Omega: The Last Days of the World (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) [Paperback]

Camille Flammarion (Author), Robert Silverberg (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Bison Frontiers of Imagination | Publication Date: March 1, 1999

Omega, written by astronomer Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), is no less than an epic history of our future—a startling and unforgettable vision of the end of the world. Reasoned scientific speculation combined with probing philosophical inquiry lend credibility and magnitude to this tale of how humankind will physically and culturally evolve over the next several million years.

 

The end begins in the twenty-fifth century, when a comet threatens to collide with the earth. The consequences of that frightening cosmic event are far-reaching, setting in motion a series of physical, psychic, and social changes that will profoundly affect the planet and its people far into the future. The earth’s surface drastically transforms over time. Cultures radically alter, collapse, and fade away. Nations rise and fall, species become extinct, and human beings find themselves at the end of the world, alone and changed in fundamental ways. This melancholic, poetic science fiction tale of things to come is as compelling and disturbing today as when it was first written.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mary Shelley was the founding mother of science fiction. Was French astronomer Camille Flammarion (1842-1925) the founding father? Over 40 years before John W. Campbell took the helm of Astounding SF, Flammarion was extrapolating fiction from the most advanced science of his day (flavoring it occasionally with transcendental fantasy, a practice not unknown to modern hard SF). He wrote several works of science fantasy, most notably an apocalyptic, visionary novel, Omega: The Last Days of the World (1893), that clearly influenced SF pioneers Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Four decades before Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men was published, Omega unfolded a future history that traversed millions of years to the end of the earth and beyond. But Omega received only two English-language printings.

Now Flammarion's seminal novel has been rescued from oblivion, and it deserves a place in the library of every serious student of SF. But whether modern SF fans will enjoy reading Omega is another matter. Flammarion writes in a leisurely, expository 19th-century style, and he is no Charles Dickens. His opening chapter threatens a comet strike that isn't delivered for more than half the book! However, the pace does pick up considerably in chapter 6 (to which bored readers should immediately turn), and the remainder of his future history is interesting and inventive. --Cynthia Ward

Review

"Students of early science fiction will welcome the University of Nebraska Press''s series Bison Frontiers of Imagination."—Times Literary Supplement

(Times Literary Supplement )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 281 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books; Commemorative edition (March 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080326898X
• ISBN-13: 978-0803268982
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,107,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars All Things Pass, July 14, 2002

By 

Greg Hughes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Omega: The Last Days of the World (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (Paperback)

Four hundred years from now the population of Earth awaits a comet whose coming is feared to mark the end of all human life. How this will happen exactly is a matter of speculation. Among the thinkers of this 25th century society debate rages over whether we will burn, freeze, suffocate or drown. It just so happens that the human race survives, and the end of the world, eagerly awaited throughout history, is postponed yet again.

The Earth goes on to become an ancient planet, undergoing all manner of metamorphoses, spawning countless civilizations which flourish and die. Over millions of years physical and mental changes ensure humanity evolves into a species far superior to its hopelessly inadequate ancestors before passing away, leaving the Earth a barren husk studded with the ruins of an earlier age. While we are burdened with the knowledge that all things pass, we take comfort in knowing that creation is neverending.

The illustrations in "Omega" are good, though a couple are vaguely amusing. One can't help grinning at the fleet of aircraft that resemble flying sail boats. I suppose people in the 25th century will feel the same way when they look back at the SF illustrations done in the late twentieth. Maybe "Omega" would seem less dated without the illustrations, although some of the science described in the writing is also inaccurate. No matter. As Einstein once said, imagination is more important than knowledge, and this book is without question imaginitive.

If "Omega" hadn't been written where would Olaf Stapledon have got his inspiration for "Last and First Men"? It's always ironic when a "groundbreaking" work gets its inspiration from an earlier, more obscure source; just as an inventor gets the credit for someone else's idea, so too an original novel lies forgotten in the wake of its more popular successor. Until now.

"Omega" is an interesting book, although it probably won't become compulsory reading for English students. It might seem a bit deep for those looking for a gripping story with interesting characters. In terms of scope and vision, "Omega" is in the same class as anything written by H.G. Wells.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary apocalyptic novel, March 6, 1999

By 

"fteixeir" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Omega: The Last Days of the World (Bison Frontiers of Imagination) (Paperback)

This wonderful book was first published in 1893 in French. It was very popular in its time and has been translated to 11 languages. The English translation of 1894 has been reprinted only once. I first read this book in a Foreign language edition a number of years ago, and since then, I have been waiting for a new English edition. This book predates a number of similar apocalyptic novels published later. It served as a source of inspiration for a number of authors such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, and Olaf Stapledon. If you have read Stapledon's "Last and First Men", don't miss Flammarion's gem. You will find many similarities.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Olaf Stapledons Last and first men copied this work, January 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Omega: The Last Days of the World (Science Fiction) (Hardcover)

This is a rather wonderful old frensh sf novel from the last years of the 19th century. It was a great hit in Scandinavia in danish (and, I believe) swedish) translations in the 1890s. Very nice pictures too. The story falls in two parts. The first part is about an end-of-the world-s care a few centuries in the future, when astronomers find out (helped by a message form Mars!) that a comet is going to hit the Earh. The second part is a future history from after the comet hit to the REAL end of life on Earth, millions of years in the future. A very nice story - thoroughly dated, but still a great read, if you got the temper for this kind of thing. And it is quite obvious that Stapledon had read Flammarions future history when he wrote his great masterpiece"Last and first men" .