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The Caves Of Night
Five people enter the Frohnberg caves, three men and two women. In the glare of the Austrian sunshine, the cool underground depths seem an attractive proposition – until the collapse of a cave wall blocks their return to the outside world. Faced with an unexplored warren of tunnels and caves, rivers and lakes, twisting and ramifying under the mountain range, they can only hope that there is an exit to be found on the other side.
For Cynthia, the journey through the dark labyrinths mirrors her own sense of guilt and confusion about the secret affair she has recently embarked upon. And whilst it is in some ways a comfort to share this possibly lethal ordeal with her lover Albrecht, only her husband Henry has the knowledge and experience that may lead them all back to safety.
But can even Henry’s sang froid and expertise be enough, with the moment fast approaching when their food supplies will run out, and the batteries of their torches fail, leaving them to stumble blindly through the dark?
For Cynthia, the journey through the dark labyrinths mirrors her own sense of guilt and confusion about the secret affair she has recently embarked upon. And whilst it is in some ways a comfort to share this possibly lethal ordeal with her lover Albrecht, only her husband Henry has the knowledge and experience that may lead them all back to safety.
But can even Henry’s sang froid and expertise be enough, with the moment fast approaching when their food supplies will run out, and the batteries of their torches fail, leaving them to stumble blindly through the dark?
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
4 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
John Christopher
198 books546 followersSamuel Youd was born in Huyton, Lancashire in April 1922, during an unseasonable snowstorm.
As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’
Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, cricket novels, medical novels, gothic romances, detective thrillers, light comedies … In all he published fifty-six novels and a myriad of short stories, under his own name as well as eight different pen-names.
He is perhaps best known as John Christopher, author of the seminal work of speculative fiction, The Death of Grass (today available as a Penguin Classic), and a stream of novels in the genre he pioneered, young adult dystopian fiction, beginning with The Tripods Trilogy.
‘I read somewhere,’ Sam once said, ‘that I have been cited as the greatest serial killer in fictional history, having destroyed civilisation in so many different ways – through famine, freezing, earthquakes, feral youth combined with religious fanaticism, and progeria.’
In an interview towards the end of his life, conversation turned to a recent spate of novels set on Mars and a possible setting for a John Christopher story: strand a group of people in a remote Martian enclave and see what happens.
The Mars aspect, he felt, was irrelevant. ‘What happens between the people,’ he said, ‘that’s the thing I’m interested in.’
As a boy, he was devoted to the newly emergent genre of science-fiction: ‘In the early thirties,’ he later wrote, ‘we knew just enough about the solar system for its possibilities to be a magnet to the imagination.’
Over the following decades, his imagination flowed from science-fiction into general novels, cricket novels, medical novels, gothic romances, detective thrillers, light comedies … In all he published fifty-six novels and a myriad of short stories, under his own name as well as eight different pen-names.
He is perhaps best known as John Christopher, author of the seminal work of speculative fiction, The Death of Grass (today available as a Penguin Classic), and a stream of novels in the genre he pioneered, young adult dystopian fiction, beginning with The Tripods Trilogy.
‘I read somewhere,’ Sam once said, ‘that I have been cited as the greatest serial killer in fictional history, having destroyed civilisation in so many different ways – through famine, freezing, earthquakes, feral youth combined with religious fanaticism, and progeria.’
In an interview towards the end of his life, conversation turned to a recent spate of novels set on Mars and a possible setting for a John Christopher story: strand a group of people in a remote Martian enclave and see what happens.
The Mars aspect, he felt, was irrelevant. ‘What happens between the people,’ he said, ‘that’s the thing I’m interested in.’
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 22, 2023
This is an old (1958, which was actually a pretty good year all things considered) romance adventure that invariably got shelved as science fiction because Christopher had written in that field and because the Don Crowley cover looks like it belongs on Verne or Burroughs. It has a somewhat slow introduction to the characters, but quickly becomes one of the best claustrophobic caving stories you'd ever want to spleunk. A very suspenseful tale; it rocks!
July 2, 2024
Over the past few years I've begun exploring John Christopher works, especially his Sci Fi novels, both for adults, Death of Grass and for younger people just beginning to explore the wonders of Sci Fi, the Tripod trilogy, The Lotus Caves, an adventure on the Moon. Recently I found a copy of The Caves Of Night, which I thought was another of his Sci Fi stories. Nope.
The Caves is set in Austria, shortly after WWII. An English couple, Cynthia and Henry, take an annual vacation to Austria as Henry wishes to continue exploring the Fronberg Caves. When they arrive they discover that another English couple, Heather and Peter, newlyweds, have been given their normal room. They also discover that the caves have been closed by the landowner, Herr Joachim Albrecht, as there was a recent cave collapse. As a side note, Peter, while serving in the British army during the War had been bivouacked in Joachim's home, while Joachim, himself was a prisoner of the Russian army.
Anyway, with that preamble, the Graf (that's Joachim) agrees to let Henry and Cynthia continue their spelunking. Henry does it basically on his own, searching the caves for more cave drawings, while the other three are entertained by Joachim on his estate, playing tennis, swimming, horse riding, etc. A relationship begins to develop between Joachim and Cynthia.
So, as we move along, the whole group decides to follow Henry and let him show them the caves. While there, Cynthia and Peter, irresponsibly cause a cave in. This means that the group must try to find another way out, meaning they will have to go deeper into the mountain and hopefully link up with a series of caves on the other side.
It becomes a tense affair. Henry leads the way as he has most experience underground. Cynthia and Peter continue to cause issues. Cynthia must sort out her feelings between Henry and Joachim. It's all very entangled but also very tense and at times tragic. The feeling of claustrophobia is very real, reminding me of a Nevada Barr mystery set in a national park with a cave setting. The characters are all well developed, there is time for some philosophical discussion, all the while the group must struggle underground, hoping to find a way out before both their flashlights and food run out. Excellent story even if it's not Sci Fi as I thought. (4.0 stars)
The Caves is set in Austria, shortly after WWII. An English couple, Cynthia and Henry, take an annual vacation to Austria as Henry wishes to continue exploring the Fronberg Caves. When they arrive they discover that another English couple, Heather and Peter, newlyweds, have been given their normal room. They also discover that the caves have been closed by the landowner, Herr Joachim Albrecht, as there was a recent cave collapse. As a side note, Peter, while serving in the British army during the War had been bivouacked in Joachim's home, while Joachim, himself was a prisoner of the Russian army.
Anyway, with that preamble, the Graf (that's Joachim) agrees to let Henry and Cynthia continue their spelunking. Henry does it basically on his own, searching the caves for more cave drawings, while the other three are entertained by Joachim on his estate, playing tennis, swimming, horse riding, etc. A relationship begins to develop between Joachim and Cynthia.
So, as we move along, the whole group decides to follow Henry and let him show them the caves. While there, Cynthia and Peter, irresponsibly cause a cave in. This means that the group must try to find another way out, meaning they will have to go deeper into the mountain and hopefully link up with a series of caves on the other side.
It becomes a tense affair. Henry leads the way as he has most experience underground. Cynthia and Peter continue to cause issues. Cynthia must sort out her feelings between Henry and Joachim. It's all very entangled but also very tense and at times tragic. The feeling of claustrophobia is very real, reminding me of a Nevada Barr mystery set in a national park with a cave setting. The characters are all well developed, there is time for some philosophical discussion, all the while the group must struggle underground, hoping to find a way out before both their flashlights and food run out. Excellent story even if it's not Sci Fi as I thought. (4.0 stars)
December 22, 2017
Apparently this slipped into the sci fi pile because the author does write sci fi. This one, however, despite the cover(which is definitely the best part) is not.
The 1st half documents the main character, a middle-aged woman named Cynthia, starting an affair with the Austrian Count in the neigborhood while her husband documents some cave paintings.
After that, we do get the cave part, in which the main characters get stuck, the red shirts die, and Cynthia gets left with a quite literal choice, where he has to choose whether her husband or her new fling lives or dies as the escape. If one is into 50s romance novels, you could probably do worse, but otherwise I'd give it a pass.
The 1st half documents the main character, a middle-aged woman named Cynthia, starting an affair with the Austrian Count in the neigborhood while her husband documents some cave paintings.
After that, we do get the cave part, in which the main characters get stuck, the red shirts die, and Cynthia gets left with a quite literal choice, where he has to choose whether her husband or her new fling lives or dies as the escape. If one is into 50s romance novels, you could probably do worse, but otherwise I'd give it a pass.
May 19, 2020
Even though there were several annoying characters and a stupidly tragic Manfredesque Austrian count, I still give this book 5 stars (4.75, rounded up) because of its awesome suspense. It literally made me nauseous with its descriptions of claustrophobic caves and the whole buried alive stuff, but it was a real page-turner for me.
Most of the first third of the book was dumb, but once all the idiots get stuck in the terrifying caves, it kicked ass.
Most of the first third of the book was dumb, but once all the idiots get stuck in the terrifying caves, it kicked ass.
February 7, 2022
I agree with the other reviewer who thinks this novel deserves five stars even though there are stupid or boring parts. This is not science fiction, and don't read the back cover copy because it gives away everything.
This novel has two very different halves. The first half is about two British couples vacationing in Austria not very long after the war. There's the callow, optimistic couple on their honeymoon and the jaded middle-aged couple who return to this spot every year. The MC, Cynthia, finds that she is strangely attracted to a brooding Austrian count who offers them hospitality. This part is fine if you like this kind of Byronic-hero romance.
The second half is when everyone gets trapped underground in a cave. They may drown, they may fall to their deaths, they may get stuck in a tunnel that's too small, their light may run out, their food may run out, the ceiling might cave in, etc. It's really exciting and suspenseful! A straightforward adventure tale but in a way it reminded me of Agatha Christie's sentimental story Giant's Bread.
This novel has two very different halves. The first half is about two British couples vacationing in Austria not very long after the war. There's the callow, optimistic couple on their honeymoon and the jaded middle-aged couple who return to this spot every year. The MC, Cynthia, finds that she is strangely attracted to a brooding Austrian count who offers them hospitality. This part is fine if you like this kind of Byronic-hero romance.
The second half is when everyone gets trapped underground in a cave. They may drown, they may fall to their deaths, they may get stuck in a tunnel that's too small, their light may run out, their food may run out, the ceiling might cave in, etc. It's really exciting and suspenseful! A straightforward adventure tale but in a way it reminded me of Agatha Christie's sentimental story Giant's Bread.
January 1, 2022
An Oldie but a Goodie!
I just turned the last page of my last book read in 2021. I haven't read such a nail-biting suspense novel in decades. This was a story that surely was more than meets the eye!!
One young couple are on their honeymoon at an Inn owned by an Count in the mountains of Austria. Another middle-aged couple also staying at the inn, have returned for their annual visit so the husband can enjoy exploring the vast underground caves nearby.
The tale blends a serious look at the philosophy of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, a scandalous love affair between one of the wives and the Count, and a death-defying journey underground when all five key players are imprisoned there due to a foolish mishap.
I couldn't put this vintage 1968 novel down. I don't think I breathed at all during the last quarter of the book! Ebay has quite a few cheap paperbacks to offer if you wish to give it a try!
I just turned the last page of my last book read in 2021. I haven't read such a nail-biting suspense novel in decades. This was a story that surely was more than meets the eye!!
One young couple are on their honeymoon at an Inn owned by an Count in the mountains of Austria. Another middle-aged couple also staying at the inn, have returned for their annual visit so the husband can enjoy exploring the vast underground caves nearby.
The tale blends a serious look at the philosophy of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, a scandalous love affair between one of the wives and the Count, and a death-defying journey underground when all five key players are imprisoned there due to a foolish mishap.
I couldn't put this vintage 1968 novel down. I don't think I breathed at all during the last quarter of the book! Ebay has quite a few cheap paperbacks to offer if you wish to give it a try!
January 7, 2021
Five people become trapped by a rock-fall in a cave in Austria in this melodramatic but still pretty suspenseful adventure from 1958. What complicates matters is that the wife of one, the experienced speleologist, has started an affair with the other, an Austrian, a POW just released by the Soviets, on whose property the cave is located. At the climax she has to decide who to save after they have worked their way through the underground caverns. An interesting examination of 1950s mores as well as quite an exciting read. 3.5 stars
September 17, 2020
Really well written, however, the synopsis on the back (and here on Goodreads) totally spoils the book as you know what is going to happen and spend the whole book waiting for it. This takes away all sense of shock, and also spoils the rest of the book as I just keep wondering when the big event was going to happen and probably rushed over everything else.
November 2, 2016
Tense
Excellent,tense, a very good read right to the climax of the last chapter.Well worth reading. What more can I say.
Excellent,tense, a very good read right to the climax of the last chapter.Well worth reading. What more can I say.
June 16, 2023
Christopher constructs some solid characters, but this is one of his novels with a plot that goes nowhere.
December 21, 2023
3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
A happily married couple return to their regular holiday spot, to find that a cave the husband enjoys exploring is closed, and they'll need the local count's permission to enter. Meeting him sets off an illicit affair that ends in a desperate caving adventure.
Review
Another in Christopher’s set of mid-20th century stories about ordinary men and women under stress. Here, a casual caving expedition gone wrong. It’s … fine. The characters are engaging, it’s generally credible, etc. However, there’s not much ending to the story. The semi-resolution is about what you’d expect – perhaps it was more surprising 65 years ago before we’d seen it so many times – but largely the book just stops abruptly.
There’s some key infidelity that’s never really explained. The married protagonist just … does have an affair, for no very good reason. It’s frustrating, because the reasons against are explicit, and the reasons for are, at best, inchoate. We’re eventually told she’s ‘utterly and hopelessly’ in love, but I saw no reason why she should be. For that matter, the cave exploration that begins it all doesn’t have much foundation.
I’m a fan of Christopher’s YA books (such as the completely different and much more effective The Lotus Caves), and have enjoyed his adult books (somewhat less), but this didn’t do much for me. If you’re a completionist, by all means get this. If you have a deep to be read pile, though, feel no qualms about letting this one go.
Summary
A happily married couple return to their regular holiday spot, to find that a cave the husband enjoys exploring is closed, and they'll need the local count's permission to enter. Meeting him sets off an illicit affair that ends in a desperate caving adventure.
Review
Another in Christopher’s set of mid-20th century stories about ordinary men and women under stress. Here, a casual caving expedition gone wrong. It’s … fine. The characters are engaging, it’s generally credible, etc. However, there’s not much ending to the story. The semi-resolution is about what you’d expect – perhaps it was more surprising 65 years ago before we’d seen it so many times – but largely the book just stops abruptly.
There’s some key infidelity that’s never really explained. The married protagonist just … does have an affair, for no very good reason. It’s frustrating, because the reasons against are explicit, and the reasons for are, at best, inchoate. We’re eventually told she’s ‘utterly and hopelessly’ in love, but I saw no reason why she should be. For that matter, the cave exploration that begins it all doesn’t have much foundation.
I’m a fan of Christopher’s YA books (such as the completely different and much more effective The Lotus Caves), and have enjoyed his adult books (somewhat less), but this didn’t do much for me. If you’re a completionist, by all means get this. If you have a deep to be read pile, though, feel no qualms about letting this one go.
December 2, 2024
Frustrating that there is a massive spoiler in the book description on the back cover! Not the most believable characters and very dated - but to be fair it was originally published in the 1950s. Pretty good for all that.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews