''Slan'' is a
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by American-Canadian writer
A. E. van Vogt
Alfred Elton van Vogt ( ; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) 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 ...
, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''
Astounding Science Fiction
''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 C ...
'' (September–December 1940). It was subsequently published in hardcover in 1946 by
Arkham House
Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had pr ...
, in an edition of 4,051 copies. In 2016, ''Slan'' was awarded the
Retro-Hugo Award
The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...
for
Best Novel for 1941.
["1941 Retro-Hugo Awards"]
at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved October 2, 2016.
Plot
Slans are evolved humans, named after their alleged creator, Samuel Lann. They have the
psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
abilities to read minds and are super-intelligent. They possess near limitless stamina, "nerves of steel," and superior strength and speed. When Slans are ill or seriously injured, they retreat into a healing trance.
There are two kinds of Slans. One type has
tendril
In botany, a tendril is a specialized stem, leaf or petiole with a threadlike shape used by climbing plants for support and attachment, as well as cellular invasion by parasitic plants such as ''Cuscuta''. There are many plants that have tendr ...
s on their heads and can read the minds of ordinary humans and telepathically communicate with other Slans. The tendrils are golden-colored, making it easy to spot a Slan. These Slans are hunted to near extinction. The other type is tendrilless, still super intelligent but without psychic abilities, except the ability to hide their thoughts from the first type of Slan. The human dictator Kier Gray leads a campaign to exterminate the Slans.
As the novel begins, nine-year-old Jommy Cross (a telepathic Slan of the first type) travels with his mother to the capital, Centropolis. They are discovered and Jommy's mother is killed, while Jommy flees. Jommy Cross is not only the heir to the brilliant inventions of his father, but he represents the last hope of the Slan race to save it from
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
. In fulfilling his mission, he seeks to destroy Kier Gray, and, in their final confrontation, discovers an astonishing secret.
Reception
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvemen ...
, reviewing a 1951 edition, described ''Slan'' as "a little overblown, considerably melodramatic, but still
really gripping adventure story."
P. Schuyler Miller
Peter Schuyler Miller (February 21, 1912 – October 13, 1974) was an American science fiction writer and critic.
Life
Miller was raised in New York's Mohawk Valley, which led to a lifelong interest in the Iroquois Indians. He pursued this as ...
called ''Slan'' "van Vogt's first and most famous novel, perhaps his best." In a back-cover blurb in the 1998 Orb edition,
Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese ancestry. He is married to, and plays music with, MaryAnn Harris.
Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, cont ...
says this: "Over fifty years on from when it first saw print, van Vogt's ''Slan'' is still one of the quintessential classics in the field that other SF novels will inevitably be measured against."
R. D. Mullen reported ''Slan'' to be "perhaps the most widely read, and perhaps the best of
an Vogt'snovels." He described the situation of the Slan minority in the imagined society as "obviously intended" as analogous to "the position of the Jews in the Third Reich", though in the novel "there actually is a secret world-wide conspiracy, and the Slans actually do control the world in much the same way as is imagined about the Jews by students of
The Protocols of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
."
"Fans are slans"
In American
science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
, the slogan "Fans are slans" quickly developed, making the analogy between science fiction fans, perceived as harassed because of their greater intelligence and imaginative capacity, and the slans in the novel, who are persecuted for their superior mental abilities. Although some regard the usage as a sign of fandom's elitism, along with the related term "
mundane
In subcultural and fictional uses, a mundane is a person who does not belong to a particular group, according to the members of that group; the implication is that such persons, lacking imagination, are concerned solely with the mundane: the ...
" for non-fans, others regard it as a natural reaction to the disapproval of science fiction fans by the broader culture. The related term "slan shack" came to be used in
fanspeak
Fanspeak is the slang or jargon current in science fiction and fantasy fandom, especially those terms in use among readers and writers of science fiction fanzines.
Fanspeak is made up of acronyms, blended words, obscure in-jokes, puns, coinages ...
for a home occupied primarily by fans. The first Slan Shack to bear that name was established in 1943 in
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, Michigan, Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo River, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek River, Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle C ...
by
Al and Abby Lou Ashley,
Walt Liebscher,
E. Everett Evans
Edward Everett Evans (November 30, 1893 – December 2, 1958) was an American science fiction writer and science fiction fandom, fan.
He married science-fiction author Thelma D. Hamm in 1953.
His works include the novels ''Man of Many Minds'' ( ...
and fan artist Jack Wiedenbeck. Others have included the Bozo Bus Building in
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
and Lytheria in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
.
''Toward the Terra''
The manga and anime series ''
Toward the Terra
is a Japanese science fiction manga series by Keiko Takemiya. It was originally serialized in Asahi Sonorama's ''Gekkan Manga Shōnen'' magazine, between January 1977 and May 1980. In 1978, it won the first Seiun Award for manga, and in ...
'' is influenced by ''Slan''. Both stories feature a hero named Jommy/Jomy, who discovers that he is a member of a race of telepathic mutants, who are persecuted by
artificial general intelligence
Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is the ability of an intelligent agent to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can.
It is a primary goal of some artificial intelligence research and a common topic in science fictio ...
and non-telepathic humans
Cirulnick, Brian. "To Terra/Toward the Terra/Terra He" anime.com September 2008
brainwashed by them.
2007 sequel
American science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson
Kevin James Anderson (born March 27, 1962) is an American science fiction author. He has written spin-off novels for ''Star Wars'', ''StarCraft'', ''Titan A.E.'' and ''The X-Files literature#Novels, The X-Files'', and with Brian Herbert is the ...
completed the sequel to ''Slan'', titled ''Slan Hunter'', that includes content from an unfinished draft by van Vogt. It was published July 10, 2007, and credited to both Van Vogt and Anderson. Van Vogt's widow Lydia van Vogt previously gave permission to publish her introduction online, which partly deals with the onset of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
that van Vogt struggled with at the end of his life.
Sources
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References
External links
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{{Hugo Award Best Novel
1940 debut novels
1940 American novels
1940 science fiction novels
Fictional mutants
Human-derived fictional species
Novels by A. E. van Vogt
Novels first published in serial form
Superhero novels
Works originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact