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The definitive edition of an important 20th-century disaster novel. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

1920s Scientific Romance
"Deluge" by Sydney Fowler Wright is another book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series, the excellent series from Wesleyan University Press.Deluge was first published in 1927, and falls into the category of Scientific Romances which experienced a revival between the two World Wars, largely due to Sydney Fowler Wright's novels (The Amphibians, which later became part of the larger work The World Below, and Deluge) as well as his short fiction.

Deluge is an early example, if not the earliest, of a disaster story in which most of the civilized world is wiped out by the land slipping beneath the waves after a series of tremors and is about the fate of civilization for those who remain through the eyes of a few key characters.To the modern reader, the science of the disaster is poor, and his description of the chaos and lawlessness of those who survive probably errs on the side of civility, but as those points are not the point of the story they are easily set aside for those who are interested in this work as part of the history of the genre.

The story is centered on three main characters:Martin, Helen, and Claire.Martin and Helen are married at the time of the disaster, but become separated in such a way as to make them think that the other has died.Claire is on her own, but is victimized by men until she uses her own athletic ability to escape by swimming until she is fortunate enough to find land.Her escape results in her being found by Martin, who has created a safe living place for himself within some caves.However, a group of people who live by taking from the weak are in the area, and ultimately they are found and Helen captured.Martin then performs a rescue and the two find themselves trapped in Martin's caves.

During this time Helen has found safety in a community of people, though their law would give her as the wife to the man who has rescued her, she has become convinced that Martin is still alive and his debt to her husband keeps him from taking her as his wife until he can prove to her that Martin is not still alive.This results in his searching the known land for Martin and ultimately rescuing Martin and Claire, though not until Martin has agreed to take Claire as his wife.Martin, because of his status prior to the disaster as a respected lawyer, is given leadership over the community that has rescued him, and they return in time to rescue the rest of the community from yet another group of men, this time a militant group lead by a self-appointed military man.This results in an end dilemma for Martin and Helen and Claire, which is only partially resolved, in a somewhat surprising fashion, as the intent was for the story to continue in sequels, of which one was published (Dawn) in 1929.

The story touches on a number of themes, including commenting on how fragile civilized society is and the differences between classes in the society of the time.Sydney Fowler Wright wrote without deciding how his stories would end, and this was a method which really works for his style of writing.The story flows easily, and one is not left with a clear cut well-defined ending and that is all to the better.The decisions he makes regarding how man carries on and forms a new society would probably not have come about if he had come up with an ending before writing the story.

Overall, the story has dated a bit, and one could certainly criticize the ending as being sexist, though I personally would not go so far.Instead, I would say it is a product of its time.The period between the World Wars was one of uncertainty, and this is reflected in the disaster theme as individuals are forced to try to survive circumstances which are completely outside their control.The open-ended nature of the ending, though meant to be filled with sequels (one was published), also suits this aspect of the time.

As with most of the Early Classics of Science Fiction series, this edition benefits greatly from the supporting material.Brian Stableford provides an outstanding introduction which covers Sydney Fowler Wright's life and writings and puts it all in context with regards to the period in which he lived.There are also very good notes for those who want more information.This is another very strong entry in the series.

Natural Apocalyptic story
This is a Natural Apocalyptic story.

Sequal is Dawn by S. Fowler Wright (1929)

"'Deluge' is an archetypal disaster story in which a geographical upheaval causes the greater part of Britain to sink beneath he sea, turning the Chilterns into an archipelago of tiny islands. The hero plays a key role in helping to restore some semblance of social order out of the violent anarchy which follows. The book is a direct ancestor of the similarly structured novels which John Wyndham and John Christopher wrote in the 1950s. The story was continued in a sequel, 'Dawn' (1929 in the US; 1930 in the UK), but a projected third volume was never written. Because so many copies were printed, the US edition of 'Deluge', published by Cosmopolitan, is much more common than the relatively scarce Fowler Wright edition, while Cosmpolitan's edition of 'Dawn' is also easier to find than the later UK edition."

"Film rights to his novel 'Deluge' (1927), which he printed himself some seven years after writing it, were sold to Hollywood, and the US edition of the novel then became a bestseller."

"He is a collectible author both here and in the USA, and the recent rediscovery of the film version of 'Deluge' - which had been thought lost save for the often used special effects footage of the inundation of New York - may help to re-ignite interest in his work. (The film was screened in some USA cinemas in 1994, but has not yet been shown in the UK.)" ... Read more

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A detailed biography of the ScotTish-born poet and novelist with a lengthy analysis of his works and the times he lived in. ILLUS. ... Read more

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NOTE: This edition has a linked "Table of Contents" and has been beautifully formatted (searchable and interlinked) to work on your Amazon e-book reader or iPod e-book reader.

These novels tied for 7th on the Arkham Survey of "Basic SF Titles" in 1949. Ranked 28th on the 1952 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll for books.

Featuring two books in one volume: The Amphibians and it's sequel, The Dwellers.

Using a time machine, a man travels half a million years into the future in an attempt to find two previous explorers who have failed to return.

In the alien world that is the future Earth, he encounters strange man-eating plants that scream, a race of furry beings, and a world where death is around every corner. He encounters several new intelligent races: "The Amphibians," "The Killers" and "The Dwellers."

An amazing journey that explores human evolution based on degeneration of the races due primarily to continual destruction of past civilizations through the misuse of scientific discoveries.

This little-known novel is full of intrigue, adventure, lost cities and terror. A must-read for pulp adventure fans! ... Read more

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NOTE: This edition has a linked "Table of Contents" and has been beautifully formatted (searchable and interlinked) to work on your Amazon e-book reader or iPod e-book reader.

Three British adventurers discover a lost civilization deep within Antarctica! This race is descended from 17th-century religious fanatics who left England for the New World three centuries earlier, and had been driven by stress of weather into the Antarctic, where they had lived isolated lives from that time.

The travelers must fight to save themselves from being burned as heretics.

This little-known adventure novel is full of intrigue, adventure, lost cities and terror. A must-read for pulp adventure fans! ... Read more

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an excerpt from the beginning of the story:

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an excerpt from the beginning of the story:

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When George is transported to a far-future Earth, he finds himself caught between two very different species of humanity--the Amphibians, dwellers of the deeps, and the giant Dwellers, rulers of the large island that constitutes the major land mass. With the help of one of the Amphibians, George goes looking for any sign of two earlier time-travelers, neither of which has returned. His adventures among the strange flora and fauna of this brave new world constitute one of Wright's most original and compelling imaginative fictions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Early Classic.
S. Fowler Wright's 1929 classic novel, "The World Below", is as enjoyable today, as it was when first published.The novel is divided into two books, the first is "The Amphibians", which was first published by itself in 1925 (1924 according to some sources).The second book continues the story started in "The Amphibians', and bears the same title as the novel, "The World Below".

The story is one of time travel, where the narrator travels half a million years into the future in an attempt to find two previous explorers who have failed to return.What he finds is a world as completely different from ours, as ours is different from when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.He encounters several new intelligent peoples whom he names: `The Amphibians', `The Killers', and The Dwellers".

As with the novels of Verne, as well as some of Wells, this story is more adventure than science fiction, but it is very enjoyable and well worth reading.This book was tied for 7th on the Arkham Survey of 'Basic SF Titles' in 1949.It was also ranked 28th on the 1952 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll for books.Although this work is in the shadow of H.G. Wells "The Time Machine", it is still an intriguing and highly imaginative work worth rediscovering. ... Read more

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NOTE: This edition has a linked "Table of Contents" and has been beautifully formatted (searchable and interlinked) to work on your Amazon e-book reader or iPod e-book reader.

This sci-fi adventure classic tells the adventures of one man against the strange wonders of a not-so-deserted isle.

He faces up against brutish, nearly inhuman descendants of a pirate crew and strange creatures that gave birth to an ancient Greek civilization. And, of course, there's a beautiful woman to be won...

This little-known adventure novel is full of intrigue, adventure, lost cities and savages. A must-read for sci-fi adventure pulp fans! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Voices in the Night
Shipwrecked through an odd tidal tunnel inside a cliff-enclosed island in the Pacific, Charlton cares little about his own life or tropical beauty.But the invalid protagonist soon discovers that this landfall proves no forest idyll, for it hosts three diverse populations: an enigmatic people who predate the pyramids, with their mirror which sees into the future; a race of verbal and social satyrs; and a breed of hybrid bestiality--the descendants of the pirate crew of Captain Sparrow, his son and various derelict women brought into his privcate kingdom.
Add to this jungle mix the spice of three French castaways--one of whom is a comely maiden--and readers have the ingredients for a delicious variety of adventurous scenarios.

This ia a ripping good fantasy yarn with its exotic setting, major cultural clashes, and the usual fodder of exiting plotlines: greed, ambition, adventure and lust for sex and power.The author even indulges in brief asides to comment on male or female attributes, or the essense of humanity--but never in such a way as to cripple the pace. The novel makes for smooth reading, with refreshing alternation of action, narration and reflection.Can two Europoeans create a true Utopia in ths almost untouched world?Egos and emotions clash in the night, as Charlton and Marcelle are recast as a primeval Adam and Eve in this unique world.Will frail Charlton prove the catalyst for the destruction--or the salvation--of this island which time seems to have forgotten? ... Read more