Book Review: Nightmare Age

Book Review: 'Nightmare Age' edited by Frederik Pohl

2 / 5 Stars

 

'Nightmare Age' (312 pp.) was published by Ballantine Books in October, 1970, and features evocative cover art by Peter Schaumann. 

 

This anthology was packaged as an effort to capture the zeitgeist of Eco-catastrophe that was, in 1970, highly topical in science fiction. However, the entries in the anthology all were previously published, some as long ago as 1951, so 'Nightmare Age' lacks the currency that an all-original anthology would have had. 

 

In his Forward, editor Pohl remarks that he sees the anthology as a chance to demonstrate possible 'nightmare' scenarios for an Earth that neglects to address mounting problems with pollution and overpopulation. The stories assembled in 'Nightmare' thus are monitory, rather than predictive, and Pohl considers this the true value of science fiction.

 

Taking into consideration that the anthology includes two stories by Pohl, as well as two each from C. M. Kornbluth and Fritz Leiber, and (inevitably) a contribution from Heinlein, it's basically a recycling of dated material from 'Pohl and Friends.'

 

If you've read any post- WW2 sci-fi, then you likely are familiar with these much-anthologized entries: Kornbluth's 'The Marching Morons' (1951), Leiber's 'X Marks the Pedwalk' (1963), and Pohl's 'The Census Takers' (1955) and 'The Midas Plague' (1954). The latter novelette, in particular, is a profoundly boring, profoundly labored effort at satirizing American consumerism.

 

Heinlein's 'The Year of the Jackpot' (1952) features a statistician whose analyses confirm that the End of the World is approaching; he meets up with a swell dame named Meade. They prepare for the end with jokes and affection. By 50s sci-fi standards this is a decent enough story, although the protagonist has the nickname 'Potty.'

 

Of the other entries in the anthology, 'Calculated Risk' (1962), by Christopher Anvil, about a a chemical additive that can convert barren soils into productive soils, is a cleverly composed tale about unexpected consequences. 'Station HR972' (1966), by Kenneth Bulmer, has an interesting premise about future throughways as a medevac enterprise, but is crippled by stilted prose: for the first time in my life, I enountered the adverb 'blockily' (as in, "All the time the driver sat blockily in the rest area...").

 

'New Apples in the Garden' (1963), by Kris Neville, is another of the standout entries in the anthology. It's a treatment of the contest between increasing complexity and the likelihood of increasing entropy, as things get too complicated to maintain.

 

Another Kornbluth contribution, 'The Luckiest Man in Denv' (1952), posits a future USA where 'Denv' (i.e., Denver) wages war against 'Ellay' (i.e., Los Angeles) using nuclear warheads. The premise is interesting, but the execution poor. 'A Bad Day for Sales' (1953), by Leiber, tries to say something profoundly cynical about consumerism, but comes across as a perfunctory, minimal-effort piece.

 

Clifford Simak's 'Day of Truce' (1962) posits a near-future USA where the suburbs have become a depopulated wasteland, save for outposts manned by homeowners determined to resists the depredations of juvenile delinquents. It's a great premise, but Simak does little with it. 

 

Eco-Catastrophe, by Paul Ehrlich, is the only 'modern' entry; it first saw print in Ramparts magazine in 1969. It's an effective 'what if' about a near-future world gripped by overpopulation, pollution, and famine. Ehrlich has the world saved by none other than Teddy Kennedy ?! A plot point that means this story has not aged very well. Still and all, this is another of the better tales included in this anthology.

 

The verdict ? The entries by Anvil, Neville, and Ehrlich are not enough to prevent me from giving 'Nightmare Age' a mediocre Rating of Two Stars. This warmed-over reissue of Eco-Catastrophe fiction from the Atomic Age just doesn't offer much to the interested reader........