The World of Null-A

infobox Book |
name = The World of Null-A
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Cover of first edition (hardcover)
author = A. E. van Vogt
illustrator =
cover_artist = Leo Manso
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Simon & Schuster
release_date = 1948
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages = 246 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by = The Players of Null-A "The World of Null-A", usually written "The World of Ā", is a 1948 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It was originally published as a three-part serial in Astounding Stories. It incorporates concepts from the General Semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic.

Plot summary

It tells the story of Gilbert Gosseyn, a man living in an apparent utopia in which those with superior understanding and mental control rule the rest of humanity. But when Gosseyn wants to be tested by the giant Machine that determines such superiority, he finds that his world is not as it appears. "The World of Null-A" is followed by the sequels, "The Pawns of Null-A" (also known as "The Players of Null-A") (1956) and "Null-A Three" (1984).

"The World of Null-A" appeared originally as a 1945 serial in the magazine "Astounding Science Fiction", which was edited by John W. Campbell, Jr. Van Vogt revised and shortened the tale for the 1948 novel release by Simon and Schuster. In 1970, van Vogt revised it yet again (though only slightly this time), and added an Author's Introduction in which he both defended the controversial work, and admitted that the original serial had been flawed.

Related works

"Æon Flux" (1991) by Peter Chung shares many motifs with "The World of Null-A", largely based on the applied outlook of General Semantics. In both stories, the protagonist repeatedly dies and is reborn. "Æon Flux" implicitly relies on densely layered multiordinal dialogue, while "The World of Null-A" explicitly states its use as such. Also, the dynamic tension between collectives of Null-A and non-Null-A adherents in "World of Null-A" respectively correlates to the Monican and Breen civilizations in "Æon Flux" -- particularly the scheming of the president/chairman as antagonist. Finally, both utilize surreal settings and experiences from which the stories unfold.

External links

* [http://vanvogt.www4.mmedia.is/nullA1chapter.htm Chapter one] online
* [http://www.sfsite.com/04a/wn149.htm Review from the SF Site]
* [http://www.home.earthlink.net/~icshi/Summaries.html#ThreeWorlds The Three Worlds of Null-A] by Isaac Wilcott (Icshi), analyzing the three different publishings of "The World of Null-A" (not its sequels)