The Long Tomorrow

Leigh Brackett (1915 - 1978) was a productive writer of SF and fantasy novels, short stories, and screenplays. For all but the final 10 - 15 years of her life she was one of the relatively few woman continuously active in the field of SF. Brackett never labeled herself a `feminist' writer, and most of her works focus on male protagonists. In this respect her contributions and skills as a writer have been marginalized by the SF community, particularly in comparison to consciously `Feminist' authors like Alice Sheldon and Joanna Russ, who (in my opinion) are inferior writers, but nonetheless garnered outsized attention in the late 60s - early 70s simply for being regarded as Feminist authors. `The Long Tomorrow' (1955) is one of Brackett's best novels and displays her skills at setting, characterization, and dialogue. The story takes place some decades after a nuclear war has devastated the US in the early 1950s. Civilization has reverted to an agrarian society akin to that of the mid-nineteenth century. Various politico-religious sects, such as the New Mennonites, are determined to stifle any technological progress in order to avert a repeat of the cataclysm. The main character is Len Colter, son of a New Mennonite farmer, whose curiosity about the Olden Times and their forbidden sciences brings him into conflict with his staid and pious family. Len rebels against the strictures of his rural life and embarks on a journey to find Bartorstown, the rumored last bastion of pre-devastation technology. His search for Bartorstown brings him into a variety of conflicts smoldering around the former US, sparked by dissension between advocates for progress, and those opposed to its dangers. In the latter portion of the novel Len finds himself forced to make a fateful decision between his childhood aspirations, and the unsettling reality of genies re-loosed from their bottles. Brackett never provides the reader with a pat declaration for one side or the other in these conflicts; instead, the narrative often shows some ambivalence about technology and its liabilities when wielded by humans clouded by their fears, beliefs, and yearnings. The narrative is fast-moving and engaging. While she wrote with an economy and skill that are the hallmarks of an experienced author, Bracket was also able to portray her characters with depth and imbue them with distinctive and memorable personalities. The world of the post-apocalyptic USA of `The Long Tomorrow' is entirely believable, and one of the best presentations of such a scenario in what is a very heavily-mined area of the genre. `The Long Tomorrow' is a classic of SF, and a great read for both young people and adults.

It's fascinating to see how some sf novels stand the test of time and others don't. I still have my old Mayflower pb of "The Long Tomorrow" which I purchased as a teenager c1963, and reread it from time to time. Doing so produces most curious feelings, like going through a timewarp of some kind. TLT is a "Golden Oldie". Published in 1955, it is one of the huge number of "post nuclear war" stories that came out in that nervous era, but is head and shoulders above the bulk of them. It's theme, unique in sf as far as I know, is a future world in which the Amish (or at least a sect more or less "cloned" from them) have taken over America. The idea that, in the aftermath of holocaust, the people might turn against science and technology, has of course been used by others, notably Walter M Miller in "A Canticle For Leibowitz". But TLT takes a subtly different angle. The New Mennonites are not opposed to education, their children are literate, and they seem to live at an early 19th century level, just pre-railroad. It isn't a Dark Age in the usual sense. But there are strict limits. No electricity, industry or anything high tech. Riverboats are allowed to have simple engines, but land transport stops at the horse and buggy. Above all, the US Constitution has been amended to forbid the existence of any city or town above 2000 people. The central characters are two teenage boys in a New Mennonite community in Ohio. Len Colter (14) and his slightly older cousin, Esau. They discover a radio set, belonging to a passing trader, and realise that he comes from "Bartorstown", a secret society out west conspiring to bring back the bad old days, association - real or alleged - with which can result in whipping at best, instant lynching at worst. Fascinated by it (and, in Len's case, by their grandmother's wistful recollections of before the war) they seek to know more. This leads to their having to flee from home, and set out on a quest to get to Bartorstown. This quest covers several years and forms the middle third or so of the book. On arrival, they are in for a mighty shock. These people are the custodians of the last surviving nuclear reactor, and are seeking a way to neutralise atomic bombs, so the power of the atom can be safely used without another catastrophe. This forces the sensitive Len (by now more or less adult) into a crisis of conscience. Is this a wise path to take, or were his elders right all along? The last part of the book is about him coming to terms with this question. Perhaps my strongest reaction, on going back to it, is surprise at finding the Amish (on whom the New Mennonites are explicitly modelled) cast as the Bad Guys. This, I suspect, would be out of the question today. If their treatment by Hollywood ("Witness", "Harvest of Fire" etc) is anything to go by, they are about the most popular ethnic minority in America. To chide them for holding up "progress" would be almost unthinkable. The book shows its age in other ways to

Leigh Brackett wrote this interesting sci fi thriller after moving to Ohio, and in Ohio it begins, two generations after the Destruction, a global annhilation by nuclear holocaust. Fear predominates the culture and identity of every individual and it is the fight against the fear of knowledge, that most dreaded, that Len Coulter wages along with his cousin, Esau. A believable piece of fiction for a book written over 60 years ago which is thoroughly relevant to the present-day culture of fear.

This is simply amazing. If you are like me and enjoy well-written post-apocalyptic yarns then this is going to be quick favorite. There has been a backlash and the United States has turned its back to technology and all of its citizens live a rural Amish type lifestyle. Or have they? Solid writing and great concept. To bad this winner is out of print.