r/books • u/i-the-muso-1968 • 7h ago
War in time: A.E. Van Vogt's "Masters of Time".
So getting back into some A.E. Van Vogt with one of his shortest novels that I've ever read, "Masters of Time". Well, it's actually a novella really, and was originally called "Recruiting Station" that was published in a march issue of Amazing Science Fiction in 1942. It would later be given one of two alternate title in later reprints, one in a two novella collection that also called "Masters of Time" and as a separate book in the sixties, only this time with the title "Earth's Last Fortress" (I've got the MacFadden Bartell edition with the title that it had in the novella collection).
This short and sweet story follows two people, Norma and Jack, who become victims to the masters of time. Both should have been destroyed, but somehow they seem to gain strength from each other and manage to maintain some free will. But is it enough to save themselves and the world?
This is all fast paced action here, and with such a short length (as novellas are going to be) it's a really super quick read. Never really a dull moment with Van Vogt, always so fun to read his stories whenever I get the chance! "Masters of Time" is not an overly complicated story, but the fast thrills will certainly brighten someone's day!
Got a couple more novels, with one, "The World of Null-A", coming up sometime in the future. But for tomorrow I've got my eyes on a novel by one Gerard Klein that I'll soon be starting on, "The Overlords of War", which could be another interesting read!
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u/Really_McNamington 3h ago
I revisited some of Alfred Elton's stuff having not read it since my early teens. (Decades ago) Slight case of the suck fairy for me·
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u/UpsetBasin 7h ago
Van Vogt’s pacing is almost reckless in the best way. you barely get time to breathe before the next idea hits, and it somehow still holds together. Null-A is a trip though, be ready for it to feel like three novels crammed into one.