Retaining wonder, rejecting complacency. Protection against the fall of night
Written: Oct 08 '01 (Updated Nov 24 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fantastic imagery, plenty of gadgets from the fecund mind of Clarke.
Cons: Both stories now located in better volumes elsewhere. Collectors only?
The Bottom Line: Read this book for an example of imaginative explorations in wondrous technologies. For Clarke fans particularly, an interesting look at early work.
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| snpmurray's Full Review: The Lion of Comarre / Against the Fall of Night Bo... |
“Against the Fall of Night and Lion of Comarre” by Arthur C Clarke was first published 1968. This book consists of a novella and a short story of similar theme. In each, a young man, disillusioned with his society searches for hidden secrets, and unrevealed glories. The stories are knitted together for us by Clarkes foreword, discussing the development of the themes.
Against the Fall of Night is the novella version of Clarkes’ later novel ,“The City and the Stars”. The story opens in the city of Diaspar, last city of man, home to the only remaining inhabitants of Earth. Set many millennia into earths future, our planets oceans are now mere dry salt lakes, and mankind cowers from exploration of the stars, living in fear of a species which chased Man across the stars, until he took refuge on his own world and swore to stay only there. Equipped with self-repairing high technology, and blessed with vastly extended lifespan, the inhabitants of Diaspar are thoroughly content with their lot. That is, all except for Alvin. Alvin is the only child born to the near-immortal inhabitants of Diaspar in generations, and sees himself as something of an explorer. Diaspar is so huge that large portions of it lie completely unused, and its citizens are not even inquisitive enough to explore them. Alvin, however, spends all his spare time exploring, and eventually finds a way out of the city, and from there simply takes the subway to the hitherto-unknown city of Lys…green, open to the air, its inhabitants as mortal as you or I, but gifted psychically. It becomes Alvins mission to reunite these two societies, and discover how they came to be separated in the first place. Why does no-one in his own community know of this place? And why has mankind abandoned space travel? Is there evidence of the alien species spoken of in antiquity? Alvins determination to answer these questions lead him into conflict with elders of both communities, determined to maintain the status quo, and eventually lead him to the depths of space, and to a meeting with an artificial mind of enormous power who knows the true story of humanities past.
In Lion of Comarre follow the adventures of Richard Peyton III, lover of technology and science. He lives in in a society where arts are dominant, and it is believed technology is finished, and everything has been invented. Richard discovers that his genetic makeup is an uncanny match for an ancestor of his, creator of the mythical City of Comarre - Comarre is rumored to be mans perfect environment, where all live in eternal bliss. The few scientists of his world suggest to him that this close genetic match may lead him to succeed where others have failed…to enter Comarre and come out again to tell the tale. Richard goes looking for Comarre, in search of the secret technology of his long dead ancestor. Helped by a lion, who has the personality of a friendly dog (genetic alteration, you understand…the original lions were far to unfriendly towards humans), he sets out to overcome the traps set by the designer of the city. The city somehow probes the psyche of the intruder, and then seduces he or she into opium-induced computer manufactured dreams, tailored ideally for the receiver. Only in this manner is Comarre the city of eternal bliss. Can Richard and his Lion avoid becoming poppy-heads, and discover the secrets of how Comarre works? Can they escape the traps of Comarre back to a less blissful but more real world? In this rather short story it wont be long before you know.
As Clarke says in his foreword, common to both tales , the true quest is for wonder and magic. In true Clarke style, the protagonists encounter layer upon layer of gadgetry, robotics, feats of marvelous engineering etc, etc. Characterization is as thin as usual for a Clarke novel, something you either like or you don’t, I think. Personally I like it, in his work at least. The only stipulation I put on authors who neglect human contact in their work is that they are able to make my journey a memorable one by other means. Arthur C Clarke always does for me, the minds of his characters and their motives are only roughly sketched, and if we come to flesh them out with personhood, it is only through how they deal with the gadgets Clarke presents them with. What we are given in place of this is a frequent sense of wonder…that “wow!” moment, repeated again and again, as Clarke uses his mastery of descriptive writing to succeed in placing us in the midst of his imagined futurescapes.
In “Lion” Clarke leads his protagonist through the perils of drug addiction. I enjoyed his angle on the subject. I made note as I read, that my fast-maturing adolescent family members might get a copy of this book off me at an opportune moment. Clarke affirms reality, and the challenge of discovering the solutions to lifes ample questions, above the happy unreality of drugs. Just a personal touch I enjoyed.
I had a look around on the internet before writing my review, and I see that this book is out of print. It is fairly commonly available through the usual second hand dealers online, and Lion of Comarre may otherwise be read in the extent collection of Clarkes collected short stories.
This novella and tapped-on short story I recommend as a good evenings reading when you are in the mood for an adventure into the worlds of wonder. It’s not earth-shattering, but it is thoroughly entertaining. Both stories have about them an essence that they would be perfect for young teenagers who need ample examples that reading can be great entertainment.
Some of my other science fiction book reviews:
Rama Revealed
Prelude to Space
Stand on Zanzibar
The Demolished Man
The Stars my Destination
Cat's Cradle
The Gods Themselves
Watchmen
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Hammer of God
The Left Hand of Darkness
Flowers for Algernon
Lord of Light
Rendevous with Rama
The Tombs of Atuan
The Dispossessed
I am Legend
The Einstein Intersection
Earth Abides
Peace on Earth
The Farthest Shore
Methuselah's Children
A Call to Arms
To your Scattered Bodies Go
The Lion of Comarre / Against the Fall of Night
To Say Nothing of the Dog
The Doomsday Book
Frankenstein Unbound
Batman - The Dark Knight Returns
Imperial Earth
A Case of Conscience
Solaris
The Sands of Mars
The Land of Laughs
Eden
His Masters Voice
Citizen of the Galaxy
King David's Spaceship
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Double Star
The Fabulous Riverboat
Songs of Distant Earth
Way Station
The Fountains of Paradise
The Long Tomorrow
Lincolns Dreams
Alas Babylon
More Than Human
1984
The Forever War
All the Myriad Ways
I Sing the Body Electric
Gateway
Flow my Tears, the Policeman Said
This Immortal
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Recommended:
Yes
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