Books read in 2017: No. 38 -- Slan

by A. E. Van Vogt

Started: Oct. 25
Finished: Oct. 29

Notes: Here's another classic sci-fi author whom I have never read, this particular novel perhaps being his most famous, or at least the one I have run across the most often. Published originally in 1940, I'm hoping to enjoy it and maybe learn a few things about writing (as is always the case for me). While these older speculative writers might not be popular today, often even forgotten altogether, they do speak to me usually more than modern writers at least as far as the kind of fiction I myself want to write. Admittedly, modern readers might not care for my own writings that draw upon the styles and subjects of authors of the past, but I write for myself first. Plus, since I'm mainly a fantasy writer, if I wrote yet another long pseudo-political piece set in a pseudo-medieval world, or a lengthy novel of nothing but war and war and more war, which seem to be popular currently, I would probably bore myself and maybe give up writing altogether. It's not that there's anything wrong with those types of tales, but I've read enough of them and don't feel a need to read more on any regular basis. And it's not that earlier authors didn't include such themes, but they did also stretch themselves into other subject matters. I'm rambling. I'll go read now.

Mini review: The writing here was actually quite solid, and quite modern. A boy who is a slan, a race with mind-reading powers and some few other abilities, must raise himself secretly among humanity, which seeks to wipe out his race. There's a lot more to it than that, but read it for yourself for some enjoyment. I will say I'd gladly read more from Van Vogt. My only issue here was I felt the ending was a little too rushed.