City of Endless Night (Classics of Science Fiction) [Hardcover]

Milo Hastings (Author)

Book Description

Series: Classics of Science Fiction | Publication Date: June 1920

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 346 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Pr (June 1920)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883551128
• ISBN-13: 978-0883551127
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,143,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Classic of Science Fiction, December 17, 2000

By 

Robert Plamondon (Blodgett, OR USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: City of Endless Night (Classics of Science Fiction) (Hardcover)

Written shortly after the guns of World War I fell silent, CITY OF ENDLESS NIGHT presents a strange yet well-conceived vision of the future that might have been, had the Great War ended differently. The premise is that allied bombing in an extended WWI had driven the Germans in Berlin underground into a series of bunkers and subterranean factories. The Germans quickly discovered ways of surviving under these bizarre conditions, while the Allies failed to figure out any means of ferreting them out, and the war turned into a frustrating stalemate.

The story is set long after this event, when an American accidentally ends up in underground Berlin and attempts to pass himself off as a citizen. The underground city is a horrifying dystopia built along the latest scientific principles.

Milo Hastings has a nice appreciation for the possibilities and perils of civilization and technology. He was at one point a poultry scientist, and later a proponent of health food and healthy living in an era where such things were unusual. A scientist, a believer in the Common Man, in fresh air, sunshine, good food, and healthy living, Hastings wrote convincingly of a society that made Orwell's 1984 look like a walk in the park.

I find this book to be strangely compelling. The plot runs along familiar pulp-fiction lines, but because the story comes from an era where even non-fiction was written as if it were pulp fiction, this rarely detracts from the story. And the underground city and its society, with their odd combination of WWI-era archisms and appallingly plausible innovations, kept me fascinated to the very end.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sam, December 31, 2011

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Sam (Carlsbad, NM, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The City Of Endless Night (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book written in 1926, which gives an alternate ending to WWI that pits Germany against the free world for 150 years causing the Germans to innovate in the field of science, and degenerate in the area of morals. The science fiction element is believable yet fantastic and make for a very interesting read. It is an interesting sociological thought experiment, and definitely worth your time whether you are looking for a standard dystopian novel, or a classic science fiction. Take a look at this classic read.

5.0 out of 5 stars highly recommend, January 14, 2012

By 

Susiee - See all my reviews

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This review is from: City of Endless Night (Kindle Edition)

This book was written before Huxley's "Brave New World" and Orwell's "1984", and makes me think these famous authors were inspired by City of Endless night. Consider that this book was written in 1919, and you realize how much insight the author had. It is a great read, entertaining and thought provoking.