Customer Reviews

The Coming Race

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Written in 1871 The Coming Race was one of the last books ever written by the author, he died two years later. The story begins when an American civil engineer falls into an underground world. There he discovers a subterranean paradise inhabited by a race called the Vril-ya.These Vril-ya tell the narrator that they are descended from ancestors who escaped the 'upper world' as a result of a deluge which covered the earth. Their evolution has taken a certain course mainly because of the discovery of an energy source, similar to electricity.This energy, from which they also take their name, is called Vril. Lytton's narrative, published in the same year as The Descent of Man, is one of the first truly post-Darwinian novels. It incorporates many of the scientific ideas of the period, and the subsequent fears of degeneration and devolution. The narrator soon discovers that this subterranean paradise is not all that it seems. Lurking in an unlit region of this underground world are a race of primitive savages, who like Wells's Morlocks, represent the flipside of evolution. Without Vril the savages have not progressed, they live in darkness, eat meat and resemble animals. In contrast, the Vril-ya live perfect lives, they are physically beautiful and have developed the abvility to fly with the help of Vril. The narrator appears to have stumbled into a parasise where a race of angels live in perfect harmony, without conflict, without envy and where all men are considered equal. The one thing that this future paradise cannot overcome is boredom.Tthe narrator concludes that although mankind dreams of perfectibility it is a pleasure that we are not meant to enjoy, at least not in this lifetime. Worth a read, especially if you are interested in the history of Science Fiction.

The Coming Race is a great book on many levels. As a story it is well developed and is one of Bulwer-Lytton's best works of science fiction. Also from a historical aspect it is an interesting document to see how the Victorian mind saw the world and what was beyond their horizons. This book had an incredible impact upon the reading public upon its release in 1871 and its influence, as well as that of Lytton in general, is felt greatly in later works of early sci-fi. I especially feel the stylistic influence in Upton Sinclair's "Millennium" and while for a review this is neither here nor there, this is important in understanding the development of the genre.

The book opens up with the main character, an American, being invited into a mine exploration by friend. Within just a few pages of the most basic exposition the story begins. For this genre and being that the terranean characters matter little, jumping into the plot like this makes the reading fun. For a 19th century it reads very fast and before long the reader will be well acquainted with the ways of the vril-ya and "vril" - the power source of the coming race. It really is a fun read.

The only problem with this book is that while Lytton goes through an enormity of steps to describe the culture and idiosyncrasies of the vril-ya the book at times reads more like notes of an anthropologist than a literary novel. Of course this may be the intention and since it is such a quick and enjoyable read, we can forgive the author of this. If you are fan of Lord Lytton or a fan of early Sci-Fi this is a definite read. I also would recommend this book to anyone who like 19th century novels and think this should be included in more high school English literature classes because it does not fit the stereotype and would be a welcome break for many students. While we know quite well that this work is purely fantastical it is really enjoyable to see how the mind of the 19th century saw the possibility of worlds going on underground and it is fun to imagine and believe...

-- Ted Murena

Written in 1871 The Coming Race was the last novel ever written by Lytton, he died two years later. The story begins when an American civil engineer falls into an underground world. He discovers a civilisation inhabited by a race called the Vril-ya who tell him that they are descended from ancestors who escaped the 'upper world' as a result of a deluge which covered the earth. Their evolution has taken a certain course mainly because of the discovery of an energy source, similar to electricty. This energy, from which they also take their name, is called Vril. Lytton's dystopic narrative is influenced by the post-Darwinian fears of degeneration and devolution. He soon discovers that this subterranean paradise is not all that it seems. Lurking in an unlit region of this underground world are a race of primitive savages who, like Wells's Morlocks, represent the flipside of evolution. Without Vril the savages have not progressed, they live in darkness, eat meat and resemble animals. In contrast the Vril-ya live perfect lives, they are beautiful and have developed the ability, with the help of Vril, to fly. The narrator appears to have stumbled into a paradise where a race of angels live in perfect harmony, without conflict, without envy and where all men are considered equal. The one thing that this future paradise cannot overcome is boredom. The narrator concludes that although mankind dreams of perfectibility it is a pleasure that we are not meant to enjoy, at least not in this world. Worth a read, especially if you are interested in the development of science fiction.

In this 1871 work, Lytton presents the reader with an early science fiction tale about an American adventurer whom we come to know only as "Tish". The author wrote the story near the end of his own life in 1873; however, he exposes his protagonist to vignettes of technology and ethical concepts which would not actualize until the 20th Century!

At the outset of the story Tish accompanies an associate deep into the bowels of a mine, presumably somewhere in Europe. It is therein that the two enter a subterranean world. The associate is killed almost immediately by a "krek," a creature with, "...a vast and terrible head with open jaws and dull, ghastly, hungry eyes -- the head of the monstrous reptile resembling that of a crocodile or alligator, but infinitely larger than the largest creature of that kind I had ever beheld in my travels."

From this point to almost the end of the work Tish is exposed to, and made the dubious guest of, a highly advanced culture in terms of technology: the Vril-ya. They represent the futuristic, powerful faction of the larger underworld race which is referred to as the "Ana". The non-Vril-ya were regarded as barbarians by the Vril-ya and were kept on the fringes of the technologically superior Vril-ya regions, (a situation which I regard as symbolism of the Jewish People of Europe during this era).

The author presents the Vril-ya as having aspired to social and civil preeminence; however, the excellence of their political systems and their philosophies, while devoid of conflagration and dispute, were shrewdly left for the reader to appraise.

Vril-ya society, in a nutshell, was static. They had no desire for wealth since each person could have anything s/he wanted by way of "Vril". Their diet was pseudo-vegetarian, milk being their singular non-vegetarian indulgence. A lazy society by nature, they considered Democracy to be primitive and thus perceived to be found only in barbarous cultures. Their own form of government was classified as "benevolent autocracy," except that the benevolence extended neither to the non-Vril-ya subterranean who shared their geography nor to any other. The most significant cultural divergence from surface dwelling humans hinged upon the fact that Vril-ya women were not only larger than males, they were also the assertive and dominant gender in their society.

Lytton was quite clever in his approach to analogizing Vril-ya Society to contemporaneous European events and attitudes. The technique is reminiscent of a later work by a fellow Englishman, J.R.R. Tolkien, author of "the Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". It's also clear that Lytton was brilliantly intuitive in regard to his vision of futuristic technology.

The work is quite provocative in this regard: Lytton leaves the fate of mankind as an open issue with his Hitchcockian conclusion. Hence, do the Vril-ya exemplify God's [first] "unsuccessful experiment" in creating mankind? We He nullify the power of Vril in the event that the Vril-ya and the surface dwellers come into conflict? Or do the Vril-ya represent God's success story... and will humankind thus be purged from the Earth's surface as part of a "Master plan"? The latter appears to be the author's rendition and interpretation of "The Revelation to John" (in "The Holy Bible").

This is a superb yarn and seizes upon much of the "Hollow Earth" to-do of the period. This terrific book is timeless literature, expressed in the sci-fi genre and is just as compelling today as the day it was originally published. My highest recommendation even for non-science fiction enthusiasts.

The Coming Race is a fine sci-fi novel, of the 1800's variety. For the most part it is quite enjoyable, and Bulwer-Lytton's vision of the Vrilya is quite comprehensive. Still, though, overall the book felt a little too short, and a little too amateurish, when compared against H.G. Wells, or more modernish sci-fi authors. Still, a recommended read by all means!

Regarding the Broadview Press edition, I always get one of these books if I'm reading classic fiction because I love all the extras they have, like essays or other short related stories by the same author or script and newspaper excerpts, however I was sorely disappointed to find none of the above in this book, beyond an introduction that didn't tell me much that Wikipedia hadn't already.

Written by Bulwer-Lytton of Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Competition fame, this isn't the greatest novel I've ever read. That said, if you're searching for this item, you probably know what you're getting. The plot concerns a modern western man thrust into a utopia peopled by the Ana, who have harnessed the incredible power of vril, the ultimate combination of electromagnetism, mesmerism, and Odic force. Whatever that is. He goes through the usual discussions of how their language works, funerals, foods and all that that you might expect in this sort of work, but thankfully in less detail than usual (the whole novel is only around 100 pages). Although considered on par with a pet frog, our hero manages to woo the daughters of the two most powerful dudes in the region. Unfortunately, this means he has to be burned to a cinder. Drama ensues!

Specificly to the Cathedral Classics edition, the physical quality of the book is pretty nice, especially for the price, but the text has a lot of typos. Tolerable, but if that really bugs you, get a different edition.

Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (5/07)

"The Coming Race" is a book that will best appeal to individuals who enjoy studying different civilizations and learning about how their citizens come to behave and believe the way they do. It incorporates aspects of both science fiction and fantasy. This book follows the accounts of a man who has fallen into an underground world that is so different from the world he knows. The author utilizes a very descriptive style to portray the intuitive thoughts of this narrator as he recalls this experience.

The residents of this underground society are known as the Vril-ya. They lead simple and peaceful lives in which there is no war and no crime. In fact, if someone is unhappy in their society, his only recourse is to emigrate to a different tribe. In their world, no individual is considered superior to another individual (including the leaders) in order to ascertain there will be no jealousy among the people. Another major difference is that children are the workers and are entrusted with the toughest jobs such as killing any dangerous creatures that are encountered. In the beginning, the narrator seems impressed with this seemingly perfect civilization. However, he comes to question whether it is a good thing to have such a controlled and stagnant society and worries that this type of advanced civilization may eventually take over the world.

This book started off great and I expected it would be action-packed and full of adventure. However, I was somewhat disappointed that it turned out to be mainly a narrative. I would have preferred more dialogue between the characters. The chapter about the development of their language (Chapter XII) was particularly grueling and contributed to the slow pace. I did enjoy the author's use of lesser known vocabulary words. It is good to know that my high school years were well spent.

Although this book was first published in 1871, there is much that can be learned from it. "The Coming Race" makes some important points about what constitutes a productive and successful society. Having no war and no crime sounds great, as does complete equality among individuals. However, once this type of "perfection" is achieved, life will become extremely dull as there can be no debates or exchanges of ideas to keep things interesting. The world needs conflict and change so there can be progress and growth.

Book received free of charge.

Bulwer-Lytton's novella is like fine wine: drink slowly and savor each taste. His prose is both archaic and beautiful, not unlike Shakespere, a comparison I am happy to make. Complex and meandering sentences, sometimes a full paragraph long, add a note of authority and beauty to this fine story.

Although its place is an abode within the "hollow earth," its story is timeless and deals, in a very personal way, with the eternal debate about whether a mysterious utopia or the vagaries of life here on the surface, with all its problems and uncertanties, is preferable. Lest I reveal our hero's choice I will say no more.

A wonderful read, certain to remain within the annuals of cult classics!

I'm something of a Bulwer Lytton fan, so I looked forward to this, one of his rare works in the field of speculative fiction. Oddly, though, here Bulwer tends to disregard even the science of the early 1870s in which it was written. It's the tale of a Gilded Age American mining engineer's encounter with the super-developed subterranean culture of the Vril Ya. Despite its imagined aircraft and robotic automatons, the book is really a fantasy. It's based on the idea of a race of humans with innate supernatural powers who have created a fossilized and somewhat Buddhist-style peaceful society, but who also feel morally obliged to destroy "inferior" cultures such as ours. I think the author intended a parallel with the European colonialism of his time. There is also an interesting cultural reversal of the roles of men and women, which includes some of Bulwer's liveliest writing. But on the whole, the book is more of a prolonged philosophical anecdote than an entertainment.

A man named Bulwer Lytton had written a book called The Coming Race in 1871 which describes a race of men psychically far in advance of our own said to live in caves in the center of the Earth, soon to emerge to reign over the rest of us. The Vril Society established itself as a reaction to this book.

The Vril Society (or the Luminous Lodge) combined the ideals of the Illuminati with Hindu Mysticism, Theosophy and the Quabbala. It was the first German nationalist group to use the swastika as an emblem linking Eastern and Western occultism. The Vril Society presented an idea of a subterranean matriarchal socialist utopia ruled by superior beings that had mastered the mysterious energy called the Vril Force.

The Vril Society formed shortly before the Nazis came to power. They believed they had secret knowledge that would enable them to change their race and become the equals of men hidden in the bowels of the Earth through methods of concentration based in Ignatius Loyala's Spiritual Exercises.