Against the Fall of Night [Paperback]

Arthur Clarke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1978

Arthur C.Clarke's early novel "Against the Fall of the Night", set far in the future, and a sequel by Gregory Benford. Alvin, the only child for many centuries born in what is believed to be the only city left on Earth, leads a renaissance. Man is reclaiming the Earth, but evil has also returned.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Arthur C. Clarke is the world's best known and bestselling author of science fiction, winner of many awards and accolades for his writing. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Jove Pubns (October 1978)
• ISBN-10: 0515048321
• ISBN-13: 978-0515048322
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 3.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,476,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"SIR ARTHUR C. CLARKE (1917-2008) wrote the novel and co-authored the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and he is the only science-fiction writer to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His fiction and nonfiction have sold more than one hundred million copies in print worldwide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Science Fiction stories ever written., April 24, 2002

By 

Virgil "Virgil" (Chapel Hill, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against Fall Of Night (Paperback)

This is the precursor to the Clarke novel "City and the Stars". I originally read this while still in elementary school and it was the first sci-fi I had ever read. No other has ever topped it.

Clarke forms a world in the very distant future whose inhabitants live for hundreds of years on a ravaged planet earth in the oasis of the city. The city is an incredibly advanced utopia but an island of machines and somewhat bored inhabitants.

The main protaganist is the youngest member of the community who ventures out into a voyage of discovery and onto another community which has also survived the ravages of time. The reuniting of the two tribes of mankind each a distinct culture at opposite ends of the spectrum is problem and goal of "Against the Fall of Night".

This is science fiction storytelling at its best. A great story and a must have for all fans of the genre.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece preceding The City and The Stars, January 5, 2002

By 

Bill R. Moore (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Against Fall Of Night (Paperback)

Arthur C. Clarke's masterpiece The City and The Stars (which I'm glad to note is back in print, which is loooooong overdue), is, in fact, an extended version of this early Clarke masterpiece. The City and The Stars is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written, and with good reason. And, although I would agree with Clarke in saying that the later novel is the better of the two, this is a certifiable masterpiece in itself. Most all science fiction is, inevitably, set in the future, but this book is set in the far, far, far future. The world Clarke posits is a logical one, and is great as both a story and a warning. Far from being a dystopia, the city of Diaspar in the book is the genuinely archetypal Utopia. It is into this stagnant, decadent setting that Clarke creates one of his grandest visions. This book is sweeping in its vision and its prose. Clarke has always had a deft poetic touch, and this story contains some of his most beautiful outpourings of words. An absolutely essential read for any science fiction fan, as is the novel that it bequeathed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Technically Clarke's first novel?, May 8, 2007

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT (Ibooks Science Fiction Classics) (Paperback)

As I understand it, Clarke started plotting this novel out early in WW2 before he volunteered for the RAF. This would then technically make it his earliest novel- even though it didn't get published until 1953 by the legendary Gnome Press (first of the dedicated science fiction publishing houses.)

Clarke would later feel compelled to extensively rewrite this novel and release it under a different title (The City and the Stars.) Personally I prefer this version. The Technology is set over a ten billion years into the future so a mere 50 years or so since it was first published doesn't really "date" it.

This book doesn't share the high degree of hard science fiction detail that you find in most of his books. The technology is so advanced (machines never break down and read your mind to know what you want of them)that it seems more like magic. In fact, there is a statement that there are no more engineers in the world of the future since once the master robots started building themselves- and everything else- they were no longer needed and engineers faded away. I can identify with that, why work a thankless, unappreciated, arduous pursuit like engineering if the machines can do it better?

The cosmic sweep of this novel over vast intervals of time and the entire universe reads more like an Olaf Stapledon novel (a British science fiction author that died in 1950 and whose works Clarke was no doubt familiar with.)

If you like old-fashion space operas about the lost glories of the galactic Empire this book still weaves that classic atmosphere.