Nightwings

A short and elegaic SF novel in the 'dying earth' tradition that follows the wanderings of a member of the Watcher's Guild as he looks to the stars in anticipation of a foretold alien invasion of Earth. His companions include a beautiful young 'Flyer' (the "Nightwings" of the title) and an enigmatic Changeling.

As the story unfolds we see great changes come over both the main character and the earth itself. I enjoyed this story for the tone it conveyed as well as the world & characters that were presented. Well worth picking up if you can find a copy. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2012/03/review-of-nightwings-by-robert.html ( )

Nightwings is another great Robert Silverberg science fiction novel. This edition contains an introduction written by Silverberg in 2002, which provides a very interesting discussion of how he came to write the three novellas that make up Nightwings and what his life was like when he was writing them. His friend, Frederick Pohl, was editor of Galaxy, the leading science fiction magazine at the time, paid Silverberg $500 each to publish them. The first novella, Nightwings, was published in the September 1968 issue of Galaxy and won the Hugo award for best novella in 1969. The second installment and third installments were published in Galaxy in November 1968 and February 1969 respectively. Silverberg later combined the three and first published them as a novel in September 1969. The novel takes place thousands of years in the future on Earth. In it, Silverberg creates a fascinating history of Earth’s civilization. The First Cycle includes the years before earthlings had contact with intelligent beings from other worlds. The Second Cycle began when hamans first encountered intelligent beings from distant worlds. Much technological advancement and trade with other worlds made the Second Cycle very prosperous for Earthlings. However, greed and other human emotions caused much exploitation of the planet and of out-world civilizations. Thus, during the Third Cycle Earthlings came to be viewed by inhabitants from other worlds with contempt. “In many parts of the universe humans were denounced as marauders, kidnapers, and pirates…” The population of at least one planet, who lacked the capability of space travel at the time, vowed to someday invade and conquer Earth as revenge for the cruel treatment of their species by humans. Earth became “a neglected world in a backwater of the universe.” Its economy went bankrupt and resulted in a society or paupers with class and occupational guilds, including Dominators, Masters, Merchants, and many more, to give order to the crumbling society. Silverberg’s engrossing story takes place mostly during the Third Cycle and chronicles the journey and experiences of an aging Watcher, whose purpose is to scan deep space for any signs of impending alien invasion. Carrying his watching equipment on his back, he travels by foot, like most others, stopping several times each day to conduct his watching. He travels with many different companions during his journeys, including beautiful Avluela, a Flier, a member of a re-egineered human species that was created by man for beauty and enjoyment. Her nightwings enable her to fly only at night because they cannot tolerate the sun. His travels take him from Agupt to Roum where he fulfills his responsibilities as a watcher by issuing a warning about an alien invasion. After Earth is conquered he leaves Roum disguised as a Pilgrim with the exiled Prince of Roum and goes to Perris where he becomes an apprentice Rememberer, the guild that researches the past and enables him to learn about Earth’s history. He is later forced from the Remeberer guild and escapes Perris as a member of the Pilgrim guild. He then travels to Jorslem as a pilgrimage and to undergo the renewal procedure. While in Jorslem he reunites with Avluela and plays an important part in the freedom and redemption of earth. Throughout this book Silverberg’s provides a very interesting, enjoyable, satisfying story that is rich in detail. I wish I had read it long ago and I’m certain I will read it again down the road. BTW: As a long-time academic librarian, I was interested that Silverberg included an Indexers guild, and states that they “… record and classify that which they often do not understand…” and that “Without them one scarcely is able to cope with the problems of research.” I wonder why he didn’t call them Librarians. First line: “Roum is a city built on seven hills.” Last line: “And we guided her down through the darkening sky.” ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1USOGAW3TL97Y/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm ( )

http://yet.org/2007/04/les_ailes_de_la_nuit.html ( )