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Last update:
September 26th, 2010
To Conquer Kiber, summarized by Denis Dubé.

> > > I currently have no plans to write any more summaries for this section of the website. But the summaries already posted will continue to be available here for free, and I'm more than happy to post good summaries written by others.

> > This section of the website tends to focus more on van Vogt's obscure works since information on his most popular ones is widely available, especially on the internet. Yet many of his obscure books and stories deserve equal attention, as they contain some of his best writing and most brilliant concepts. I therefore try to draw as much attention to them as possible, and hopefully these synopses will help the curious and serve as a haven for information on his writings.

> > I have written a few notes on the story's background, which can be read before delving into the plot summary. My personal opinions have been constrained to a paragraph or so after the summary (except Cosmic Encounter, for which I found myself writing several glowing paragraphs!). Information and opinion are clearly separated — a summary will never deteriorate into a scathing dissection of a story's faults, or blithering unthinking praise. I want this site to contain as much high-quality information as possible, so I set out to give you a straight-forward and accurate plot summary. There are often elements in his stories that are open to interpretation — or can be terribly confusing! — so if you think I've totally misunderstood part (or all) of a story, please write to me and let me know what you think.

> > It should be noted that these synopses are in no way meant to replace the stories themselves. Van Vogt's works are irreplaceable, and it would be quite pointless to try. These are meant to serve as a supplement to the stories, as a memory refresher, and as an aid to anyone who is having trouble understanding a plot and would like a "second opinion." If you wish to avoid spoiling surprises when you read the actual books and stories, I would obviously not recommend reading the summary first! I try to make these summaries as thorough as possible, but as any of his readers would attest there are many things in a van Vogt plot that defy a simple summing up.

> > List of Summaries

> > > "Chevrolet, I Love You" | 1970
> > > A humorous short-short story, also published as "Carthing"

> > > Cosmic Encounter | 1980
> > > One of van Vogt's rarest but most intriguing novels

> > > Ghor, Kin-Slayer | 1977-79 1997
> > > An unusual multi-authored fantasy novel that includes van Vogt's chapter "The Gods Defied"

> > > "The Ghost" | 1942
> > > Short story, one of the few fantasy tales he wrote in his lifetime

> > > "Haunted Atoms" | 1970
> > > A decidedly odd short story, hard to find. A haunted house tale with an SF rationale.

> > > "Identity" | 1978
> > > Another short-short story, dealing with the nature of identity

> > > "The Patient" Story credited to E. Mayne Hull | 1943
> > > A short SF story that packs a lot of punch

> > > The People of the Wide Sands Novel written with Renato Pestriniero Summarized by Alexander Martin Pfleger | 1987
> > > This novel has only been published in German (as Metamorphosen) and French (as Au-delá du village Enchanté). Thanks to Alexander, detailed and reliable information on this book is now available in English for the first time.

> > > "The Perfect Day" Summarized by Alexander Martin Pfleger | 1981
> > > A very rare short story which has only been published in German.

> > > Renaissance | 1979
> > > This, perhaps van Vogt's worst novel, is not without some material of interest.

> > > Slan PDF file, 209 KB | 1940, 1946, 1951, 1968
> > > My detailed plot summary of Slan, along with a comparison of the different versions of the novel, is part of a larger worked called Slanology, a comprehensive guide meant to be read as a companion to the novel. It covers virtually every aspect of the story and the fictional world where it takes place. Slanology was originally available only as an ebook from BookLocker.com, but is now offered as a free download. You can read more about all this on the news page.

> > > To Conquer Kiber Summarized by Denis Dubé | 1985
> > > This, one of van Vogt's last novels, is also his rarest, having been published only in a single French edition.

> > > "The Ultimate Wish" Story credited to E. Mayne Hull | 1943
> > > A short fantasy story, first of the three thematically-linked "Wish" tales.

> > > "The Wishes We Make" Story credited to E. Mayne Hull | 1943
> > > A short fantasy story, second of the three thematically-linked "Wish" tales

> > > "The Witch" | 1943
> > > Another of van Vogt's few short fantasy stories.

> > > The World of Null-A PDF file, 376 KB | 1945, 1948, 1970
> > > For those of you who may not know, this novel appeared in three different versions — the original 1945 serial as published in Astounding Science Fiction, the 1948 Simon & Schuster book version which was a complete re-write of the serial, and finally the slightly-revised 1970 Berkley edition. I have written comparative synopses of all three in the form of a free book-length study entitled The Three Worlds of Null-A, which is downloadable only as a PDF document. Click the above link to download it.