When & After Worlds Collide, by Wilie & Balmer

[Omphalos]

Collectively the two books by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, individually titled When Worlds Collide and After Worlds Collide tell the story of a mission to save a small fragment of humanity from a planetary threat zooming towards Earth from the depths of space. Written in the 1930s, the books were crafted pretty well, and can be evaluated passably from a modern perspective. Part of the reason for this is that unlike many of their contemporaries they are not too off scientifically. The catastrophe and situations that arise from it were spectacularly described and very realistic feeling, the characters were all intelligent, capable and well described, and for the most part the science was pretty well done. But the books also displayed a strong tendency towards melodrama, and at every turn there was something about the female and non-Caucasian characters that just rubbed the wrong way. Wylie and Balmer did take pains to resolve some of the unfairness and prejudice before the books ended though, and considering the prevailing attitudes of the 1930s, I would have to say that they went as far as they could. There are a hundred little things I could point to in these books to prove why they are substandard and not as good as modern examples of catastrophe and post-apocalyptic literature, but the fact is that on the balance they hold up much better than lots of other modern examples. Wylie and Balmer were trail blazers. Modern authors and screenwriters are still mining these stories for fodder for their own works, and there is very good reason why; the story in these books is solid and the catastrophic elements are well constructed. Despite being dated, these books are winners...Please click here, or on the book cover above, to be taken to the complete review..