The Pawns of Null-A

Last updated
The Pawns of Null-A
ThePawnsOfNullA.jpg
Cover of the first standalone edition (under alternative title)
Author A. E. van Vogt
Cover artist Ed Valigursky
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Ace Books (standalone)
Media typePrint
Preceded by The World of Null-A  
Followed by Null-A Three  

The Pawns of Null-A is a 1956 science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt, originally published as a four-part serial in Astounding Stories from October 1948 to January 1949 as The Players of Null-A. It incorporates concepts from the General semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic. It was published in the UK with the original name and in later US republication also had the original name restored.

The novel is a continuation of the story of Gilbert Gosseyn from The World of Null-A , expanding on the galactic events which drove the interplanetary invasion of the earlier story.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. E. van Vogt</span> Canadian science fiction author (1912-2000)

Alfred Elton van Vogt was a Canadian-born American science fiction author. His fragmented, bizarre narrative style influenced later science fiction writers, notably Philip K. Dick. He was one of the most popular and influential practitioners of science fiction in the mid-twentieth century, the genre's so-called Golden Age, and one of the most complex. The Science Fiction Writers of America named him their 14th Grand Master in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hal Clement</span> American author and artist (1922–2003)

Harry Clement Stubbs, better known by the pen name Hal Clement, was an American science fiction writer and a leader of the hard science fiction subgenre. He also painted astronomically oriented artworks under the name George Richard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John W. Campbell</span> American science fiction writer and editor (1910–1971)

John Wood Campbell Jr. was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of Astounding Science Fiction from late 1937 until his death and was part of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Campbell wrote super-science space opera under his own name and stories under his primary pseudonym, Don A. Stuart. Campbell also used the pen names Karl Van Kampen and Arthur McCann. His novella Who Goes There? was adapted as the films The Thing from Another World (1951), The Thing (1982), and The Thing (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poul Anderson</span> American science fiction writer (1926–2001)

Poul William Anderson was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson also wrote historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Leinster</span> American science fiction writer

Murray Leinster was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Frank Russell</span> English science fiction writer

Eric Frank Russell was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels and short stories. Much of his work was first published in the United States, in John W. Campbell's Astounding Science Fiction and other pulp magazines. Russell also wrote horror fiction for Weird Tales and non-fiction articles on Fortean topics. Up to 1955 several of his stories were published under pseudonyms, at least Duncan H. Munro and Niall(e) Wilde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algis Budrys</span> Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic

Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome, John A. Sentry, William Scarff, and Paul Janvier. He is known for the influential 1960 novel Rogue Moon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Williamson</span> American science fiction writer (1908–2006)

John Stewart Williamson, who wrote as Jack Williamson, was an American science fiction writer, often called the "Dean of Science Fiction". He is also credited with one of the first uses of the term genetic engineering. Early in his career he sometimes used the pseudonyms Will Stewart and Nils O. Sonderlund.

<i>The World of Null-A</i> 1948 science-fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt

The World of Null-A, sometimes written The World of Ā, is a 1948 science fiction novel by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt. It was originally published as a three-part serial in 1945 in Astounding Stories. It incorporates concepts from the General Semantics of Alfred Korzybski. The name Ā refers to non-Aristotelian logic.

"Null-O" is a 1958 science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It examines the concept of totally unempathic and 'logical' humans ("Null-O"'s) in a parody of the plot and concepts of The Pawns of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt. These beings view individual collections of matter, i.e. any object, as subjective structures and see the true state of reality as an 'undifferentiated world of pure energy'. They can also move their ears independently, giving them excellent hearing. After attaining positions of power they proceed with a plan to ultimately return everything in the universe to this state. This is to be done by the construction of successively more powerful bombs, ultimately resulting in the rather improbable 'U-bomb' that will homogenise the whole universe. The Null-O plan is halted, however, when the 'ordinary' people of the world, who have survived the nuclear destruction of Earth's surface in the shelters built by their employers, rise up in drilling machines to stop the construction of an 'E-Bomb' designed to destroy Earth, and succeed in destroying both the E-Bomb prototype and the Null-O's themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Rocklynne</span> American novelist

Ross Rocklynne was the pen name used by Ross Louis Rocklin, an American science fiction author active in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. He also wrote under the pen names Paul Cahendon, R. L. Rocklin and R. Rocklinne.

<i>Null-A Three</i> Book by A.E. van Vogt

Null-A Three, usually written Ā Three, is a 1985 science fiction novel by A. E. van Vogt. It incorporates concepts from the General semantics of Alfred Korzybski and refers to non-Aristotelian logic.

John Joseph McGuire was an American author of science fiction.

<i>Rogue Ship</i> Book by A.E. van Vogt

Rogue Ship is a 1965 science fiction novel by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt, adapted from three short stories to form a novel. The three short stories used were:

Telek is a science fiction novella about telekinesis by American author Jack Vance. It was first published in the January 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

<i>The Weapon Makers</i> 1952 novel by A.E. van Vogt

The Weapon Makers is a science fiction novel by Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt.

<i>The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick</i> Five-volume collection published in 1987 of 118 science fiction stories by Philip K. Dick

The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick is a collection of 118 science fiction stories by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Underwood-Miller in 1987 as a five volume set. See Philip K. Dick bibliography for information about the mass market reprints.

<i>The Mixed Men</i> Book by A.E. van Vogt

The Mixed Men is a fix-up novel of science fiction short stories by Canadian-American writer A. E. van Vogt that focus on the mixed offspring of Dellian Supermen and human beings. The novel's title is taken from van Vogt's 1945 Astounding SF short story "Mixed Men", which was nominated for a Retro-Hugo Award in 1996. The stories published in the novel were originally released between the years of 1943 to 1945 in Astounding SF, with the novel being first published in a 5,000 copy printing in 1952 by Gnome Press and a 1955 Berkley Books edition under the title Mission to the Stars.

<i>Analog Science Fiction and Fact</i> US science fiction magazine

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 Clayton, and edited by Harry Bates. Clayton went bankrupt in 1933 and the magazine was sold to Street & Smith. The new editor was F. Orlin Tremaine, who soon made Astounding the leading magazine in the nascent pulp science fiction field, publishing well-regarded stories such as Jack Williamson's Legion of Space and John W. Campbell's "Twilight". At the end of 1937, Campbell took over editorial duties under Tremaine's supervision, and the following year Tremaine was let go, giving Campbell more independence. Over the next few years Campbell published many stories that became classics in the field, including Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, A. E. van Vogt's Slan, and several novels and stories by Robert A. Heinlein. The period beginning with Campbell's editorship is often referred to as the Golden Age of Science Fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifford D. Simak</span> American writer (1904–1988)

Clifford Donald Simak was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.