[I6I]⋙ [PDF] Free City At World End Crest SF s494 Edmond Hamilton 9780449194942 Books

City At World End Crest SF s494 Edmond Hamilton 9780449194942 Books

Download As PDF : City At World End Crest SF s494 Edmond Hamilton 9780449194942 Books

City At World End Crest SF s494 Edmond Hamilton 9780449194942 Books

Since this book was written in 1951 one might ask how well it holds up. It does seem dated to me but in an unusual way. A mid-sized town of 50,000 is catapulted millions of years into the future by a super-atomic bomb to a desolate Earth. The townspeople are mired in their 1950's mindset and for the most part are unable to adjust to their new situation. They also exhibit xenophobia and are somewhat misogynistic.

I would like to think that if this event happened now most people would be better able to cope with this kind of future shock since we are currently living in a age where change occurs at a very rapid rate and people have become used to it. I also think the huge popularity of Science Fiction, especially on TV and in the movies, has contributed to our ability to adapt to exponential change.

I originally read this book in 1963 as a teenager and considered it pretty good. I still like it but perhaps to a lesser degree.


Tags : City At World's End (Crest SF, s494) [Edmond Hamilton] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Edmond Hamilton,City At World's End (Crest SF, s494),Fawcett Publications,0449194949

City At World End Crest SF s494 Edmond Hamilton 9780449194942 Books Reviews

Written as a futuristic novel decades ago, this book holds up amazingly well. The people of a small midwestern town must try to understand what has happened when they are apparently covered by a dome that protects them from devastation when the bombs fall. They are not scientists so they must deal with the event without understanding what has happened. Even when Mysterious strangers arrive to save the day (??) they rely on their own innate sense of what is right and how to cope.

A bonus here is the fact that this was written in a time when writers took pride in their work and actually proofread it for errors. Good writing makes it a pleasant read.
In order to appreciate this great sci-fi story, the reader should close his eyes and place himself in the mindset of a 13 year old boy reading this book in the lobby of an old dime-store from the 60's. As long as the reader doesn't try to apply the standards [and science] of present-day, this is an excellent read! The tale provides an original and unique scenario of the result of a nuclear blast combined with an imaginative journey through space and time. There is no "hard science," and fancy postulation of relativity theory - just great fiction born of the imagination of an author who lived in a time when technology and theory were still developing. The "generation" gap in this book occurs where the population of a small town utterly refuses to abandon a dead earth simply because it is "our home," even when given the peaceful and no-strings-attached choice of being transplanted onto an entirely new world that is exactly like earth but with fresh resources. It is understandable that a cynical, 1960's populace would be hesitant, but today's "environment and science conscious" population would jump at the chance to travel the stars and settle on new planets. It kind of leaves the modern reader asking himself, "are they crazy?" Otherwise, it is a great story. Worth the read.
A product of its time so you can't fault it for that. I look at the many descriptions of weak, simpering women and cringe but am also happy to see how much social attitudes have improved since the time this book was written...though we still have a ways to go. The causal factor behind the City is fascinating, the clinging to home in the light of disaster somewhat understandable, the varied personalities a bit soap opera but all in all a cheap, quick read with something to think about.
Science fiction of days past is science fact of today still has a core truth to it in this story. An imaginative apocalyptic story that is rather short for a novel, holds forth the indomitable spirit of man that has been a part of humanity since the dawn of time. Well written smooth flowing prose that is descriptive enough to let your imagination form the pictures of the times and circumstance without being overbearing. A town in middle America has to overcome adversity after becoming the last remaining bastion of humanity on a planet devoid of all life from an attack with a super atomic bomb. Citizens of the town have to deal with the reality of the devastation and a side effect of the attack, a shift in time. Well worth reading.
During the thirties, forties and into the fifties, it was fairly common to find science fiction stories about men who were transported to other worlds or into the future. Burroughs did it with John Carter. Even Asimov did it in the first of his classic "Galactic Empire" novels. Here, Edmond Hamilton turns that convention upside down by transporting an entire American city into the far future. The purpose, of course, is to see how society reacts to the change.

As an interesting aside, it must be noted that Edmond Hamilton was also a regular writer for DC Comics in the fifties and well into the mid-sixties. He was a primary Superman author during the formative years of the Silver Age of Comics, and he famously borrowed from his own novel to celebrate the 300th issue of Action Comics in grand style. He transports Superman to a future similar to this one, where the now-red Sun strips him of his superpowers. It stands as one of the most memorable stories of that era, and the cover, with a bearded, powerless Superman standing with the red sun in the background, is quite famous in comics circles.
Since this book was written in 1951 one might ask how well it holds up. It does seem dated to me but in an unusual way. A mid-sized town of 50,000 is catapulted millions of years into the future by a super-atomic bomb to a desolate Earth. The townspeople are mired in their 1950's mindset and for the most part are unable to adjust to their new situation. They also exhibit xenophobia and are somewhat misogynistic.

I would like to think that if this event happened now most people would be better able to cope with this kind of future shock since we are currently living in a age where change occurs at a very rapid rate and people have become used to it. I also think the huge popularity of Science Fiction, especially on TV and in the movies, has contributed to our ability to adapt to exponential change.

I originally read this book in 1963 as a teenager and considered it pretty good. I still like it but perhaps to a lesser degree.