Slan

1940 novel by A. E. van Vogt

For the manga character, see List of Berserk characters § Slan. For the Irish phrase, see Slán Abhaile.

Slan

First edition

Author| A. E. van Vogt
Cover artist| Robert E. Hubbell
Language| English
Genre| Science fiction
Publisher| Arkham House

Publication date

| 1946
Publication place| Canada
Media type| Print (Hardback)
Pages| 216

Slan is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt, 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 (September–December 1940). It was subsequently published in hardcover in 1946 by Arkham House, in an edition of 4,051 copies. In 2016, Slan was awarded the Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novel for 1941.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

Slans are evolved humans, named after their alleged creator, Samuel Lann. They have the psychic 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. However, the human dictator Kier Gray leads a campaign to exterminate the Slans.

There are two kinds of Slans. One type has tendrils 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 them. These Slans are hunted to near extinction. The other type is tendrilless, equally as intelligent as the tendrilled kind but without psychic abilities, except the ability to hide their thoughts from the first type of Slan.

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. In fulfilling his mission, he seeks to destroy Kier Gray, and, in their final confrontation, discovers an astonishing secret.

## Reception

[edit]

Groff Conklin, reviewing a 1951 edition, described Slan as "a little overblown, considerably melodramatic, but still [a] really gripping adventure story."[2] P. Schuyler Miller called Slan "van Vogt's first and most famous novel, perhaps his best."[3] In a back-cover blurb in the 1998 Orb edition, Charles de Lint 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 [van Vogt's] novels." 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."[4]

## "Fans are slans"

[edit]

In American science fiction fandom, the slogan "Fans are slans"[5][6] 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" 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 for a home occupied primarily by fans. The first Slan Shack to bear that name was established in 1943 in Battle Creek, Michigan by Al and Abby Lou Ashley, Walt Liebscher, E. Everett Evans and fan artist Jack Wiedenbeck.[7] Others have included the Bozo Bus Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Lytheria in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[8]

## Toward the Terra

[edit]

The manga and anime series Toward the Terra 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 and non-telepathic humans[9] brainwashed by them.

## 2007 sequel

[edit]

American science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson 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 that van Vogt struggled with at the end of his life.[citation needed]

## General and cited sources

[edit]

* Jaffery, Sheldon (1989). The Arkham House Companion. Mercer Island, Washington: Starmont House, Inc. pp. 20–22\. ISBN 1-55742-005-X.
* Chalker, Jack L.; Mark Owings (1998). The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998. Westminster, Maryland and Baltimore: Mirage Press, Ltd. pp. 29–30.
* Joshi, S.T. (1999). Sixty Years of Arkham House: A History and Bibliography. Sauk City, Wisconsin: Arkham House. pp. 37–38\. ISBN 0-87054-176-5.
* Nielsen, Leon (2004). Arkham House Books: A Collector's Guide. Jefferson, North Carolina and London: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 60\. ISBN 0-7864-1785-4.

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ "1941 Retro-Hugo Awards" at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved October 2, 2016.
2. ^ "Galaxy's 5 Star Shelf", Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1952, p.120
3. ^ "The Reference Library", Astounding Science Fiction, July 1952, pp.159
4. ^ "Reviews: November 1975", Science Fiction Studies, November 1975
5. ^ Laney, F. Towner (1950). "Fanzine Scope," Spacewarp 36, March 1950. online reprint: "Fanzine Scope"
6. ^ Eney, Richard (1959). Fancyclopedia 2, 1959, 1979, p. 63, The Mirage Press. online reprint: "Fans are Slans"
7. ^ Coger, Dal. "The Legendary Slan Shack", Mimosa #22, pp. 28-30
8. ^ Brooke, Zach. "Fun House" Milwaukee Magazine March 2016
9. ^ Cirulnick, Brian. "To Terra/Toward the Terra/Terra He" anime.com September 2008 Archived 2009-12-17 at the Wayback Machine

## External links

[edit]

Look up slan or slanhood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* Slan title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

* v
* t
* e

Works by A. E. van Vogt

Novels|

* The Book of Ptath
* The House That Stood Still
* The Voyage of the Space Beagle
* The Mixed Men
* The Universe Maker
* The Mind Cage
* Rogue Ship
* The Silkie
* Quest for the Future
* Children of Tomorrow
* The Man with a Thousand Names
* Supermind

Series|

| Null-A|

* The World of Null-A
* The Pawns of Null-A
* Null-A Three

|

Slan|

* Slan
* Slan Hunter (with Kevin J. Anderson)

The Weapon Shops of Isher|

* The Weapon Makers
* The Weapon Shops of Isher

Clane|

* Empire of the Atom
* The Wizard of Linn

Rull|

* The War Against the Rull

Collections|

* Out of the Unknown
* Masters of Time
* Destination: Universe!
* Monsters
* M33 in Andromeda
* More Than Superhuman

Stories|

* Vault of the Beast (1938)
* Black Destroyer (1939)
* The Weapon Shop (1942)
* The Search (1943)
* Far Centaurus (1944)
* A Can of Paint (1944)
* The Rulers (1946)
* The Monster (1948)
* Dear Pen Pal (1949)
* Enchanted Village (1950)
* The Sound (1950)

* v
* t
* e

Hugo Award for Best Novel

Retro|

* The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White (1939)
* Slan by A. E. van Vogt (1941)
* Beyond This Horizon by Anson MacDonald (1943)
* Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (1944)
* Shadow Over Mars by Leigh Brackett (1945)
* The Mule by Isaac Asimov (1946)
* Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein (1951)
* Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1954)

1950s|

* The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)
* They'd Rather Be Right (aka: The Forever Machine) by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley (1955)
* Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
* The Big Time by Fritz Leiber (1958)
* A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1959)

1960s|

* Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1960)
* A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1961)
* Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1962)
* The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1963)
* Here Gather the Stars (aka: Way Station) by Clifford D. Simak (1964)
* The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber (1965)
* Dune by Frank Herbert / ...And Call Me Conrad (aka: This Immortal) by Roger Zelazny (1966)
* The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1967)
* Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1968)
* Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (1969)

1970s|

* The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1970)
* Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971)
* To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer (1972)
* The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973)
* Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1974)
* The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975)
* The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976)
* Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1977)
* Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)
* Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1979)

1980s|

* The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (1980)
* The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (1981)
* Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh (1982)
* Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov (1983)
* Startide Rising by David Brin (1984)
* Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985)
* Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1986)
* Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987)
* The Uplift War by David Brin (1988)
* Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh (1989)

1990s|

* Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1990)
* The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (1991)
* Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold (1992)
* A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge / Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993)
* Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994)
* Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (1995)
* The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1996)
* Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1997)
* Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1998)
* To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (1999)

2000s|

* A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (2000)
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (2001)
* American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002)
* Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer (2003)
* Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004)
* Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005)
* Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (2006)
* Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (2007)
* The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009)

2010s|

* The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi / The City & the City by China Miéville (2010)
* Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (2011)
* Among Others by Jo Walton (2012)
* Redshirts by John Scalzi (2013)
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2014)
* The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (2015)
* The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (2016)
* The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin (2017)
* The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
* The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2019)

2020s|

* A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (2020)
* Network Effect by Martha Wells (2021)
* A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (2022)
* Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (2023)
* Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (2024)

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