THE WINGED MAN

by

A. E. VAN VOGT

and

E. MAYNE HULL

DOUBLEDAY hard cover book

First Edition (1966)

CONDITION:  FORMER LIBRARY BOOK, with usual library markings including card pocket attached to rear page.  Jacket protected by plastic overwrap which is taped to the jacket.  Still I would say it is GOOD, with pages well bound although a bit cocked.

IT WASN'T A BIRD - BUT IT COULDN'T BE A MAN! Lt.William Kenlon had watched the incredible creature circling the submarine Sea Serpent in the darkness of the night, and he could barely believe what he saw.The giant winged monster was human-and it was intent on some purpose that involved the sub and its crew. Then the creature landed-and suddenly, impossibly, the Sea Serpent was in another world. A world of the far future; where the land was uninhabitable and humanity as Kenlon knew it had died out. A world in which the strange bird-men of the air warred with the even stranger denizens of the sea for domination. And in that bizarre battle for survival, the men from the 20th century were the vital factor! 

This book is an expanded version of E. Mayne Hull's short story "The Winged Man" which originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1944. Apparently it was expanded and revised by van Vogt, who "added 25.000 words, altogether, inserted a new villain, and made better use of some of the characters", to quote a quote from Galactic Central bibliography. 

Commentaries on line:

This is a wildly wacky setting: a mixed-up war in which several water vessels from various widely disparate times have been transported to the future by a race of winged subhumans looking for someone to fight their war for them, because they really suck at it.

While I won't claim that this is a great book, it's certainly an enjoyable one with a great story. 

Nuclear hybrid sub (has a diesel engine as well) and its crew is shanghaied into the 320th century (30 thousand years from now) by some flying humans that want them to destroy an enemy race of humans who live under water. They're not alone. A number of other vessels from other Earth eras are floating around the home of the winged humans, which floats in the air above the ocean.

A short but absorbing read from one of the masters of science fiction's golden age.

The story’s main character Kenlon is thrust in a leadership role after his commander is taken by sea while in the future. So we follow Kenlon through his investigation process of trying to figure out how the future ended up the way it did and whether he should help out these winged men with their war or find a more reasonable solution. I really thought this book was very well written. The main character was likable and it was easy to read.

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