Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Nightfall (original 1990; edition 1990)by Isaac Asimov (Author), Robert Silverberg (Author)
Work InformationNightfall by Isaac Asimov (1990)
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.
Always a treat to read an Asimov book, and with Robert Silverberg joining him, this is a great little novel. It started out slow, but got better as the book progressed and had one of the better climaxes/denouements, particularly for a post apocalyptic style story. I liked the 4 main protagonists and how I never really knew where the story was going. ( ) This book was SO GOOD. The way the plot built up to the eclipse was done expertly. I was invested in the characters and story pretty much immediately. I adored the different approaches to the inevitability of the eclipse: not just astronomy, but psychology, archaeology, and media. My favorite part was the way the writing weaved those approaches together into a delicious, slowly growing tension to that moment of the eclipse itself. The tension broke after the eclipse, obviously, but it built again slightly in the aftermath to an engaging conclusion. At times, especially during and after the eclipse, the book had significant horror elements. The effects on a species of discovering that the universe is far more vast than they ever could have imagined was believable, terrifying, and thoroughly explored. Highly recommend. This was a very disappointing read. Scifi by Asimov should be a safe bet, but this has been cobbled together. The original short story was written by Asimov in 1941 and this book length adaptation was published in 1990. I have the strong feeling that the book was written by Silverberg alone, but Asimov's name was retained because it is his original idea. And for marketing purposes. I doubt I would have read this had it not been for the Asimov name. After finishing the book, I found the original short story and read that. The short story is good - tightly written, creative, and leaving plenty for the reader to imagine. The book length treatment is different. I found it plodding and predictable. It took all the mystery and suspense away. And the greater length exposed all the potential flaws in the story line, every one of them, and did nothing to address them. What a shame. Kalgash is a world with six suns: Onos (the largest and closest), Trey/Patru (binary stars) farther away, Siitha/Tarno (binary stars) also farther away, and Dovim (small and farther still). At any one time two-four suns are in the sky resulting in constant daylight. The Kalgashians have never experienced darkness so when astronomers discover a hidden planetary body the size of Kalgash will cause an eclipse, they are concerned about the effect total darkness for half a day will have on Kalgashians. The results are beyond their worst imaginings. The science behind the eclipse is slim at best, and conversation makes up the majority of the book but that’s fine. It’s a decent enough story telling. no reviews | add a review
Is contained inIs an expanded version ofHas as a student's study guide
Kalgash is a world on the edge of chaos, torn between religious fanaticism and scientific rationalism. Their civilization is threatened by Nightfall, the first sunset in over two thousand years. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |