Termush (Faber Editions): 'A classic―stunning, dangerous, darkly beautiful' (Jeff VanderMeer)

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I have been thinking over one of the points mentioned in the brochure: “A physical aspect of radioactive destruction is the transformation of elements. For instance, take radioactive phosphorus, P-32. This isotope is converted by the transmission of a Beta particle into stable sulphur. It is not difficult to imagine the confusion that will arise…” We did not envisage quite such a ruthless change in our environment. But one of the reasons for our feelings of weakness may be that things have retained their outward appearance, now that the disaster has happened. Without knowing it, we put our faith in the disaster; we thought that our panic would be justified if we had to use symbols as violent as those our imagination needed earlier. We gaze at the dark mass, where buildings, streets, trees, hordes of people, wide stretches of country with farms and herds of cattle are set solid like flies in amber… water streams out of the taps and the cars are piled up in the streets and nothing of this can be changed; the world has spun full circle, and the survivors must exist without it. This was a fascinating and gripping dystopian novel. The moral dilemmas that arose as well as how each person handled their new life was really interesting to watch as it unfolded. This was a short novel but one that will stay with me for a long time. I don't have visions of the corpses or the shattered houses or the people who are still alive with burns on their bodies. But there is something that has changed in the last weeks, perhaps it is something in myself."

I acquired a copy of Triumph around half a year ago: https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2019/12/29/updates-recent-science-fiction-acquisitions-no-ccxxxiv-anne-mccaffrey-lester-del-rey-poul-anderson-and-philip-wylie/Your support changes lives. Find out how you can help us help more people by signing up for a subscription Two connected crises emerge among the occupants—what information should be relayed to the guests by the management team? How should the management deal with non-guest survivors? The chairman with “his powerful obstinacy, his primitive blend of cunning and stupidity attracts supporters to rally behind him” in limiting what the guests should know (44). Most fall into line, comforted by management’s guarantee of ignorance. N and the ex-professor and widow Maria (the only named character in the narrative), attempt to resist the “illusion of complete safety” (49). Become a Faber Member for free and receive curated book recommendations, special competitions and exclusive discounts. It seemed to me on the whole that the group of scouts was rather optimistic in its judgement. Of course the individual members have been specially selected and the nature of their assignment may give a boost to their ability, or perhaps their discretion, but on the other hand, they represent nobody but themselves, and if they were to do something foolish the effect on the hotel’s guests and management would be incalculable. According to the full plan, as presented in the brochure, it was intended to send out an individual group of reconnaissance men only if all forms of public communication had failed. But I thought it was best not to express my private doubts at the first meeting.

I have been installed in one of the rooms on the top floor here in the hotel. Everything went according to plan, just as it had been run through for us beforehand, on the lines explained in the brochures we received with our enrolment forms. None of us had expected that it would happen so painlessly. I mean that both literally and metaphorically. We had unconsciously thought in terms of something more drastic, a radical transformation, with every single object showing traces of what had occurred, the furniture and the walls changing character and the view outside our window revealing a totally different world. Nevertheless we feel the changes somewhere in ourselves.The woman’s reaction is understandable. What is less understandable is the way the rest of us keep such an inflexibly stiff upper lip without relaxing in argument or giving way to laughter and irritation. Her outburst seems to me more natural than our self-control. It means that neither her imagination nor her sensibility is gagged and bound, as ours are. Despite weathering a nuclear apocalypse, their problems are only just beginning. Soon, the Management begins censoring news; disruptive guests are sedated; initial generosity towards Strangers ceases as fears of contamination and limited resources grow. But as the numbers – and desperation – of external survivors increase, they must decide what it means to forge a new moral code at the end (or beginning?) of the world . . .

The patrol would of course be equipped with the necessary protective clothing, but the attempt to make it motorized had been abandoned. According to the last radio reports we received in the shelters the entire highway network has been destroyed. There was talk of using small scooters, but these are really better suited to shorter distances and the problem of fuel would be difficult to solve.Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from Bookshop.org, who support independent bookshops