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World Without Children and The Earth Quarter
Two science fiction novels of tomorrow
World Without Children:
When humans can live for thousands of years, will it doom itself to extinction?
The Earth Quarter:
Why did the aliens on a remote planet keep all the humans locked inside a section of the city?
Humans are used to be the top dog wherever they are—what are they going to do about it?
World Without Children:
When humans can live for thousands of years, will it doom itself to extinction?
The Earth Quarter:
Why did the aliens on a remote planet keep all the humans locked inside a section of the city?
Humans are used to be the top dog wherever they are—what are they going to do about it?
- GenresScience Fiction
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1970
15 people want to read
About the author
Damon Knight
581 books97 followersDamon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
Knight's first professional sale was a cartoon drawing to a science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. His first story, "Resilience", was published in 1941. He is best known as the author of "To Serve Man", which was adapted for The Twilight Zone. He was a recipient of the Hugo Award, founder of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), cofounder of the National Fantasy Fan Federation, cofounder of the Milford Writer's Workshop, and cofounder of the Clarion Writers Workshop. Knight lived in Eugene, Oregon, with his wife Kate Wilhelm.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 4, 2026
This book collects two science fiction novellas by Damon Knight, "World Without Children" (published in 1951) and "The Earth Quarter" (published in 1955). They're not related to each other.
"World Without Children" is set in a future where humanity has longevity treatments allowing them to live for thousands of years, and having children is a capital crime due to overpopulation concerns. One man discovers a concern about humanity's future, however, which sets up the story as a bit of a thriller. The story hasn't exactly aged well due to its gender politics, which is a common issue for stories from this time period, and will feel quite strange for any moderns readers. That said, the four men at the center of the story are upstaged by a woman in the end, so that at least was greatly appreciated. Knight's concerns about the lack of children is certainly an interesting take.
"The Earth Quarter" is set some decades after Earth has collapsed technologically and politically, and there are refugees on a variety of other alien planets, living in human ghettos. Even then, there are competing politics still between human-first activists and assimilationists and people wanting to return to Earth to rebuild. Knight tells a story exploring those various beliefs through Lazlo Cudyk's point of view as a man trying to remain neutral as his world degrades around him. There are a lot of musings as Cudyk deals with the political activists and violence as he and others try to avoid being kicked out of their alien planet. I was actually quite pleased with the writing in this story, I really liked the elegiac tone Knight uses throughout as Cudyk ponders various questions about humanity's violent place in the galaxy. Unfortunately there is approximately one named woman in this story, who never has a line of dialogue, and even when women as a whole are mentioned, it's as objects for men.
"World Without Children" is set in a future where humanity has longevity treatments allowing them to live for thousands of years, and having children is a capital crime due to overpopulation concerns. One man discovers a concern about humanity's future, however, which sets up the story as a bit of a thriller. The story hasn't exactly aged well due to its gender politics, which is a common issue for stories from this time period, and will feel quite strange for any moderns readers. That said, the four men at the center of the story are upstaged by a woman in the end, so that at least was greatly appreciated. Knight's concerns about the lack of children is certainly an interesting take.
"The Earth Quarter" is set some decades after Earth has collapsed technologically and politically, and there are refugees on a variety of other alien planets, living in human ghettos. Even then, there are competing politics still between human-first activists and assimilationists and people wanting to return to Earth to rebuild. Knight tells a story exploring those various beliefs through Lazlo Cudyk's point of view as a man trying to remain neutral as his world degrades around him. There are a lot of musings as Cudyk deals with the political activists and violence as he and others try to avoid being kicked out of their alien planet. I was actually quite pleased with the writing in this story, I really liked the elegiac tone Knight uses throughout as Cudyk ponders various questions about humanity's violent place in the galaxy. Unfortunately there is approximately one named woman in this story, who never has a line of dialogue, and even when women as a whole are mentioned, it's as objects for men.
January 1, 2023
Read just the first story here, enjoyed the exploration of this concept, its a unique take on what overpopulation and technological advancements can lead to.
Loved the way women ended up being portrayed as saviors of the human race by continuing it in secret.
Loved the way women ended up being portrayed as saviors of the human race by continuing it in secret.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews