"The Sea Thing" by A. E. van Vogt (1940)

In this very early story first published in the January 1940 edition of Unknown magazine [1], A. E. van Vogt made a rare but very successful venture into the realm of fantasy. Or rather near-fantasy, as the shark-god "Thing" (in human form!) that comes out of the sea to wreak revenge on a group of fishermen in an isolated area of the South Seas is an interesting and just-about-credible (especially at night in sufficiently-eerie surroundings) incarnation of the ancestral lore of the native inhabitants of those far-away parts.

The skillful way the narrative of the deadly conflict between this awesome creature and the very tough group of fishermen evolves, seen from the Thing’s own point of view (a brilliant technique also used by van Vogt to great effect in his two earlier stories is characteristic of the style of this most talented of golden-age science-fiction writers.

With a surprisingly modern theme – one cannot now help but feel a certain sneaking sympathy for the plight of those masses of magnificent animals being so systematically massacred by gun-toting fishermen, or rather riflemen – this rare story [2] is well worthy of being brought to the attention of the modern reader.

With the dramatic 1940 Unknown illustrations by Orban and the 1948 Out of the Unknown illustrations by Charles McNutt and cover by Roy Hunt.

(11,300 words)

An e-book is available for downloading below.

The Sea Thing (e-book)