Nightfall
by Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1014)
Read in June, 2008
The world in which we live, whether is there only one or six sun, is dangerous. Harm does not come by the hand of God, the anger of demons, or the appearance of Stars, but the madness and bloodthirstiness of man to hunt the scapegoats and make sure that those will die severely or to get rid of those who don't take side along with them. This is the phenomena normal in fanaticist or totalitarian communities. You will see it clearly in such kinds of those; otherwise, vaguely in such society so-call...more
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Read in May, 2008
This book was the long-awaited elaboration of a fantastic short story as well as a collaboration by two great SF authors, but I was so disappointed. I had been intrigued by Assimov's short story, but I found the book redundant and predictable with a slow plot. I think I finished reading it just because I am a perfectionist.
My other complaint is the abundance of cliches in the dialogue. I couldn't tell if the cliches were (dare I say it of these authors???) bad writing or were intended to ...more
My other complaint is the abundance of cliches in the dialogue. I couldn't tell if the cliches were (dare I say it of these authors???) bad writing or were intended to ...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Literature hounds and sci-files
Imagine a world of constant light - where at least one of the six suns that cross the sky is always visible. Imagine a world where every bedroom has a nightlight, even though the sky never truly goes dark - a world where a hard-core thrill-seekers pay hand over fist to test their psyche by riding through just a few minutes of total darkness, and a thrill greater than any roller-coaster. Then, imagine that for the first time ever, the last sun sets, and Night falls.
Isaac Asimov and Rob...more
Isaac Asimov and Rob...more
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Read in November, 2007
I got this book for $1 at the thrift store. I was unaware of the short story before getting the novel - I bought it because I was interested in a story similar to the "Pitch Black" movie.
It took forever to get started (it's called Nightfall - do you really think the eclipse is NOT going to happen? Do we need to debate that for half the book?) and ended really quickly after the major events happened. It was almost a "happily ever after" ending, or as close as you can get i...more
It took forever to get started (it's called Nightfall - do you really think the eclipse is NOT going to happen? Do we need to debate that for half the book?) and ended really quickly after the major events happened. It was almost a "happily ever after" ending, or as close as you can get i...more
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Imagine that instead of haveing only one sun there are three circleing the Earth. At any given time there is atleast one in the sky, so that your concept of "night" is when only one sun is blazing in the sky above you. This is how it has always been, to the point that for almost every person alive their greatest fear is pitch black darkness. Now imagine the unthinkable happens, there is a full solar eclipse of all three suns, the entire world is plunged into darkness, the sky is black ...more
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Read in February, 2006
This is a full-length novel developed from a short story of the same name by Asimov. It takes place on a planet with multiple suns so that there is always at least one sun in the sky everywhere on the planet. Thus, there's never any night. Except... once every thousand years or so when the suns and planet align and there's an eclipse and the stars come out. It's fascinating to think how a world that had never known stars or night would react to them and what kind of devastation might ensue.
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Read in September, 2007
The premise: An alien world that has not seen night in over 2000 years is plunged into darkness when all six of its suns set. The population, not used to darkness, goes mad, resulting in chaos and self-destruction.
If you like end-of-the-world novels, you should enjoy Nightfall. It's a fun, simple read that also manages to make some interesting insights into the narrow-mindedness of humanity. The ending was somewhat unexpected and mature in its realism.
Overall, a really good read.
If you like end-of-the-world novels, you should enjoy Nightfall. It's a fun, simple read that also manages to make some interesting insights into the narrow-mindedness of humanity. The ending was somewhat unexpected and mature in its realism.
Overall, a really good read.
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Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
sci-fi / fantasy fans
Remember the robotic race that sought to end the universe in Douglas Adam's work? Well, this book is written from the possible perspective of such a race. How would you react if suddenly faced with an imposing, completely different perspective of the universe--one equivalent to a break with any reality you had ever known? It is perhaps unreasonable to think you would be capable of planning the destruction of the universe, or anything, after such an event.
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Perhaps not a necessary book, but a nice fleshing-out of the famous tale that answers the nagging, "What happened afterward?" question engendered by the 1941 short story. Worth the read. Brief and simple, does not require a tremendous effort on the part of the reader but presents the ideas clearly and simply, in the best tradition of sci-fi for the non-scientist, yet still manages to present the notion of confronting infinity in all its awful glory.
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Read in October, 1994
recommended to Clackamas by:
Found it at the bus stop
I love this kind of book. It introduces us to a world and characters before the disaster, follows them through it, and shows us the aftermath. It's very character-driven. It's surprising to read a book with so many characters that are being followed, and yet have them all fleshed out and three-dimensional so that you can actually care about them.
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This is my favorite science fiction book of all time! What happens on a world where it never gets dark due to the fact that there is more than one sun always shining? What will the people do on the one night that is does get completely dark? One secret group of people think they know the answer. And they do their best to save the world, again.
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Asmov and sci fi fans
I understand that this book is a fairly famous book of the sci fi genre. A fun what if book, although the what if in this case seemed implausible to me. It has a few characters you can enjoy disliking. This one is really more of a 3.5 stars to me than a four, but it did make me think a little so I was nice and rounded up instead of down.
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This was originally a short story by Asimov, then expanded into novel length by Silverberg. The novel is interesting in that it adds a number of details and "what happens after" kind of stuff, but I much prefer the short story length for this particular tail. Asimov's original short story was much more intense and dramatic.
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I read this before reading the short story of the same name (by Asimov). Reading them in that order, I've found that I really enjoyed them both. Usually expansions of short stories are over-worked and dull, but this allowed for greater development of the characters and the story without compromising the original charm.
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This book has a fascinating premise for its main plot point. However, the incredibly long build up diluted the idea. By the time the big event happens I felt relief instead of the intended dread. Despite this, it’s a nice example of Asimov’s brand of Sci-Fi.
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Asimov gets lumped in with Clarke in my head - legends, classics, nothing I really like that much. This book is a great example. The short story it is based on is fantastic and gripping, but the idea gets tired and slow as its stretched out over 300 pages.
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Read in December, 2007
The premise was pretty cool, I liked the idea behind it. I read the novel, however, and not the short story. It dragged, focused too much on the events themselves and not enough on the human aspect. Overall, it dragged, it wasn't really anything special.
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Read in January, 1980
The classic example of the absolutely amazing science fiction story that was turned into the most abysmal movie. I will never forget how horrible this movie was. But the title story of this collection is one of the best things Asimov wrote.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in April, 2000
One of my favorites of all time, this great novel tells an amazing story with emotion and science and is a classic for anyone into physics, astroscience, human emotion, history and/or archaeology.
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recommends it for:
Everyone.
This is the first Asimov I've ever read. I loved it. The idea of it is just amazing and scary.
I can't say more without giving it away. Read this book!
I can't say more without giving it away. Read this book!
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