SciFi Review: The Long Tomorrow presents a post-apocalyptic world that fears and forbids science and technology, elements of which we can see even today. In A Canticle for Leibowitz the priests tried to preserve past knowledge, but here the religious majority is doing all it can to prevent progress. Elements of which we can see today; some readers may see the future civilization described by Leigh Brackett (1915-1978) as an evangelical utopia. Since it was published in 1955 when America still retained some faith in the capacity of science, The Long Tomorrow gently but reluctantly pushes science as the hope for the future. The story concerns the adventures of two teenagers chafing under the intellectual restrictions of their pastoral community. Stories with children as lead characters can be unconvincing as the protagonists are often either unrealistically precocious or impossibly naïve. Here there's a little of both, but overall Brackett seems to get it right. In the last third, realistically, they become obnoxious. This was an easy and quick read, with touches of both Huckleberry Finn and a spy thriller. The writing was average, but the concept was intriguing and persuasive: excellent in intent, mediocre in execution. While worth the read, especially as an example of one of the early nuclear holocaust novels, even the cover blurb damns it with faint praise: "Close to being a great work of science fiction." Agreed. As an aside, The Long Tomorrow was disappointing in that there are no significant female characters and in Brackett's future women have no decision-making roles, even among the scientists. Then again, it was published in 1955. An interesting artifact, a pleasant read, in some ways a model for much science fiction written since. [3½★]
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