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EDMOND HAMILTON
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The City At World's End Hardcover – September 10, 2010

by Edmond Hamilton (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 365 ratings
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The City At World's End is a science-fiction novel written by Edmond Hamilton, first published in 1951. The story is set in the small town of Middletown, USA, where a group of citizens are unexpectedly transported to a distant planet called Bronson Beta. The planet is dying and its inhabitants, the Bronsonians, are desperately searching for a way to save their world. The Middletowners are initially met with suspicion and hostility, but they soon become embroiled in the politics and conflicts of this alien society. As they struggle to adapt to their new environment, they uncover a shocking secret about the true nature of Bronson Beta and the fate of its inhabitants. The novel explores themes of cultural clash, survival, and the ethics of interplanetary colonization. The City At World's End is considered a classic of mid-20th century science fiction and has been praised for its imaginative world-building and compelling characters.The line of guns and stolid men remained unmoved. Kenniston considered trying to crash it, and gave that up at once. The lieutenant was watching him suspiciously, so suspiciously that an uncomfortable thought occurred to Kenniston. He spoke the language and he had worked closely with the star-folk, and the good people of Middletown might just possibly take him for a traitor or a spy...This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
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  1. Print length
    184 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Kessinger Publishing
  4. Publication date
    September 10, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 0.5 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1169279007
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1169279001
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kessinger Publishing (September 10, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1169279007
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1169279001
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.5 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 365 ratings

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EDMOND HAMILTON

EDMOND HAMILTON

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
365 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Groot of the Galaxy
5.0 out of 5 stars Really Interesting
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2012
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I tend to get bored with books within the first twenty pages, but the book grabbed my interest and didn't let go. It read pretty fast which is both a good and a bad. But the book itself was interesting.

A few people mentioned it was pretty dated. The book is set from when it was written - don't be surprised when certain things are described differently than we really know they are. Think of it as a look from what someone in the '50s thought the world would be like. Likewise, don't be surprised at the tones that make any of the women seem like not a valuable character. For instance, I couldn't find myself liking the main character's fiance just because of how she was written, as a feeble and temperamental woman. She was supposed to be about his age but read as if she was 60.

I don't want to spoil anything and so I can't give much more of a review, but the writing is great. A few things were either overlooked in the proof reading or were typed up wrong when it was converted to an eBook but aside from what I mentioned, I loved it and couldn't put it down.
One person found this helpful
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Robert M.
4.0 out of 5 stars Twilight Zone meets Star Trek
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2012
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This book was pretty good - not great, but it's a pretty good story, and also interesting as a glimpse of sci-fi history.

The setup of the story is like something straight out of the Twilight Zone - quiet middle-American town, transported in the blink of an eye into the distant future. The inhabitants quite naturally have a whole range of reactions to this, mostly quite provincial, which sets up the first half of the story: how to survive in this far-future Earth.

The second act brings in more of your classic space opera stuff: far-flung galactic federation, faster-than-light travel, aliens, and all kinds of far-out technology, with a conflict that is essentially the little guy vs the big institution. As it plays out, I couldn't help be reminded of all of the original Star Trek episodes where Kirk et al run into various super-advanced races or all-powerful computers, which nonetheless have very human failings, and Kirk makes inspiring speeches pointing out the depravity of the supposedly advanced race or infallible computer (Kirk had a way of getting computers to self-destruct with speeches like this). Or put it a different way, the humans of a million years in the future are ultimately still human. So this is one part of the social commentary of this book.

The other part of the social commentary surrounds the reactions of the townsfolk, and the general fear of change, which may manifest as swagger and belligerence. I couldn't help but think of Sinclair Lewis's "Main Street", with the smug, self-satisfied townsfolk who are quite happy with things the way they are and endlessly suspicious of things that are presented as improved or advanced - what do I want with a starship when I've got me a Chev-ro-let, that sort of thing. I probably drew the connection to "Main Street" because of a couple of the main character's names: Kenniston, and his girlfriend Carol (cf. "Carol Kennicott"). Maybe just a coincidence... Anyway, fast forward to the 21st century, I would like to think a lot more people would be open to change. When presented with the choice between a dying earth with a dying sun, and a whole universe teeming with life and advanced technology, I'd go with the latter.

An interesting point, which is somewhat common to sci-fi of this era, is rather unflattering portrayal of women. The female characters, such as they are, are rather flat and thinly drawn, and not very likeable. Probably intended for a primarily male audience.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars An imaginative apocalyptic story
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2016
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Science fiction of days past is science fact of today still has a core truth to it in this story. An imaginative apocalyptic story that is rather short for a novel, holds forth the indomitable spirit of man that has been a part of humanity since the dawn of time. Well written smooth flowing prose that is descriptive enough to let your imagination form the pictures of the times and circumstance without being overbearing. A town in middle America has to overcome adversity after becoming the last remaining bastion of humanity on a planet devoid of all life from an attack with a super atomic bomb. Citizens of the town have to deal with the reality of the devastation and a side effect of the attack, a shift in time. Well worth reading.
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ProSciEd
3.0 out of 5 stars Fear and Paranoia
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2011
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City at World's End is a 1950's sci-fi classic about American fears and paranoia of nuclear war realized. Except in this story, the city, Middletown, isn't destroyed but is abruptly thrown into Earth's distant future (voila! time travel!) Edward Hamilton attempts to explore many issues in this unique outlook on America's post-WW2 atomic age (alien fear and paranoia, women are weak & hysterical in a crisis). Some of the ideas he explores through the characters are confusing, especially when Kenniston, an atomic physicist, can't understand the basics of nuclear reactions, even if it's a million years in the future. The original paperback version was great, but this digital issue has many flaws, including misspelled words, bad grammar,& repeated words within a sentence. The price is great but the typos take away from the story at times. Overall, still a great atomic age sci-fi story to add to one's digital reading list.
3 people found this helpful
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liljjbug
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Early-Era Sci Fi Story
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2013
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In order to appreciate this great sci-fi story, the reader should close his eyes and place himself in the mindset of a 13 year old boy reading this book in the lobby of an old dime-store from the 60's. As long as the reader doesn't try to apply the standards [and science] of present-day, this is an excellent read! The tale provides an original and unique scenario of the result of a nuclear blast combined with an imaginative journey through space and time. There is no "hard science," and fancy postulation of relativity theory - just great fiction born of the imagination of an author who lived in a time when technology and theory were still developing. The "generation" gap in this book occurs where the population of a small town utterly refuses to abandon a dead earth simply because it is "our home," even when given the peaceful and no-strings-attached choice of being transplanted onto an entirely new world that is exactly like earth but with fresh resources. It is understandable that a cynical, 1960's populace would be hesitant, but today's "environment and science conscious" population would jump at the chance to travel the stars and settle on new planets. It kind of leaves the modern reader asking himself, "are they crazy?" Otherwise, it is a great story. Worth the read.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars City at worlds end
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2023
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A good book, new, came in time and well packaged.
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Dylan
4.0 out of 5 stars Another great story by Edmond Hamilton!
Reviewed in Canada on April 16, 2020
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After I had read the first Starwood novel, “The Weapon From Beyond”, I was hooked on his stories and writing style. It’s hard to find his novels in physical form, so I had to make due with the Kindle version. This story was published in the early fifties, much earlier than the other novels I’ve read of his, and it can be seen in some of the writing (mostly in the way that Ken, the main character, speaks of his girlfriend). All in all, a great and interesting story about a world once lost, reclaimed.
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Graham Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome in it's scope.
Reviewed in Australia on December 18, 2015
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True sci fi from before the great advances of the 21st century, but still relevant today. A great and entertaining read.
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/.,;'
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book
Reviewed in Canada on October 14, 2020
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Interesting well written story, not boring kept me interested from start to finish. Characters are believable, story is easy to follow.
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Steve Reffould
4.0 out of 5 stars A nice little book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 1, 2018
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This was recommended by a friend, I’ve grown to love these old sci-fi stories and this kept me entertained from beginning to end
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