The Voyage of the Space Beagle
The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E Van Vogt
I can’t remember when I first heard about this book, but immediately knew I wanted to read it. It took a little bit of hunting down as it wasn’t in the bookshops and Amazon were asking for stupid money, but Abebooks came through for me, and I got an old mass paperback copy.
The Voyage of the Space Beagle follows the crew of the ship as they explore the universe. The book is essentially four different stories, but has been put together as a “Fix-up Novel” a concept that I absolutely love and will do myself at some point. Within the stories the large crew battle wild alien cats (early Xenomorph, and apparently the genesis of the idea) Mind invading aliens, a powerful alien that can live in space, and evil space dust. All four stories are fantastic, with the first and third probably being my favourite.
In my mind the book really is an all time classic space saga like the cover declares. The characters and their opposing viewpoints clash wonderfully, bringing life to the crew. Each adventure has a unique protagonist, with the threat being real and dangerous. We have spaceships, alien worlds, futuristic guns, new disciplines, and plenty of exploration. Everything feels speculative and space opera like, which is my jam.
The structure for each story is similar, but that adds to the weekly adventure like vibe the book offers. There’s an unknown problem, the crew aren’t on the same page about it, the problem becomes a massive threat, and they must somehow work together to solve it. Simple, easy, and classic. The brilliances is in the characters and story telling, rather than some overly complex structure.
I liked A.E van Vogt writing style a lot and have already picked up another two of his books. Despite the futuristic setting and vast amount of characters the stories are easy to follow. Everything is laid out cleanly with the exposition being discussions amongst the crew as they form their plans. It’s pulpy at times, and of it era… but I loved it.
Anyone who just wants to read a fun space adventure I highly recommend this one. And for those curious about its links to Alien I'd definitely recommend at least reading the first story about the Coeurl (The Black Destroyer) because yeah, while I'm not for suing people and believe there will always be plenty of creative overlap in peoples work, Vogt may have had a point.
