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thisisstephenbetts's review against another edition
2.0
I read this for no particular reason. I believe it's essentially a 1962 re-editing of the original pulp stories from 1928 (the quotes below seem to be from the originals, but they're almost identical to the edition I read).
It was really awful. The forgivably awful things were that it was
fairly dull; that a man who'd been asleep for 500 years could awake to
find himself a tactical military genius; and that the science was just
nonexistent. But those really just arise from it being a pulp I
guess. But, apart from all that, it was just amazingly racist.
The narrator gleefully annihilates the "Mongol Chinese" (known as the
Hans), who had conquered America, at every given opportunity - soldier
and civilian alike as "not even the terror could conceal the hate in
those faces".
Nowlan also transforms some North American placenames in an
offensively simplistic way - for example Nu-Yok, Bah-Flo, Si-kaga,
and, possibly the best, the "Nu-Yok-A-lan-a liner".
His racial theories go further than just the Mongol Chinese: "the
noble brown-skinned Caucasians of India, the sturdy Balkanites of
Southern Europe, or the simple, spiritual Blacks of Africa, today one
of the leading races of the world--although in the Twentieth Century
we regarded them as
inferior."
That last quote was from the final couple of pages, and he does
attempt some kind of reluctant climb down from his 200 page
hate-crime, speculating that the Hans "sprang from a genus of
human-like creatures that may have arrived on this earth with a small
planet (or large meteor) which is known to have crashed in interior
Asia late in the Twentieth Century". He probably could have left it
at that, but no: "The theory is that these creatures ... with a mental
super-development, but a vacuum in place of that intangible something
we call a soul, mated forcibly with the Tibetans". I don't know why
the Tibetans had to be dragged into all this.
Anyway, a far cry from the Gil Gerard series from my childhood. This should really be 1 star or less, but it is interesting as a cultural artifact. And, as Umberto Eco may have said, it's a good example of a bad book.
Still, cool covers.
It was really awful. The forgivably awful things were that it was
fairly dull; that a man who'd been asleep for 500 years could awake to
find himself a tactical military genius; and that the science was just
nonexistent. But those really just arise from it being a pulp I
guess. But, apart from all that, it was just amazingly racist.
The narrator gleefully annihilates the "Mongol Chinese" (known as the
Hans), who had conquered America, at every given opportunity - soldier
and civilian alike as "not even the terror could conceal the hate in
those faces".
Nowlan also transforms some North American placenames in an
offensively simplistic way - for example Nu-Yok, Bah-Flo, Si-kaga,
and, possibly the best, the "Nu-Yok-A-lan-a liner".
His racial theories go further than just the Mongol Chinese: "the
noble brown-skinned Caucasians of India, the sturdy Balkanites of
Southern Europe, or the simple, spiritual Blacks of Africa, today one
of the leading races of the world--although in the Twentieth Century
we regarded them as
inferior."
That last quote was from the final couple of pages, and he does
attempt some kind of reluctant climb down from his 200 page
hate-crime, speculating that the Hans "sprang from a genus of
human-like creatures that may have arrived on this earth with a small
planet (or large meteor) which is known to have crashed in interior
Asia late in the Twentieth Century". He probably could have left it
at that, but no: "The theory is that these creatures ... with a mental
super-development, but a vacuum in place of that intangible something
we call a soul, mated forcibly with the Tibetans". I don't know why
the Tibetans had to be dragged into all this.
Anyway, a far cry from the Gil Gerard series from my childhood. This should really be 1 star or less, but it is interesting as a cultural artifact. And, as Umberto Eco may have said, it's a good example of a bad book.
Still, cool covers.
jpates's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprisingly impressed with this book. It was the basis for what would evolve to be Buck Rogers. It is a short story... but a pretty good read.
sharki1998's review against another edition
2.0
A fun, quick read but very, very dated. I can't really recommend it, but it's still interesting to see how far speculative fiction has come from its origins.
teachinsci's review against another edition
3.0
The origin of the Buck Rogers stories, this book was all adventure with a healthy dose of 1920s fear of Asians. The few sentences at the end changing the Han into a half-alien race seemed out of step with the rest of the book, but did attempt to mitigate the racism of the other 185 pages.
If you are interested in where Buck Rogers started and the history of Sci-Fi, this is a good read. If not, you are safe skipping this one.
If you are interested in where Buck Rogers started and the history of Sci-Fi, this is a good read. If not, you are safe skipping this one.
obsidianbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Uma estrela apenas pelos aspectos tecnológicos da história, que foram descritos de um modo interessante. O resto, uma chatice sem fim.
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the embossed silver space ship on the cover.
metaphorosis's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
Anthony Rogers wakes from suspended animation - 500 years later. The United States is now ruled by the Han, and a few rebellious gangs fight back in every way they can. But the gangs have lost some of the knowledge of military tactics, and Rogers is able to help them out.
Review
I was never a fan of Buck Rogers. Somehow, the whole thing slipped past me, I suppose because I simply didn't see the comic strips. And Armageddon 2419 A.D. doesn't have a lot to do with my vague image of Rogers, which is mostly rayguns and ... well, that's about it, really. Rayguns.
When I got down to reading this, the narrator's name triggered the idea, "Hey, maybe this is Buck Rogers," but I didn't really know enough about Rogers to make a decisions. By the time rayguns appeared, I'd kind of forgotten about it. When he starts fighting the Han - the Yellow Blight - I thought of Ming the Merciless, but I just looked it up, and that turns out to be Flash Gordon - another comic strip character I know little about. Comic strips just weren't my thing as a kid.
The Yellow Blight element of the story is a little much, but for a story written in 1928, I think the terminology is intended as descriptive. The Han are smaller, weaker, and more decadent than the rebellious Americans, but I can swallow that as simply intended as a slur on the ruling class. We don't get to see enough of the Han - other than their oddly detailed communications to know whether there's more of a racial element to it, but there is a reference to "saving the race", so I'm not optimistic.
Beyond all of that, there's a mildly amusing pulp adventure. Our hero naturally brings special skills to the table, wins the girl (who is quite capable, and whom he marries almost instantly), becomes the leader of the resistance, etc. Some of the geography seems a bit iffy - Wyoming seems pretty close to New York - as does the statecraft ("Russian Soviets"?)
It's interesting and at times fun, in a Burroughs and Doc Smith way. I can't say I'm likely to become a Buck Rogers devotee, but I have the sequel (The Airlords of Han), and I may zip through that at some point too, to see if my fears are correct, and to see how Rogers becomes Buck.
Summary
Anthony Rogers wakes from suspended animation - 500 years later. The United States is now ruled by the Han, and a few rebellious gangs fight back in every way they can. But the gangs have lost some of the knowledge of military tactics, and Rogers is able to help them out.
Review
I was never a fan of Buck Rogers. Somehow, the whole thing slipped past me, I suppose because I simply didn't see the comic strips. And Armageddon 2419 A.D. doesn't have a lot to do with my vague image of Rogers, which is mostly rayguns and ... well, that's about it, really. Rayguns.
When I got down to reading this, the narrator's name triggered the idea, "Hey, maybe this is Buck Rogers," but I didn't really know enough about Rogers to make a decisions. By the time rayguns appeared, I'd kind of forgotten about it. When he starts fighting the Han - the Yellow Blight - I thought of Ming the Merciless, but I just looked it up, and that turns out to be Flash Gordon - another comic strip character I know little about. Comic strips just weren't my thing as a kid.
The Yellow Blight element of the story is a little much, but for a story written in 1928, I think the terminology is intended as descriptive. The Han are smaller, weaker, and more decadent than the rebellious Americans, but I can swallow that as simply intended as a slur on the ruling class. We don't get to see enough of the Han - other than their oddly detailed communications to know whether there's more of a racial element to it, but there is a reference to "saving the race", so I'm not optimistic.
Beyond all of that, there's a mildly amusing pulp adventure. Our hero naturally brings special skills to the table, wins the girl (who is quite capable, and whom he marries almost instantly), becomes the leader of the resistance, etc. Some of the geography seems a bit iffy - Wyoming seems pretty close to New York - as does the statecraft ("Russian Soviets"?)
It's interesting and at times fun, in a Burroughs and Doc Smith way. I can't say I'm likely to become a Buck Rogers devotee, but I have the sequel (The Airlords of Han), and I may zip through that at some point too, to see if my fears are correct, and to see how Rogers becomes Buck.
howwoolatthemoon's review against another edition
4.0
Written in 1928, and refers to the First World War.
This ages better than I'd expected, but not perfectly.
This ages better than I'd expected, but not perfectly.
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