s255@sol1.UUCP (s255) (09/16/85)
"Null-A Three", DAW Books, NY This is a sequel to World of Null-A and Players of Null-A, books which describe the adventures of Gilbert Gosseyn. Gosseyn is trained in General Semantics, a discipline which allows its practitioners to reach full human potential. He also has an extra brain, which allows him to control energy flows and to teleport to any place he has seen and "memorized". Oh yes, and he's immortal because of a set of cloned bodies cached in suspended animation in various places. If he gets "killed" a new body wakes up with all the old one's memories. Null-A Three features the bewilderingly swift plot shifts of classic van Vogt. It also explores some issues only touched on in the earlier books, like the implications of Gosseyn's "immortality". Aside from that there is almost nothing to recommend it. The plot, except for a couple of scenes, lacks the electric tensions of classic van Vogt. There are people scheming at cross purposes, of course, but they seem quite perfunctory about it. Heavyweight characters like Enro the Red sit around talking mostly. When they try to act Gosseyn checkmates them without effort or fireworks. Characters are lifeless, except for a boy emperor who is partially developed. What makes the book a failure is not any of these problems, though. The story line is unbelievably sloppy. Some examples: ***SPOILERS*** When the book opens, Gosseyn appears on board on alien vessel, which is clearly described as one of 178,000 warships in the same area of space. An interrogator tells Gosseyn so. Pages later, it's described as a lone ship with 178,000 people on board, and Gosseyn says to a crew member "I get the impression this is a warship". In brief, it looks as though neither the author nor the publisher ever read the manuscript from beginning to end. SUMMARY This one reads like the work of a hack heavily influenced by van Vogt. Save your money. Fred Wamsley ihnp4!sol1!s255 "Tellarites do not argue for reasons. They simply argue."