The Long Afternoon of Earth

by Brian W. Aldiss and Ill by Patricia Davis Aldiss Brian

Book Overview

In the future, when the Sun has expanded and is ready to go nova, few animal species remain while plants have adapted to fill animal niches. One of the few species to survive are humans, but in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B001RE0QWK
• Release Date: January 1962
• Publisher: Signet
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Hothouse is so different - it is barely Sci-Fi

The novel Hothouse first came to my attention in the picture book/review "Alien Landscapes" by Robert Holdstock and Malcolm Edwards. The art and description contained therein inspired me to read Hothouse, as well as a few other classic sci-fi novels (e.g. Rendezvous with Rama by A.C. Clarke and Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, both of which I highly recommend). I was not disappointed.Hothouse is difficult to squarely categorize as sci-fi, as Aldiss does not project human achievement and technological evolution into a plausible future. Instead, he does so with biological evolution, moving mankind into the passive role of bystander. Plants have come to dominate the natural world, assuming the characteristics and ecological functions of the animal kingdom. But it is far from a utopian garden. The main characters are assailed with hostility every step of the way.The book is an odyssey of sorts, with the main character, Gren, tossed violently about this very green world on a voyage of discovery, both internal and external. Aldiss seems to like this theme. The various plant forms which Gren encounters along the way will stir the imagination with their bizarre nature, although I disagree with another reviewer's comment that their introduction appears to be the only purpose for the book.Aldiss leaves quite a bit unexplained in the book, which I suppose is my only criticism. But even then, it lends the text a sense of mystery which, when approached with the right perspective, is charming. I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Showcases his imagination

Of all the "New Wave" SF writers that emerged in the sixties and seventies, Brian Aldiss is probably the least flashiest and most consistent. His books have this sort of quiet confidence, as if he already knows they're unique and doesn't need to go about proclaiming it. Most of the time the trick is in the presentation. In this novel we have an Earth millions of years in the future, a planet that has stopped rotating and is thus half light and half dark, a planet where most of the animals have died out and plants have taken over, evolving into all sorts of weird lifeforms, all of which you have to read to believe. Humans are still around but most traces of civilization are gone, they live fairly nomadic and primitive existences. The biggest problem with this book is that the setup is just about all you get, while there is a plot of sorts, it's for the most part episodic and at best ramshackle, lurching from situation to situation. But it's Aldiss' vision of the future Earth, orbiting a sun soon to go nova, and a planet covered in all kinds of fantastic forms of life, that sustains the book. Every time you turn the page something new and bizarre greets you and I'm just amazed the man was able to think of all these things. Granted most of the plot is devoted to showing off these things but when then they're this consistently entertaining I'm not going to argue too much. Honestly there probably is some kind of allegorical aspect to the plot that I'm just missing because I'm too dense but hey, whatever. Fans of pure science probably won't be too thrilled because Aldiss' extrapolations of the far future seem to have little to do with actual science, but as I always say, don't let science get in the way of a good story. This is an absolutely fascinating story that ranks with his better works and while it's not his absolute masterpiece, it certainly deserves to be read.

Life at the end of time

Much of this book is stunning in its scope and originality. We are in the far distant future in the last days of the earth before the sun goes nova. The sun is so much hotter that all animal life has died and plants have taken over the earth making it an incredibly lush green jungle. All animal life has died but one species -- man -- and he is barely hanging on, literally in the branches of the great banyan tree that spans the continent. It's this view of man, not as lord of creation but as the last survivor of the animal kingdom that gives the book its power. That and the image of a green earth that is an incredibly dangerous place. It's a plant eat plant world. We follow the adventures of a boy as he discovers the world and we start to follow the adventures of some other humans that get accidentally taken to the moon by a mile long flying vegetable that is one of the stunningly creative ideas in the story. I gave the novel four stars instead of five because it is too short. With everything that happens you expect a grand ending and instead it feels rushed. The adventures on the moon are cut short and forgotten and the boy's adventures seem abruptly ended with a kind of conventional happy ending. Despite this one great flaw, this is a book well worth reading for it's sheer generosity of imagination. In it's own unique and crazy way, it's a classic.

Made me think and made me wonder

I first read this book when i was 15 years old and I was an instant Brian Aldiss fan. This book is kind of short, but it's one you want to read slowly so that you don't miss anything. And it can be hard to miss things since at times there is a lot going on. The end of the book is my favorite part because its really bizarre. If you like sci fi that's not all aliens and technical than I bet you'll like this book.

The 5* are for educational sci-fi value and reading-pleasure

This book cannot be judged by today's sci-fi standards. Allthough it lacks the unrelenting agglutination to proved science ( which I'm all for ), it has other great adventages ; It's huge scope-as a child it really shown me for the first time that man's mind and curiosity know no bounds. The way man-in the story- is just another type of creature and nothing more , that has taught me humility.THE PLOT : chronologicaly we're millions of years in the future. the earth is no longer revolving on it's axis , and show one side to the sun constantly.A huge , single tree has taken over the whole lit side of earth , and all the life that exist live under it's shadow (if it's strong and wild enaugh to survive), or on and between the branches (if it's feeble like the 30cm green humans).It's the story of Gant. A human that has glimpses of racial-memory through an intelligent fungus that has taken over him , and has it's own reasons to gain manouevrability and take Gant on a trek across the world and even to moon.A book written in the old style of sci-fi , which I call "pre-campbellian".Very , very recommended.