The War Against the Rull - A.E. Van Vogt Book Review

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Review Summaries

"THE WAR AGAINST THE RULL is a novel published in 1959. There are two main plots in the book. The first one describes the adventures of the scientist/explorer Jamieson who's the sole human aware that the animals found on the planet Carson are telepaths and that they hide this faculty, convinced that the humans will let them in peace if they stay unaware of it. Stranded on a planet with an Ezwal, one of these animals, Jamieson will have a hard time fighting him and the other giant animals living on the planet. As a baby Ezwal is brought to Earth in order to be examined, Jamieson tries to convince his hierarchy that the faculties of the Ezwal could be used by humans and that this species could be educated in order to become friendly allies. Then comes the second main plot of the novel which describes the war between humans and the Rulls, unfriendly aliens trying to invade the galaxy. The humans are searching for a way to get rid of these intelligent worms able to borrow the appearance of the human beings. Jamieson will also be the one who'll find a solution to the Rull problem thanks to the Ezwal brought on Earth. Before that, he'll have to confront the leader of the Rulls for a terrible fight on the soil of the satellite Mira. "
Daniel Staebler, Resident A.E. Van Vogt Scholar

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Overall Review

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%

Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - science fiction story
Tech./$$$/Info hunt Yes
Stealing/recovering/destroying - info about lifeform(s)/society/phenomena
If an invasion, from Earth/human POV: - subtle invasion (mind control, lookalikes)
War or Invasion Yes
Cultural problems, alien culture Yes
Culture clash- - one culture tries to impose its culture on another group

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - scientist
Age: - 20's-30's
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - an entire race
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can change shapes - mind control
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a lot
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Terrain - Jungle - Mountains - Planet surface, need spacesuit - Asteroid
Earth setting: - medium future 22-24th century
Spaceship setting: - one or two man fighter/scoutship
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society - unfriendly aliens
Takes place on Earth? Yes
Planet outside solar system? Yes
Takes place in spaceship? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).

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