City at World's End
City at World's End
Free DownloadThe pleasant little American city of Middletown is the first target in an atomic war - but instead of blowing Middletown to smithereens, the super-hydrogen bomb blows it right off the map - to somewhere else! First there is the new thin coldness of the air, the blazing corona and dullness of the sun, the visibility of the stars in high daylight. Then comes the inhabitant's terrifying discovery that Middletown is a twentieth-century oasis of paved streets and houses in a desolate brown world without trees, without water, apparently without life, in the unimaginably far-distant future.
Book Excerpt
It went off right over Middletown, and it did something..." He faltered, and then said, "Nobody really knew what a super-atomic bomb would do. There were logical theories and assumptions about it, but nobody really knew anything except that the most violent concentrated force in history would be suddenly released. Well, it was released, over Middletown. And it was violent. So violent that..."
He stopped, again, as though he could not quite muster up the courage to voice the certainty that was in him. He gestured at the dusky sky.
"That's our Sun, our own Sun-- but it's old now, very old. And that Earth we see out there is old too, barren and eroded and dying. And the stars.... You looked at the stars, Ken, but you didn't see them. They're different, the constellations distorted by the motions of the stars, as only millions of years could distort them."
Kenniston whispered, "Millions of years? Then you think that the bomb..." He stopped, and he knew now how Hubble had felt. How did you sa
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I enjoy the early sci-fi genre and this book was in that vein. I thought the intitial plot/premise was interesting but agree with others that a sequel should have been written: many directions available to the writer. Would recommend if you enjoy this time period of science fiction.
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A classic Golden Age SF novel by an underrated and largely forgotten author, Edmond Hamilton. I had the honor, as a fan, to correspond with Hamilton shortly before his death. He considered "City..." one of his favorites. Hamilton's 1940s pulp characters live on in the "Captain Future" series of Japanese animated television series. Hamilton's work deserves more attention and await rediscovery by a new generation. He was a great influence on his wife and author Leigh Brackett (best known for her "Star Wars" screenplay). She studied at the feet of a master!
01/27/2008
Great read, not to deep.
06/12/2007
I really enjoyed this book. 1950's it is, but still leaves you wishing there was a sequel.
05/27/2007
Excellent. Nothing too deep to freak people out, and yet not at all your shallow stars and swords sort of action. This is an intelligent novel from a good--yet not perfect--writer, once you get used to him.
It's fast-paced, lively, thrilling, and most of all entertaining novel of science fiction (with emphasis on fiction) that will surely keep you reading it all in one session. Not the type you read twice, but certainly the type you never regret having read.
Take into your consideration however that this was written in the 1950's.
It's fast-paced, lively, thrilling, and most of all entertaining novel of science fiction (with emphasis on fiction) that will surely keep you reading it all in one session. Not the type you read twice, but certainly the type you never regret having read.
Take into your consideration however that this was written in the 1950's.
05/25/2007
Fascinating book. It was fun seeing the "future" in the eyes of a 1950's writer.
07/04/2006
Fast-paced 1950's science fiction, with more adventure than science. Perfect for those looking for light reading that's lots of fun.
06/02/2006
This was a quick and good read. I am in law school, so I enjoy books that are somewhat adventerous, but not terribly deep. City at World's End fits the bill perfectly.
I enjoyed it, and I hope you do too.
I enjoyed it, and I hope you do too.
04/20/2006
