4 Stars!

Dover’s Doomsday Classics have been giving new life to past masterpieces of apocalyptic fiction that may be overlooked by modern readers. I had read many of these books before but some of them were coming to my attention for the first time. City of Endless Night by Milo Hastings is one such novel. This series by Dover has yet to deliver a quality read and City of Endless Night was destined to be another fascinating novel.

In 2041, it was almost as if World War II had never ended to the people of Berlin. With the city in a never-ending war with the rest of the world, the citizens of the once great city had taken to living in a tenuous shelter inside the ground. All aspects of life are carried out in a regimented fashion controlled by the government. It is a bleak existence but one that seems to be the only order of the world. Their world was about to change when an American came into their midst. The young chemist was mistakenly identified as a German war hero and got access to the upper levels of society. It was up to him to expose the hidden society to the wider world.

The scientist finds himself slotted into a social caste that is to become the defining factor of his life. Everyone was slotted into a particular lot in life that was unlikely to change. They had come to accept things as they were and thus not have any hope for more in the future. The scientist, however, finds himself in a position to explore the society a little more than many others are capable of. Along the way he finds love and, even more shocking, he finds himself in the face of the evil government that tries to force him into conformity. He must keep the idea of freedom that he learned in America alive as he struggles to set him and those he has come to call friends free from oppression once and for all.

City of Endless Night is a novel with many layers. On the surface, the novel is a strong adventure novel full of intrigue, suspense, and even romance. The novel never seems to bog down even though Hastings goes into some very deep subjects. Even though the novel is around 100 years old, it reads like a modern thriller and easily speaks to the modern reader. It is easy to get lost in the narrative as Hastings ramps up the tension surrounding the scientist. He navigates the underground society with a sense that the authorities are closing in on him at every turn. He must navigate through this deadly world and protect his secret while working to expose the hidden society to the world above.

Deeper in the story, under the surface story, lies a biting social commentary that is before its time. Hastings sees the rise of fascism that is coming to Germany before it begins to grow and exposes the underbelly of German society in the early 20th century here. The journey through the underworld society is a strong precursor to the government that would arise in Germany before World War 2 shown shrewdly through Hastings’ analytical mind. While the novel is almost a century old and looking at developments in its near future, it still reads as fresh and relevant to the current world. The novel is a sobering and chilling take on the human mind and the ability of an entire country to fall under the harsh control of a select few. The novel’s true power lies in its insight into the darker side of human nature and the manipulative governments that can rise from twisted minds. This is what makes City of Endless Night a compelling read that seems as if it could have been written yesterday and a must read for fans of dystopian and apocalyptic fiction.


I would like to thank Dover and NetGalley for this review copy. City of Endless Night is available now.

I have to admit I struggled with the writing on this one. This is completely different from anything I have read. The book was written in 1919 and I found the prose difficult to understand at times (English is not my native language), quite contained and very matter of fact. Yet, I still felt engaged. The book has strong politic and socialist components but it leaves room for more humane assessing as well. There is a bit of romance and enough tension of all sorts to want to keep reading.

However, right from the beginning there were things that irked me, namely how everything came together for our main character. As the narrative initially developed, things seemed to fall into place much too easily for him. (view spoiler)
All these questions and others bothered me throughout the story.

But the fact is it is a very disturbing one. The Germany described here is nightmarish in its potential to become real at that time. This book is astoundingly futuristic, in a way that I could not help but think how it all must have inspired Hitler. I mean, I was never much of a fan of History, but it seemed like the guy tried to replicate much of what went on here. That is so terrifying.

Although there were quite a few plot holes and I found the development of the story too easy for our main character, this is an amazing classic that everyone should definitely read at least once in their lifetime. Having just finished it, I am still chilled.

Sorry cannot review as download only rather than Kindle mobile file