Monday 26 May 2014

The Sky Is Falling by Lester del Rey

Official Blurb

After dying in a terrible accident at a building site, Dave Hanson finds himself being brought back to life in a world where magic is real, and where the sky is breaking apart and falling. And he is expected to put it back together again. Will he be able to save this strange world, and his own new life?

My Review

This classic sci fi tale is a good 'un. It was birthed in 1954 during the science fiction golden age and appeared in the magazines of the time, that means that the story does all of the normal tropes of the time. A man out of water, a beautiful girl, a problem to be solved. In this case it's a really very interesting problem. The sky IS falling! Our hero has been resurrected in a strange alien world and is expected to save that world as it literally starts to fall apart. It's a world where magic actually works and nearly everything there is made with magic, but the magic is starting to fail. To add to the maelstrum there are opposing factions vying for control and fighting over our hero.

I was hooked as soon as I started listening, the strangeness of the world was original and intriguing from the outset. The story is outrageous and perhaps even silly at times, but I never lost my interest and listened straight5 through without break.

On top of that cool story the reader was outstanding, she brought a voice with marvelous expression and pacing to the story.

Reading 3/3
Production 2/3
Story 2/3

Total Score 7/9

Listen to the first chapter.
Download it from Librivox