"The Beast" - an early van Vogt novella now available for the first time since 1943

This golden-age novella by the author of The Monster and Black Destroyer, that appeared in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, has never been included in any anthology of van Vogt’s works [1], possibly because of its length: 22,000 words, the equivalent of some 65 paper-back pages.

An overview of this very imaginative war-time story, featuring rocket ships with atomic engines (!), a deadly world-wide Nazi conspiracy (the Nazis have lost the war but are actively preparing for the return match with their very superior technology), a lost civilization inside the moon, a mysterious teletransportation device that confers immortality on its subjects, an immensely powerful and intelligent Neanderthal man (!!), a saber-toothed tiger and more – much more – can be seen elsewhere in this section by clicking here.

With the original Astounding artwork by Orban.

(21,900 words)

An e-book is available for downloading below.

The Beast (e-book)