| Article: 318
From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews
Subject: REPOST: Belated Reviews #4: "Armageddon 2419 A.D."
Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest)
Date: 09 Aug 93 23:03:48 GMT
Belated Reviews #4: "Armageddon 2419 A.D."
by Philip Francis Nowlan
For a change of pace, I am reviewing a single book, rather than an entire
corpus, but it is one of the most important books in the history of science
fiction. "Armageddon 2419 A.D." (***) is the story of Anthony Rogers, who
was plunged by accident into five centuries in suspended animation. In the
subsequent syndication of the story, his name was shortened to Buck Rogers.
The pre-Golden-Age science fiction of the twenties and thirties was, with
few exceptions, badly written. It was written by technology- and science-
intoxicated writers, for readers of a similar bent. Old and hackneyed
cliches of science fiction were new, and exciting, and sufficed. "Armageddon
2419 A.D." embodies the best and worst aspects of that "gadget fiction".
Like so many books of its time and genre, it can still be read with unfeigned
enjoyment by by readers in that magic early-teen/late-preteen category,
but for most others it must serve as an interesting period piece.
*Very* interesting, though. This was a time, as I remarked, when many
cliches of the genre were being born. If a later author could rattle off
the term "ray gun" and expect readers to understand, it was because Nowlan
spent five or ten pages painstakingly explaining the concept. (Buck Rogers
went into long-lived comic-strip syndication, bringing ray guns, flying
saucers, and similar concepts into general public awareness. This, in turn,
also made science fiction more accessible to new readers.)
The story itself -- shorn of its long lectures about anti-gravity metals
created from etheric vibrations and disintegration rays capable of
converting matter to electronic vibrations, and so forth -- thrilled me
when I was twelve years old. Actually, it's pretty appalling. The world
of the twenty-fifth century is ruled by the evil Han (no prizes for guessing
where they're from) who exterminated most of the other inhabitants of the
globe and then settled into a life of decadent luxury in a few heavily
automated cities. Rogers wakes up just in time to help lead the descendents
of the surviving Americans in their war to exterminate the Han.
The Han are evil and soulless, of course, so there is no moral objection to
destroying them. It would be a mistake to take this to indicate that
Nowlan was writing in simpler times. He was writing for a simpler audience --
the kids of whatever age who were reading "Amazing Stories".
(This might be as good a place as any for a digression concerning books of
previous decades and generations: The mores and prejudices of the writers
will rarely match our own. Their books may strike today's readers as racist
or sexist or intolerant or naive. Fair enough: Ours could as easily strike
them as godless or obscene or pornographic or naive -- and I'd love to know
what faults people half a century from now will find in our favorite works.
People have always been moral snobs. This doesn't mean that the problem isn't
real. Having characters behave or speak in ways we find objectionable *is*
going to lessen our enjoyment of a book. But we can still appreciate these
books on their own terms, without sitting in judgment upon them.)
Armageddon 2419 has its share of features to make today's reader wince,
though fewer than many, frankly. Even if an author is well-intentioned, as
Nowlan seems to have been, a modern reader may wince at descriptions such
as "the simple, spiritual Blacks of Africa". That reader may find some of
his 'science' short-sighted, may feel that his enthusiasm for the tactics of
WWI exceeds our own. May find, in other words, that the book was written
sixty-five years ago.
My own copy is the 1962 Ace reprint, which consists of the originally 1928
novella and its sequel, which was originally titled "The Airlords of Han."
The cover describes it as "complete and unabridged", but the forward notes,
with somewhat greater accuracy, that "a certain amount of revision and
condensation was necessary." I understand the condensation to have been
applied primarily to the technical handwaving. (This is a mixed blessing.
When sf of this period is read on its own terms, that handwaving is often
one of the best parts.) I believe it's been reprinted since.
If you're looking for a good sf/adventure, pick something more recent.
This book -- one of the best-written of its kind -- should be read by
people who have an interest in the earlier days of science fiction,
who wish to traces the roots of the genre we know today, or who have
simply read enough pre-Golden-Age science fiction to acquire an
appreciation and a taste for it.
%A Nowlan, Philip Francis
%T Armageddon 2419 A.D.
%D 1962
%I Ace
%P 190
%O The first half originally appeared in Amazing Stories in 1928.
%O The second half, under the title "The Airlords of Han", appeared in 1929.
%O There are other reprints, both earlier and later than the 1962 edition.
Standard introduction and disclaimer for Belated Reviews follows.
Belated Reviews cover science fiction and fantasy of earlier decades.
They're for newer readers who have wondered about the older titles on the
shelves, or who are interested in what sf/f was like in its younger days.
The emphasis is on helping interested readers identify books to try first,
not on discussing the books in depth.
A general caveat is in order: Most of the classics of yesteryear have not
aged well. If you didn't encounter them back when, or in your early teens,
they will probably not give you the unforced pleasure they gave their
original audiences. You may find yourself having to make allowances for
writing you consider shallow or politics you consider regressive. When I
name specific titles, I'll often rate them using the following scale:
**** Recommended.
*** An old favorite that hasn't aged well, and wouldn't get a good
reception if it were written today. Enjoyable on its own terms.
** A solid book, worth reading if you like the author's works.
* Nothing special.
Additional disclaimers: Authors are not chosen for review in any particular
order. The reviews don't attempt to be comprehensive. No distinction is
made between books which are still in print and books which are not.
-----
Dani Zweig
dani@netcom.com
The surface of the strange, forbidden planet was roughly textured and green,
much like cottage cheese gets way after the date on the lid says it is all
right to buy it.--Scott Jones
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