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A 1940 [[Science Fiction]] novel by A. E. van Vogt about a boy from a race of telepathic mutants who must survive human hatred long enough to save his people.
Jommy Cross is a Slan, (condensed from Samuel Lann, the discoverer or creator of the subspecies), a mutant gifted with golden tendrils that give him telepathic abilities, who is stronger, smarter and faster than normal humans, and blessed with remarkable recuperative abilities. Which sounds really cool, but Jommy has a couple of handicaps. One, he's only nine years old, and thus only superhuman in proportion to normal nine-year-olds. And it just so happens that the normal humans hate all Slan and are determined to wipe them out.
In the first chapter, Jommy's mother sacrifices herself to give Jommy the chance to escape. Jommy is then taken in by the loathsome but calculating "Granny", who plans to have the boy steal for her with his inhuman abilities. Shortly after this, Jommy runs into people who detect to his psychic abilities as Slan--but have no tendrils or telepathic abilities of their own. Making contact turns out to be a mistake, as the Tendrilless hate both humans ''and'' the True Slan.
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Eventually, Jommy and Kathleen do meet, but don't stay together very long before disaster strikes. Jommy goes on to more adventures before finally being captured by the Tendrilless on their secret Mars base. Escaping, Jommy then speeds to Earth for a final confrontation with Kier Gray, and a series of startling revelations that change everything!
While ''[[Slan]]'' was not van Vogt's best work, it was exciting, full of intriguing ideas, and caught the imagination of science fiction fans of the day. Mocked and persecuted for their choice of reading matter, SF fans identified with the highly intelligent Slan. "Fans are Slans" became a rallying cry for a certain segment of fandom.
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The story continues the breathless pace of its predecessor (with perhaps a bit more lull to explain some of the backstory) and while it ties up most of the loose ends, ends with a [[Shocking Swerve]] that was obviously meant to be a [[Sequel Hook]].
{{tropelist}}
* [[Applied Phlebotinum]]: The super-science of the Slan, so advanced that normal humans are unable to reverse-engineer it.
* [[Brainwashed]]: Jommy learns how to use his powers to hypnotize humans and Tendrilless, and even induce long-term personality changes. He uses this to turn Granny from a greedy, evil alcoholic into a sweet but doddering old lady, and it's suggested that this might be a solution to the hatred of the humans if it can be done to the masses. {{spoiler|In the sequel, Granny turns out to be not quite so brainwashed after all, reverting to her greedy, cantankerous personality but retaining basic humaneness.}}
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* [[Self-Made Orphan]]: {{spoiler|Jem Lorry, once he learns the truth about his heritage.}}
* [[Tenchi Solution]]: Proposed off-hand by Joanna Hillory, as Slan have a tradition of multiple partners.
* [[Took a Level
* [[Zeerust]]: The future looks suspiciously like Depression-Era New York (to the point that in the 1940 edition, one of the bad guys drove a Studebaker.)
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[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]
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