The Eclipse of Dawn

by Gordon Eklund

Ace, 1971. The author first book. Issued as part of the highly-regarded Ace Specials series. If you think political campaigns are getting stranger and stranger, consider the Presidential campaign of 1988: When the United States has virtually collapsed after civil war and a foreign embargo; When DC lies in ruins and the White House is in California; And when Robert Colonby, Presidential candidate, promises to rebuild the nation with help from an awesome, godlike race of beings on Jupiter. An inventive, fast-paced novel about this startling campaign ... a behind-the-scenes look at one of our possible futures.

Genres: Science Fiction

221 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Gordon Eklund is a Nebula Award-winning, American science fiction author whose works include the "Lord Tedric" series and two of the earliest original novels based on the 1960s Star Trek TV series. He has written under the pen name Wendell Stewart, and in one instance under the name of the late E. E. "Doc" Smith (1890-1965).

Eklund's first published SF short story, "Dear Aunt Annie", ran in the April 1970 issue of Fantastic magazine and was nominated for a Nebula Award. Eklund won the Nebula for Best Novelette for the 1974 short story "If the Stars Are Gods", co-written with Gregory Benford. The two expanded the story into a full-length novel of the same title, published in 1977.

In his teens, Eklund was a member of a Seattle SF fan club, The Nameless Ones, and in 1977, Eklund was a guest of honor at the 1977 SF convention Bubonicon 9, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Cushing Memorial Library of Texas A&M University has a "Gordon Eklund Collection" housing the typed manuscript of the story "The Stuff of Time".

Eklund has retired from a long career with the U.S. Postal Service, and is considering writing full-time again. He's a member of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association and the Spectator Amateur Press Society.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Eclipse of Dawn was Eklund's first novel, published in 1971 as the first book in the renowned Ace Science Fiction Special imprint edited by Terry Carr. It's set in the future world of 1988 where rivalry between political parties has gotten out of hand, the campaign for the presidential election is in full swing, the country is in ruins from a civil war and economic collapse, the capitol was been moved to Sherman Oaks, California (isn't that where Harlan Ellison lived?) where President Albert Coombs's only notable act has been the institution of nightly midnight orgies. His opponent, Robert Colonby, has promised to rebuild the nation and make America... well, you know... with help from his new friends, the Octaurians, a telepathic race from Jupiter. The main story is about Jack Jacobi, Colonby's biographer, who likes to torture his dog and lurk about in the Disneyland underground with his girlfriend. There are no likable characters, too much political and religious satire and criticism, and no positives, but a good example of New Wave cynicism about collapse brought on by the corrupt, gullible, unstable, uneducated, etc.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political science fiction. Less lasers and invaders, more party backstabbing in the mid-21st century. Pretty damn excellent for a first novel, in my opinion.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's surprising looking back how thoroughly pessimistic so much near-future SF was back in the Sixties. The world of 1988 depicted in this novel is one wherein the United States has crumbled into chaos and lost its position in the world. Looking forward from, say, 1968 it might have seemed inevitable that it was all going to burn down. As one commentor once said, no one realized how tenacious certain things would be.

Above average political novel with some interesting aliens thrown in. Certain aspects of the explored era resonate eerily with the present, but it's difficult to take seriously, in spite of excellent characterization and sharp social observations.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"“I hadn’t even voted in the last election. I knew nothing about it, except Robert Colonby, how he wanted to make America strong again, how he said we ought to exert ourselves” (15).

Gordon Eklund’s first novel Eclipse of Dawn (1971) tells of a future dystopic America (the year 1988) [...]"

[Kalaeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

wtf.