Cosmic Jerrybuilder: A. E. van Vogt",
Knight writes that "far from being a 'classic' by any reasonable standard, ''The World of Ā'' is one of the worst allegedly-adult science fiction stories ever published." Knight criticizes the novel on four main levels:
# ''Plot:'' "''The World of Ā'' abounds in contradictions, misleading clues and irrelevant action...It is
an Vogt'shabit to introduce a monster, or a gadget, or an extra-terrestrial culture, simply by naming it, without any explanation of its nature...By this means, and by means of his writing style, which is discursive and hard to follow, van Vogt also obscures his plot to such an extent that when it falls to pieces at the end, the event passes without remark."
# ''Characterization:'' "Van Vogt's characters repeatedly commit the error known as the
double-take. This phenomenon is funny because it represents a mental failure...Its cause is inability to absorb a new fact until a ridiculously long time has elapsed. In ''The World of Ā'' there are twelve examples in all."
# ''Background:'' "In van Vogt's world, the advancement over 1945...amounts to no more than (a) a
world government
World government is the concept of a single political authority governing all of Earth and humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors.
There has ...
; (b) a handful of gadgets...van Vogt has not bothered to integrate the gadgets into the technological background of his story, and he has no clear idea of their nature."
# ''Style:'' "Examples of bad writing in ''The World of Ā'' could be multiplied endlessly. It is my personal opinion that the whole of it is written badly, with only minor exceptions."
In his author's introduction to the 1970 revised edition, van Vogt acknowledges that he has taken Knight's criticisms seriously, thus the reason for his revising the novel so many years after its original publication.
In 1974 Damon Knight walked back his original criticisms:
Sequels
''The World of Null-A'' was followed by the sequel, ''
The Pawns of Null-A'' (also known as ''The Players of Null-A'', 1956), and much later by a follow-up, ''
Null-A Three
''Null-A Three'', usually written ''Ā Three'', is a 1985 science fiction novel by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt. It incorporates concepts from the General semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic.
The novel i ...
'' (1984).
In 2008
John C. Wright wrote a novel as new chapter to the story of Gilbert Gosseyn, ''Null-A Continuum'', in the style of van Vogt.
References
External links
*
* ''The World of Null-A'' as serialized in ''Astounding Science Fiction''
parts onetwo an
threeat the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Of Null-A
1948 American novels
1948 science fiction novels
American philosophical novels
General semantics
Non-classical logic
Novels by A. E. van Vogt
Novels first published in serial form
Simon & Schuster books
Works originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact