Against The Fall Of Night (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
I found this in a random place in my school's reference room and jumped on it - English language books are difficult to find here unless they're well known classics, and sci-fi books are among the rarest to come across, so I was excited. I was especially excited to see it was a Clarke book I had discovered as I've previously read 2 of his books, Childhood's End and Rendezvous with Rama, and enjoyed both.A couple comments on these previous encounters: Rama was seriously lacking in characterization, being primarily occupied with the exploration and understanding of the encountered craft and, through it, with what would be necessitated by deep space travel - I found this fascinating and so enjoyed reading it, but it didn't exactly touch my sensibilities. Childhood's End was a mix: it had fascinating ideas and characters who, although they weren't explored or revealed as much as they would have been under other authors' pens, were more real than Rama's. But it was... spooky: a collective memory for a species, haunted by the ghosts, specters, monsters of its future? And the reason for that haunting? I think maybe it was spooky because it showed a destruction, which in most stories would be a reason for fear and hatred, and yet, here we were to celebrate that destruction for the new birth it would allow - humanity as phoenix? and yet not, as the being birthed was so unlike, so truly alien, and had lost so much of what we would call human. It was humanity xed. This one left me with chills for a bit, but overall, I thought it was both a good example and an excellent member of the sci-fi genre.These were both books that I had generally positive feelings about, but which were also so very different from each other that I didn't know what to expect from Against the Fall of Night, though I thought with a title like that, there must be some reward within. Clarke still isn't strong on characterization here, although his characters are distinct people. But they are neither mythological figures nor the well-developed actors of many modern works. As before, the ideas, the actions, the thoughts of future and past and their confusion with one another, these take center stage. It is described in places as a mystery novel, and I would agree with this in a way, although, in setting itself up in this fashion it is exploring the nature of humanity, its innate curiousity and desire to know, and asking who we would be if we were to lose this - in stagnation could we still be human? could we continue or would we wither away and die to our last member? But Clarke is showing us that this is indeed an innate trait, though often it is quelled, submerged in fear, and fear is often encouraged by tradition without knowledge of truth. In one way it is similar to Childhood's End, and that is in placing its trust for the future of humanity in children, or at least in youth. It is saying that youth is the time when curiousity trumps fear and tradition, to reach beyond the known into the possible or even into what we thought was impossible, and in this innate, ultimately unquellable curiousity, humanity has its hope. In the end I am in complete disagreement with the materialist foundation of Clarke's philosophies, however, I enjoy his writing and find his explorations fascinating and inspiring. Against the Fall of Night is my favorite example of these so far.
3 – 3.5 starsHundreds of thousands of years ago (millions of years after our own benighted age) the Earth suffered a tragic loss in battle with beings known only as "the Invaders" and the apparently last remnant of humanity sits behind the majestic walls of the final human city: Diaspar. Here they while away their immortal days, a society of lotus eaters tended by the greatest machines ever conceived by humankind, living in pleasure, but also fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the wasteland outside their walls, fear of the future. From time to time there has arisen among them a mind not founded on this culture of fear and indifference, but rather one prone to curiosity, courage and insight. Such a mind belongs to Alvin of Loronei, the last child to be born in the city of immortals, and a young man who thirsts for knowledge and adventure.Clarke crafts an exciting, and lyrically written, dying earth story in which young Alvin must overcome the obstacles of his own people and face even greater challenges in the wider world. Ultimately the fate of humanity and its future (should it have one) will rest on his decisions. I don’t want to give too much away and spoil the story, for much of the enjoyment comes from learning the truths, and falsehoods, of Alvin’s world through his own investigations. Suffice it to say that there is much humanity of the final eras has to learn about itself and its history and Alvin’s actions are likely to spell either a great new era in their development, or the final sputtering out of their dying life force.I have never read anything by Arthur C. Clarke, but didn’t expect this. My impression was that he was a much more ‘hard sf’ kind of writer, more interested in true science and plausible extrapolations of it, but here we have a lyrically written fable of humanity’s far-future days of decline. True, elements of science (or super-science) are important to the story, but they don’t outweigh the emotional elements of the tale, which are really what carry it forward. There is also a significant smattering of pseudo-science elements that I found interesting. I enjoyed the story, but sometimes Alvin seemed a little too competent (perhaps a smattering of the John Cambellesque hero here?) and I’m not sure if I ever believed he wouldn’t overcome the obstacles placed before him, but the future history Clarke has painted for mankind is an interesting one and this is definitely a worthy entry into one of my favourite sub-genres of sci-fi.
What do You think about Against The Fall Of Night (2003)?
I was caught by the sheer charm of this slim little book. The world and the characters were so enmeshed together. They felt natural. No grand explanations or authorial directorship. This is just how we live here in Deep-Time USA, immortality and telepathy are just how we roll. The fantastic elements were so typical to the characters which was great. They weren't like...duuuudde isn't immortality great? cause we have to talk about it so the audience knows THIS IS THE FUTURE. my only issue with this was the end. I love love love love flying off into the unknown endings and Mr. save the world Alvin pants was all like...nah I'm gonna stay here space probably sucks ass. The hell?! You go out there and explore the universe right now mister. none of this I'm too good for the cosmos crap. I'll come in there and hog-tie ya to one of space-chairs and then I'LL flipping take both of us out there. Don't make me.
—Kai Szulborski
Gripping glimpse of humankind in a very far futureMillions of years from now, human on earth have reached immortality, but they now live on a nearly desiccated and lifeless planet. Technology and machines are omnipresent but humanity as long forgotten how these machine were built or how they function. Then a boy is born, someone different, with desires that have been suppressed or dormant due to contentment and natural selection. Great changes are about to occur because of him.Clarke is really good at conveying an overwhelming sense of smallness, contrasting to the vastness of the universe and similar to what I feel like during a summer night while looking at the starlit sky. His prose is pleasant to read, fluid, a bit lyrical and old-style. The novel is fairly short, regardless, the plot is tightly woven and the end gives a sense a completion and complexity you wouldn’t have expected.Although this novel is a tad old, first published in 1948, it aged very well and a lot of what’s in it is still making sense today.I recommend to all SF enthusiasts and will certainly read his other works.
—Patrice
Read this one rather than his later rewrite "The City and the Stars." Deep-future always works better as poetry, and you can't clutter up poetry with too many details -- the bare prose and simple exposition which Clarke later abandoned make a clean frame for this lovely story.That spooky feeling you got when the time traveler in HG Wells disembarks into the silent garden of the Sphinx at twilight? This is a whole book of that. It's also an antiquarian mystery, an essay on the implications of deep time, a theological fantasia, and a muted, sublimated love story.Set aside a winter evening. Brew some tea. Banish the outside world, and read this in a single sitting.
—Evan
