The Beast

Rating:
Summary: Conspiracies, Regeneration and one Big Oaf make for a winner
Review: A.E. van Vogt covers a lot of ground in this novel, set in the not-too-distant future, and even though it was first published in 1963, most of the questions it raises are still relevant today. The story opens prosaicly enough when Jim Pendrake, formerly of the US Air Force (and minus his right arm), discovers the wreck of an unusual vehicle with a totally unrecognizable engine. The book seems to take its time progressing as this reclusive man takes possession of the engine, conducts some simple tests, and eventually has it taken away from him by unknown assailants. The story shifts gears quickly though, once Pendrake notices that his missing arm has begun to grow back. The pace accelerates after his investigations lead him into the hands of a sinister, secret organization and even bring him to the attention of President Jefferson Dayles, who has his own less-than-savory agenda. Things really get confusing when he loses his memory, develops a new life, escapes his captors, and loses his arm (again), only to wind up being abducted (again), and this time left to die on the moon, where he discovers a society ruled by a million-year-old super-intelligent Neanderthal man. There are a substantial number of further twists and turns in this story, but hopefully one gets the idea. This is a book filled with action, suspense, and particularly surprises, but perhaps its most noteworthy feature is the questions it poses about the cultural revolution that took place in the U.S. around the time the book was written. Van Vogt challenges us to question the place of women in society by postulating a treatment that would allow women to become the "equal of men" in aggressiveness and ruthlessness. He wonders exactly what men expect from women by placing a stalwart monogamist into a society of bigamists. He suggests that Pendrake's regenerative power only makes him more prone to engage in violent and dangerous behavior, putting an unusual slant on the relationship between violence and medicine. But most of all, this book is about power, and how the lust for power drives so many to behave like the beast in his title. Virtually every character is both victim and victimizer at various points in the story, but van Vogt takes pains to point out that only by rising above this primal urge to dominate others can humanity ever hope to become more than a vicious animal. Despite the wild plot and somewhat disjointed structure, this book is both an entertaining and thought-provoking piece of speculative fiction, definitely worth a read.