Rating: 
Summary: A Forgotten Classic That Should Be Remembered
Review: "Slan" is A. E. van Vogt's first novel. It was published in book form in 1946 by Arkham House, but the story originally appeared in the pages of Astounding Magazine in 1940. It was a highly rated classic of Science Fiction for more than 25 years after it originally appeared, but today it is often forgotten along with many of the early classics. In 1949 it was tied for 4th on the Arkham Survey of 'Basic SF Titles'. It ranked 2nd on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll in 1952, 5th, in 1956, and 3rd in 1966.It is the story of a mutant race of humanity (Slan) who are stronger, smarter, and are telepathic. In the story we are told that the name Slan is derived from Samuel Lann who is purported to be the creator of the race. At the start, the Slan are hunted by humanity to be destroyed, and through the course of events we learn the history of the race, as well as the truth behind the crimes of which they are accused. The story is told through the eyes of two of the Slan. The first is Jommy Cross who is nine years old when the story commences, and who is becomes isolated from any other Slan when his mother is captured. The second Slan is Kathleen Layton, who is a prisoner of the government and being held for observation. This is an excellent book, which holds up well 60+ years later. It is fast paced, and definitely worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Racial and social allegory that ultimately yields to formula
Review: "Slan" is one of those "classic" works of science fiction that readers will inevitably view either historically (as a literary ancestor of modern science fiction) or artistically (as an exciting allegory in its own right)--or both. First, the history. Written as a serial for Astounding Science Fiction magazine in 1940 and published as a novel in 1946, van Vogt's novel was intended for a mostly teenaged audience. Yet even as pulp fiction for young adults, "Slan" surpasses other stories from the era for its perceptive racial commentary, reflecting the horrors both of Nazi Germany and of world war. The kernel of the plot revolves around the inexplicable animosity, 1,500 years in the future, between "slans" (genetic human mutants with two hearts, enhanced physical prowess, and the ability to read minds) and "normal" humans. The human hatred for slans is clearly a futuristic version of "blood libel": in the Middle Ages, Jews were falsely accused of reenacting the crucifixion by murdering Christian children; likewise, slans are blamed for harming human children--although the exact nature of the injury and any evidence for its cause remains elusive. The centuries-old mutual fear between slans and humans, then, is fueled more by distrust and difference than by any actual threat. The technology ranges from the prophetic to (of course) the preposterous. The menace of the atomic bomb and the escalating intensity of weaponry haunts the story--and I have to assume that some of these passages were revised for the 1946 novel-length version. ("They didn't have his perfect type of atomic energy. Nor was their method a development of the rather superb, so-called atomic bomb of old times, with its heavy water and uranium base, and chain reaction.") But much of the science is the stuff of Depression-era comic books: it's hard not to chuckle when, in a pivotal scene, Jommy (the hero) jumps through the opening of a launching spaceship as if it were a passing surfboard. Artistically, the book is a mixed success. Keeping in mind the age group for which it was written, the prose is competent enough. The story itself starts off with a bang--Jommy barely escapes human hunters who mercilessly kill his slan mother--and the first half is a moving bildungsroman of sorts, describing his adventures and emotional growth as he tries to survive in a hostile world. A parallel (and equally involving) story follows Kathleen, a girl slan imprisoned for "observation" purposes. Yet by the last few chapters, van Vogt seems to abandon his focus on character, psychology, race, and social commentary in favor of the predictable formula his pulp-magazine audience expected from him. (And, as others have noted, the "surprise" finale is downright silly.) So, it's a mixed treat of a novel: most readers will applaud the daring departures from formula but mourn that, in the end, "Slan" succumbs to comic-book banality.
Rating:
Summary: A Forgotten Classic That Should Be Remembered
Review: "Slan" is A. E. van Vogt's first novel. It was published in book form in 1946 by Arkham House, but the story originally appeared in the pages of Astounding Magazine in 1940. It was a highly rated classic of Science Fiction for more than 25 years after it originally appeared, but today it is often forgotten along with many of the early classics. In 1949 it was tied for 4th on the Arkham Survey of 'Basic SF Titles'. It ranked 2nd on the Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll in 1952, 5th, in 1956, and 3rd in 1966.
It is the story of a mutant race of humanity (Slan) who are stronger, smarter, and are telepathic. In the story we are told that the name Slan is derived from Samuel Lann who is purported to be the creator of the race. At the start, the Slan are hunted by humanity to be destroyed, and through the course of events we learn the history of the race, as well as the truth behind the crimes of which they are accused.
The story is told through the eyes of two of the Slan. The first is Jommy Cross who is nine years old when the story commences, and who is becomes isolated from any other Slan when his mother is captured. The second Slan is Kathleen Layton, who is a prisoner of the government and being held for observation.
This is an excellent book, which holds up well 60+ years later. It is fast paced, and definitely worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Stays with you long after the last page is turned.
Review: A friend of mine recommended this book to me and I have booted it to my "favorite" list. Being more of a modern SciFi fan, I had my doubts, but I saw so much creativity in this book, that I have gone on the read others of Van Vogt's. The story of a boy who is struggling in a world full of preconceptions, this book is great lesson to how suseptible our race is to taking rumor as fact and how we can be so quick to jugde. A wonderful, easy to follow tale AND it leaves you with something after it's done. Great.
Rating:
Summary: Features a cast of sixteen, original music, & sound effects
Review: Adapted as a full-blown audio stage production by Perry Jacob and Bob E. Flick, Slan is a classic science fiction story by the legendary A.E. Van Vogt. This two hour, ten minute production features a cast of sixteen, original music, and sound effects. Performed by Third Ear Radio Theatre, Slan is set in the 30th century. Mankind had fought and won against the hated slans (genetically manipulated and enhanced humans with telepathic ability). Jommy Cross escaped extermination and is now living in a world dominated by cruel humans determined to obliterate the few remaining slans as fast as they can find them. But he discovers that even in the highest echelons of a ruthless dictatorship there is an unknown secret that will dramatically affect the future of the surviving slans and the human race itself. Slan is very highly recommended, entertaining, "theater of the mind" audiobook experience for all science fiction enthusiasts.
Rating:
Summary: Space war left in the lurtch
Review: As a classic Sci-Fi novel it reads pretty good. Much of the futuristic speculative science is not yet either obsolete nor proven impossible 60 years later. Some of the high-tech foreseen by Vogt includes genetic engineering that was used to modify natural mutant humans for various reasons. There is a war between the one class of mutant/gene-altered people and normal people. The gene-altered mutants have taken over Mars and are launching a major space war on the 5 billion normal humans on Earth. The Martians have thousands of huge and heavily armed space ships that earth science, for some reason, has not developed. There are some psychic mind reading mutants who are hated by everyone, but they secretly control the Earth government. Our hero finds abandoned underground machine shops left by the mutants, and single-handedly builds a space ship much more capable than anything the Martians can manage. He also finds time to build a fortress disguised as a farm defended by an array of super beam weapons, and lots of other unique stuff all in abut 3 years. In the end he finds true love and the book ends with the Martian attack still imminent. The portrayal of racial hate of mutants by normal humans appears to reflect the 1940s racial attitudes and irrational hatreds that were much in contention during W.W.II. Its still fun reading for an entertaining afternoon if you don't mind that he just quit without tying up the many lose ends, or even resolving the pending war.
Rating:
Summary: Space war left in the lurtch
Review: As a classic Sci-Fi novel it reads pretty good. Much of the futuristic speculative science is not yet either obsolete nor proven impossible 60 years later. Some of the high-tech foreseen by Vogt includes genetic engineering that was used to modify natural mutant humans for various reasons. There is a war between the one class of mutant/gene-altered people and normal people. The gene-altered mutants have taken over Mars and are launching a major space war on the 5 billion normal humans on Earth. The Martians have thousands of huge and heavily armed space ships that earth science, for some reason, has not developed. There are some psychic mind reading mutants who are hated by everyone, but they secretly control the Earth government. Our hero finds abandoned underground machine shops left by the mutants, and single-handedly builds a space ship much more capable than anything the Martians can manage. He also finds time to build a fortress disguised as a farm defended by an array of super beam weapons, and lots of other unique stuff all in abut 3 years. In the end he finds true love and the book ends with the Martian attack still imminent. The portrayal of racial hate of mutants by normal humans appears to reflect the 1940s racial attitudes and irrational hatreds that were much in contention during W.W.II. Its still fun reading for an entertaining afternoon if you don't mind that he just quit without tying up the many lose ends, or even resolving the pending war.
Rating: 
Summary: Really not that good
Review: Bearing in mind that this is an opinion: I did not particularly enjoy this book. It is not captivating like the best works of Alfred Bester, and at times it can be difficult to keep yourself reading. Warning: there are spoilers in this review. The style is distinctly early-sci-fi, which makes for a rather plodding pace. The main character, Jommy Cross, is a rather frustrating hero - much like Hamlet, he seems to sit back and wait. And wait. And wait some more. His inability to take decisive action - he loves everybody! - makes reading this story very unsatisfying. There's little payoff, and no action scenes. Perhaps worse is that the ideas aren't very fun or innovative. Some of them may have been innovative at the time (I am not an expert on sci fi history), but they sure are lifeless. Every time Jommy needs to get out of a jam he just uses his father's "knowledge" to create some new fantastic escape. It's rather like Harry Harrison's "Stainless Steel Rat" - you feel no tension because you know the main character is never in real danger. Worse is the death of the main secondary character. Kathleen, the other "true slan", is allowed to live through the most ridiculous circumstances for ages. Then she is killed in the space of half a page. This could have been a big motivator for our hero - instead he just runs away. I cannot over-emphasize how dull this book is. I cannot strongly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Weak Characterizations a la The X-Men
Review: I bought this book from amazon.com because of the popular opinion that it was one of the classics of the golden age of science fiction. I was very disappointed. Why didn't they print it in the smaller and cheaper standard paperback format? But I digress. I thought the book's major flaw was the characterizations. Even the protagonist is two-dimensional and there isn't one decent human being in the whole novel. As an anthropological sci-fi novel, its threadbare compared to LeGuin's Left Hand of Darkness. The whole idea of goal-oriented evolution that the book bases its premise on is ridiculous and has been repeatedly invalidated by science. The book has some redeeming qualities - there are several surprising plot twists. But it's strictly a book to check out at your local library.
Rating:
Summary: A revelation to me as a teen
Review: I first read Slan in my early teens, and (this is going to get a little personal here, folks) I really identified with the struggle against persecution because at the time I was an adolescent struggling with my own sexuality and the realization that I am gay - something that in my youth (and to a *slightly* lesser extent today) was something to hide, something to fear, lest you suffer persecution. I re-read the book along with a few other Van Vogt novels as an adult, and it still gave me that feeling of empowerment - that being different was not necessarily "bad." I doubt Van Vogt had gay people or any specific minority group in mind when he wrote the novel. It was, after all, 1940, and there was no such thing as political correctness and we as a society saw no harm whatsoever in persecuting entire groups of peoples, subcultures, etc. Which just proves that as a writer, Van Vogt was ahead of his time. The book holds up; it is still a great story, still has great action, mystery and intrigue. A few of the "science fiction" elements are a little cliched today, but they were of course *new* when Van Vogt wrote them. I would have to call Slan one of my all time favorites.
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