First published 1976
In Edgar Pangborn's devastated future world, survivors navigate the remnants of civilization after catastrophic collapse. The story unfolds within Pangborn's interconnected Tales of a Darkening World, where humanity struggles to rebuild meaning and community from the ashes of the old order. Characters face moral reckonings as they confront questions of justice, survival, and human nature in their transformed landscape. The novel examines how people judge one another and themselves when familiar social structures have crumbled. Pangborn weaves together personal conflicts with broader themes of redemption and responsibility. The narrative explores whether humanity can learn from its failures or remains doomed to repeat destructive patterns. At its heart, this is a story about the weight of choices and the possibility of grace in a world that has lost its way.
Genres: fiction, dystopia, 21st-century, apocalyptic
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: moral-ambiguity, societal-collapse
159 pages · Paperback · Avon Books (NYC)