Slan

By: A. E. van Vogt

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Jommy Cross is a slan, a genetically bred superhuman whose race was created to aid humanity but is now despised by normal humans. Slans are usually shot on sight, but that doesn't stop Jommy's mother from bringing him to see the world capital of Centropolis, the seat of power for Earth's dictator, Kier Gray. But on their latest trip to Centropolis, the two slans are discovered, and Jommy's mother is killed. Jommy, only 9 years old, unwittingly becomes caught up in a plot to undermine Gray, who may be more sympathetic to slans than the public suspects. The nonstop action and root-for-the-underdog plot has made Slan a science-fiction favorite.

©1940, 1945, 1951, 1968 A. E. van Vogt. Introduction 2007 Kevin J. Anderson (P)2007 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"One of the landmark novels of the genre." ( Library Journal)

Decent precursor to X-Men

Slan isn’t the best work that Van Vogt wrote, but it’s still a satisfying story of supermen and mystery boxes. I doubt if this is the first occurrence of the idea of mutation causing a sudden wave in human evolution, but you can certainly see the groundwork for stories like the X-men here.

The narrator does a great job of making it sound appropriately like 1940s pulp.

a product of its time

The science is weak, and the plot devices are simple; but surprisingly advanced for being written in the 1940s

Compelling

Easy listen to the end and the twist caught me off guard.... Definitely enjoyed it.

Simply amazing for its time!

A real ear burning experience. Hard to imagine how long ago it was written. Super!

Evolved human on the cusp of a post-human era

Slan by AE van Vogt is a futuristic tale focused on a post-human theme. The tale opens well into the future where a 'slan' is an evolved human with superintelligence and the ability to read minds as well as block their own mind from being read. Slans are hunted and killed by normal humans. A young, fatherless slan, Jommy, ends up in the major city that rules the planet when his mother is killed. As he survives by his wits, he matures to where his can execute the hypnotic suggestions left by his father, a brilliant scientist who developed a powerful energy source. Jommy learns that there are 'tendrilless' slans (he has tendrils that make him easy to identify as a slan) without psychic abilities who have been secretly plotting to also kill the 'tendril' slans and takeover the world. This leads him through a series of adventures that culminates in a shocking revelation as he comes to understand the slan origins and the underlying geopolitical realities of his world.

While van Vogt overall plot is certainly engaging and superbly executed, there are multiple inconsistencies that are never addressed and detract from the tale. For example, no reason is given for why Jommy's mother brings him to the city in the first place that only results in her death. No contingencies were made for her absence, while his father decided to hide his greatest invention right in the heart of largest anti-slan elements. The normal humans seem totally unaware of the tendrilless slans right in their midst and that group seems to be able to develop space capabilities including launching rockets right under the nose of the human government. All the while, both the humans and the tendrilless are forever hunting for the mythical true slan enclave without success. Finally, the big reveal at the end only further confuses the intentions and motives throughout.

The narration is reasonably done with an adequate range of characters, although granny got tedious after a while.

2016 Retro Hugo winner.

2016 Retro Hugo winner. It certainly earned my vote and I am 0leased it won.

Very Good especially since written in 1940 . . . 😱

Any Sci-Fi fan will enjoy this . . . . 😱
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😱 I also encourage my fellow Audible Listeners to be more critical in your reviews. I say this because I realize that I have been relatively uncritical of the first hundred books or so I have read--and that I am seeing few average reviews below a 3.9 or a 4.0--and I don't believe this reflects the actual merit(s) of the works we are reading/listening to.
I believe that unless we sharpen our critique writing tools the value of these Audible reviews will become something akin to the "all 4 star reviews" we see on every movie Netflix carries--in other words "worthless."
There is a huge amount of material available on Audible but I have but one lifetime to give for listening pleasure. I have already set the bar for a book for my consideration (barring special circumstances) at >100 reviews minimum, and >4.3 average of reviews. Also I look at the reviews distribution bars and expect mainly 5's and 4's and I shy away from books getting a lot of 3's, 2's, and 1's. To do this I believe we listeners need to look a little beyond our own self-interest and self-satisfaction and try to judge a work on the merits of the author who created the story and of the narrator who rendered it "audible"; not only expressing our enjoyment but how this "work" (author and narrator) compares to the rest of the body of work available to listen to. And do you really think every book you listen to is 4 or 5 stars?
And are you really recommending it to all the other Audible reader-listeners out here by such a review?
Thanks for reading and listening. 😱

An Old Friend

When I started this audio book, I really wondered if the reader was up to it. And, you know what? He is. It's a classic of old science fiction. I remember it from when I was young. And it still holds up. So often, with science fiction, even the big authors of today, the characters seem shallow, even whiney. I'm sorry to say that. But, that's not the case here. Van Vogt was writing much more than just a fiction of ideas. He had something he was trying to say. This was his first novel. And what a grand debut! Some reviewers, elsewhere, complain of how this novel slows down in places, of how it's not all about sustained action. In truth, that is precisely why this novel is as great as it is. It's an odd story. Slightly structured on formula, with serialized climaxes. But, van Vogt truly believed in intuition. Not just pure reason. And these things clash in this novel. Wonderfully so. So, if you like the older stuff, this is definitely one of the better ones. And the audio version carries it well. Recommended.

Phenomenal

I could’ve kept listening to this book even if it was 10 times longer. Great descriptions and story. Atomic age tech was smoothly palatably explained without insulting the readers intelligence. The story has twists and surprises. masterfully crafted, well written, and the narrator did a superb job.

Classic from the Golden Age

Van Vogt was once the most popular SF writer of his day. Today he's not as popular as tastes in style have changed. Some readers will rate this as a two star story--for stylistic infelicities (largely masked in an audio reading), comparative descriptive dearth, and basic characterizations. On the other hand, a large contingent of SF readers enjoy a break-neck pace, surprises in character and SF ideas, and a focus on its unraveling SF aspects. Since novels should be rated on what they are aiming for versus what a reader expects, I gave this four stars.