The City Under Ground

by Suzanne Martel, Mac Conner (Cover Art)

Into the unknown!

In Luke's underground city, flowers were extinct, hair no longer grew on heads, people traveled on moving sidewalks, and basketball was played with a Robot as the opponent. A thousand years ago, nuclear war had poisoned the air on earth, and a few survivors had escaped to build the underground city of Surréal.

When an earthquake damaged the power system on which Surréal depended for its survival, it also opened up a crack in the wall near the gate that shut the city off from the outside world. While scientists desperately tried to locate the source of the power leak, Luke secretly took up another challenge. He squeezed through the crack, tunneled up to reach the surface—and faced the danger and adventure of a world closed to his people for centuries.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, School, Dystopia, Canada

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Suzanne Chouinard Martel (October 8, 1924 – July 29, 2012) was a French-Canadian author. She studied at Toronto University and worked as a reporter in Québec City during World War II.

Martel resided in Montreal, Canada. She was married to corporation lawyer Maurice Martel and together they had six sons and six grandchildren.

Reviews

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really and truly, when I reread this book, it's a not-all-that-great story of a rather bland and over-regimented city underground after some worldwide disaster and the boys who discover that there's really a great wide world out there. So why did I give it four stars? Because when I was ten years old, this was my favorite book in the whole world--I must have checked it out of the library at least a dozen times. And I've come to find that other kids of that age adore it, too, so obviously there's something about it that taps into the psyche of a 10-year-old.

[Clint Hall]

This book popped into my memory one day as a fine YA read from yesteryear. Some of the ideas might seem a little trite, but when I borrowed it from my elementary school's library all those years ago it was all new to me. I wouldn't mind having this on my shelf now, but it is long out of print and absurdly expensive on eBay. If you can find it, you may like it.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first science fiction book I ever read. As a 10-year old it made a lasting impression on me, and I spent years trying to locate a copy for my home library. Certainly sparked my interest in the science fiction genre. Originally published in the late '60's, I re-read it about 4 years ago and it held up well.

[Beth Mathison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like other readers here, I read this in grade school and it left a permanent love of science fiction on my psyche! I can't believe I found it -- have been looking for years. I'm sure the story wasn't top notch, but it sure made a great impression. Thank you, Goodreads and fellow searchers, for helping me to find it.

[Ronald McCutchan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in grade school - it was excerpted in the Houghton Mifflin 3rd grade reader, and I marched into the library and asked for the complete book because I wanted to see what happened next. It was the first interlibrary loan I'd ever gotten—it seemed like a really big deal to get a book from another library! I think this was also the first science fiction I remember reading (John Christopher's Tripods trilogy may have been right behind it).

[Terry Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book aloud to my son who didn't like reading or like anything to do with grade school at the time. As I read, he was attentive and loved the story. I was then able to get him to take turns reading to me aloud and we finished the book. He got an A on his book report. He read several books after that with me and he passed through school to graduate -- all thanks to Suzanne Martel:)

Terry D McMillan

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is the first science fiction book I ever read a million years ago in elementary school. I just stumbled upon it again and read it in a single sitting. It hasn’t aged that well, but then again I’m pretty sure it was written for kids. 3 stars, more for the nostalgia and an early marker on a lifetime pursuit of sci-fi books and movies.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I discovered this book, written in 1964. Very typical of Del Rey and Heinlein of that era. But!! ( this is so cool) this sci fi book recognized that advanced technology can cause us to go " backwards " and not recognize the God of Genesis 1 and John 1.

[Lee Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one in the 6th grade. It was the first science fiction book I ever read, and I was hooked on scifi since.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to introduce children to science fiction, an easy read. Also shows children directly contributing to society - which my children enjoyed.

[Pierre-Léon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lu y'a longtemps lorsque j'étais encore enfant. Avait éveillé mon goût pour la SF.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the first French books I'd read in over 8 years. Certainly targeted to a younger audience but a thought-provoking read nonetheless.

[Andréanne Tremblay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relire ce livre après plusieurs années, cette fois avec un regard d'adulte, fût un vrai plaisir! Quelle belle histoire de science fiction remplie d'humanité.

[Oxalis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not especially terrible but definitely outdated. For instance, the ability to take a pill in the place of a meal has been debunked. One thing that disgusted me was the scenes where religion was mentioned, since this would almost certainly be one of the factors that led to the global apocalypse before the story occurs.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book but I felt it ended too soon

[CharlieB · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book great story? 12 stars grade score -f

[Stephen Ing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as a youth great adventure story without any scary parts of some adventure books

[Samir Hn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but could be better

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The ending wasnt quite as satisfying as I would have liked but the book was interesting and original! Real RTC soon!

[Quebec-edge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le livre n'était pas exactement ce à quoi je m'attendais. Mais il reste excellent. Vraiment un classique de la littérature jeunesse du Québec !

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good YA novel.

[Kyle Vernier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off like the 1960s juvenile literature version of Silo but this gets a little religious in the middle.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing extraordinary, but I enjoyed reading this book since my mom read it when she was younger. I also appreciated the utopian/dystopian vibe of this novel for its time (1964); I don't think this kind of novel was written for a young adult audience until much later when The Giver came onto the literary scene.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book has a interesting story behind it for me!
I remember when I was a lot younger, I found this book in the library during lunch, but I couldn't take it out because I already had too many books out. So I did what every kid did- I hid it. And guess what? For all the years I was in that school, I could never find it ever again!
Until now! Thank you, good reads, for helping me find this elusive book and proving to myself I'm not crazy!

[Andrea Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting things happened in this book, though written in a dull manner.

[SmartFroggy · Rating 1 out of 5]

He n'aime pas cette livre du tout! Les personnages na pas du personalité!

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, and clearly where the book "The City of Ember" completely stole many its ideas from.

[Pepe Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

es una m pinchada en un palico

[Rose]

Read in French.