Book Review: The War Against the Rull by A.E. Van Vogt

Making friends and influencing aliens.

The Rull: a species so alien that their minds are shrouded from human understanding. Shapeshifters who hide their true insectoid forms, they infiltrate humanity’s empire and begin a century’s long war.

Faced with this threat, humanity seeks allies among other races in the galaxy, most of whom are extremely xenophobic or too proud to ally with the bipeds from Earth. In the midst of this crisis, Trevor Jamieson sets out to find a way to defeat the Rull. He does not seek superior firepower or technology, but by a more subtle means: making friends with the other lifeforms in the galaxy, who are threatened with the same extinction as mankind!

The Story

Originally, The War Against the Rull was not a novel. It was five short stories that A.E. van Vogt sewed together into one story, and he did so seamlessly. After the first two adventures it is hard to say just where each separate story began and where it ended, as the events move much faster and blur together due to the time crunch.

The book starts with a bang as Jamieson abandons a lifeboat – a small, shuttlecraft-style ship – over Eristan II. He is not alone, however; a massive alien creature with three eyes and six legs is also aboard the boat. Known as an ezwal, this creature is native to a world called Carson’s Planet, and his species has made man’s attempt to settle on and establish an anti-Rull base there difficult in the extreme. Whenever man and ezwal meet, a battle follows, and one or both end up dead. This has led the human residents of Carson to despise the ezwals as beasts that should be eradicated.

Jamieson has a couple of problems with that, the most vital being that the ezwals aren’t animals. They’re sapient beings that happen to be ferociously certain of their superiority to humans, whom they see not only as intruders in their territory, but lower life forms. Most important to the Human/Rull conflict, though, the ezwals are telepathic. They can project their thoughts to others as well as read the minds of sapients around the galaxy – which means they can spot Rull imposters without even trying.

Having kept this secret since mankind landed on the planet, though, the ezwals are loath to let humanity know they are not mindless creatures. They want humanity gone, and since Jamieson is the only human to suspect they aren’t what they appear to be, he is a threat.

The best way to deal with a threat is to eliminate it, and the ezwal thinks he is in a perfect position to do just that!

The Characters

Trevor Jamieson is the only constant character in the narrative. For utter determination and an unwillingness to die, he might well be a precursor of Captain James T. Kirk. He simply lacks the ship and four hundred Starfleet personnel to back him on his dangerous escapades. The man does not quit, not even when all hope is apparently lost, and his only allies want to kill him.

A survivalist who is determined to win the Rull/Human conflict, he can be ruthless but never to the point that he makes moral compromises. He fights to save not only his own life or the lives of his people, but of the aliens he attempts so desperately to befriend. It is a strange way of making friends, yet it makes an impression, since Jamieson’s courage and resolve sway more than a few sapients to the recognition that humans do not have to be their enemy.

Because a human who insists on surviving will always, always prove to be their worst nightmare.

The World

The book takes a reader to many worlds, all of which are sketched out in just enough detail that one can wonder at the new planet or shiver at the horror of trying to survive in such a place. While some of the tactics and techniques fighting the Rull necessitate are a little off-putting, given the Cold War-esque conflict, it makes a sad kind of sense. Each planet or society adds a new dimension to the Rull/Human struggle and, though they change as the adventures progress, they never leave a reader’s mind entirely.

The Politics

No politics that are not pertinent to the story are in this book. Despite the Cold War-style overtones, the focus is entirely on winning a potentially unwinnable war with a species entirely inimical to human life. The adventures happen too quickly to leave room for politics, as the characters’ survival is on the line. Politics would just slow the action down.

Content Warning

There are no overt gore or gruesome images, though there is mention of human experimentation/torture toward the end of the story. The book is definitely for teens and up, but it can be read by any astute youngster who happens upon it without fear.

Who is it for?

Sci-fi lovers who want a new adventure that is upbeat and hopeful. While these stories come from the 1940s and 1950s, they have a perennial appeal in how they tackle the notion of human space travel and first contact. Anyone who wishes Star Trek had focused as much or more on communication as action will find this book fascinating, and those who love original adventure or pulp serials will enjoy it as well. Enthusiasts searching for action in their fiction will also be entertained by this collection of tales.

Why read it?

The War Against the Rull is good, clean fun. That is in rare supply these days. Why not grab it while it is available?