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Not This August
The USA warred 3 years with the USSR & PRC. Males either farm or are drafted. Billy Justin, a 38-year-old commercial artist & Korea War veteran works as a dairy farmer in Chiunga Ctr, NY when he hears over the radio that Soviet & Chinese forces have overrun American lines. Over the next months, they consolidate their hold, dividing the US at the Mississippi, forming between them the Democratic People's Republic of N America.
Other than a garrison, disarmament & establishment of food production quotas, the surrender leaves Chiunga Center largely untouched. A paraplegic comes to Justin's farm asking for work. He's given make-work, then leaves. When Justin enters the nearest town, Norton, for supplies, he's drawn into a conspiracy with the paraplegic & others. The former turns out to be an army general. Buried in Chiunga County is a half-finished weapons satellite that requires parts & technical know-how to orbit it. The Soviet military police soon apparently capture all of them but himself & the general.
Receiving messages hidden in mail Betsy Cardew delivers, Justin deduces that the contacts he needs are in Washington, PA. With a traveling preacher, Sparhawk, he walks from Chiunga to Washington. Arrested by a military patrol, they're separated. Justin attempts to pass himself as one of Sparhawk's converts who can't be molested due to the Democratic Republic's freedom of religion. He & Sparhawk are exiled at the town border & soon arrive at Washington. He's given instructions about an assault planned for Xmas Eve on Chiunga Ctr to liberate the satellite. He & Sparhawk are sent back there with a specialist.
Despite Soviet torture of a local farmer, they're kept ignorant of what "Xmas Eve", a mild oath they hear sworn by citizens, means til battle begins. Coordinated by Gen Hollerith, the paraplegic, area bridges are blown up & arsenals sabotaged as townspeople are armed & fight as the satellite is launched. Hollerith's forces triumph. A radio message declares the satellite will destroy Moscow & Peiking in 24 hours if occupation soldiers don't evacuate American soil & release war prisoners. Hollerith offers Justin high position, but he declines to kneel in prayer with Sparhawk, fearing mutual assured destruction.
Other than a garrison, disarmament & establishment of food production quotas, the surrender leaves Chiunga Center largely untouched. A paraplegic comes to Justin's farm asking for work. He's given make-work, then leaves. When Justin enters the nearest town, Norton, for supplies, he's drawn into a conspiracy with the paraplegic & others. The former turns out to be an army general. Buried in Chiunga County is a half-finished weapons satellite that requires parts & technical know-how to orbit it. The Soviet military police soon apparently capture all of them but himself & the general.
Receiving messages hidden in mail Betsy Cardew delivers, Justin deduces that the contacts he needs are in Washington, PA. With a traveling preacher, Sparhawk, he walks from Chiunga to Washington. Arrested by a military patrol, they're separated. Justin attempts to pass himself as one of Sparhawk's converts who can't be molested due to the Democratic Republic's freedom of religion. He & Sparhawk are exiled at the town border & soon arrive at Washington. He's given instructions about an assault planned for Xmas Eve on Chiunga Ctr to liberate the satellite. He & Sparhawk are sent back there with a specialist.
Despite Soviet torture of a local farmer, they're kept ignorant of what "Xmas Eve", a mild oath they hear sworn by citizens, means til battle begins. Coordinated by Gen Hollerith, the paraplegic, area bridges are blown up & arsenals sabotaged as townspeople are armed & fight as the satellite is launched. Hollerith's forces triumph. A radio message declares the satellite will destroy Moscow & Peiking in 24 hours if occupation soldiers don't evacuate American soil & release war prisoners. Hollerith offers Justin high position, but he declines to kneel in prayer with Sparhawk, fearing mutual assured destruction.
255 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
8 people are currently reading
244 people want to read
About the author
C.M. Kornbluth
359 books87 followers
Cyril M. Kornbluth
grew up in Inwood in New York City. As a teenager, he became a member of the Futurians, the influential group of science fiction fans and writers. While a member of the Futurians, he met and became friends with Isaac Asimov, Frederik Pohl, Donald A. Wollheim, Robert A. W. Lowndes, and his future wife Mary Byers. He also participated in the Fantasy Amateur Press Association.
Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, where he served as a member of a heavy machine gun crew. Upon his discharge, he returned to finish his education, which had been interrupted by the war, at the University of Chicago. While living in Chicago he also worked at Trans-Radio Press, a news wire service. In 1951 he started writing full time, returning to the East Coast where he collaborated on a number of novels with his old Futurian friends Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd).
He used a variety of pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond and Scott Mariner.
Kornbluth served in the US Army during World War II (European Theatre). He received a Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of the Bulge, where he served as a member of a heavy machine gun crew. Upon his discharge, he returned to finish his education, which had been interrupted by the war, at the University of Chicago. While living in Chicago he also worked at Trans-Radio Press, a news wire service. In 1951 he started writing full time, returning to the East Coast where he collaborated on a number of novels with his old Futurian friends Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril (as Cyril Judd).
He used a variety of pen-names: Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner, Jordan Park, Arthur Cooke, Paul Dennis Lavond and Scott Mariner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
March 26, 2020
I read this Cold War era tale of a Third World War back in the '60s when the Vietnam War was raging and the Korean War was not yet a distant memory. So this story of Soviet conquest and occupation didn't seem that far fetched, at the time. But mostly Kornbluth carries it off because he's a superior writer who creates believable characters and puts them in interesting situations.
There's no glorification of plucky resistance fighters a la Red Dawn. It's a grim and gritty antiwar story, although it does end optimistically. I'd say it still has something to offer those who like the alternative history genre, with a tinge of eastern mysticism.
There's no glorification of plucky resistance fighters a la Red Dawn. It's a grim and gritty antiwar story, although it does end optimistically. I'd say it still has something to offer those who like the alternative history genre, with a tinge of eastern mysticism.
December 11, 2016
Imagine the unthinkable: in the Cold War of the 1960’s, the United States has surrendered to the joint forces of the USSR and China.
Though Cyril Kornbluth published few solo novels in his sadly short lifetime (he died aged a mere 34 in 1958) this is a surprisingly good, if a tad dated, novel.
I can only imagine the shock value that this book could’ve caused in its time of publication. Published a mere two years after the end of the Korean War, and as the Vietnam War was just beginning, this story tells of the USA invasion mainly from the perspective of Billy Justin, Korean War veteran, once a commercial artist but now a dairy farmer due to the Farm or Fight policy introduced by the US government.
Now, with the hindsight of sixty-plus years after its publication, the idea is nothing really new. As a result, it would be easy and rather tempting to dismiss Not This August as a typical and even predictable product of the time it was written: a story clearly determined to jolt the reader to get its message across, steeped in Cold War paranoia, of eventual victory against impossible odds. I’m thinking something like Robert A Heinlein’s Sixth Column by comparison, for example. And so the book can be seen as such.
Personally though, I was surprised at how much within that premise Cyril messes with our expectations. What surprised me most of all is that despite the rather typical plot on the surface, there are many things that Cyril does here that are not what is expected.
Billy Justin appears to be a reluctant hero, at least at first. He is the type that will deal with difficult things when they happen, though won’t go looking for them. It also is a shock to find that in many ways Billy’s own views are rather unpleasant, as are many of the characters in this small-town America. Billy’s opinion of a British ref (refugee), a vicar, given with some scorn is quite a surprise:
“Justin was sick of refs, and so was everybody. The refs from the Baltic, the Balkans, Germany, France, England, Latin America – he vaguely felt that they ought to have stayed in their countries and been exterminated rather than bothering Americans.” (page 16)
Similarly the local grocer, Mr Croley, is far from the genial archetype we expect of our typical merchant. He quickly adapts to the new situation, making money on the Black Market at the expense of the good people of Norton. There is one pleasing change to the template though in the form of a young postwoman, Betsy Cardew, who is initially presented as the typical bright and cheery archetype of the age, yet soon is discovered to have a much more dangerous and subversive occupation.
What also blurs the lines between ‘friend’ and ‘foe’ is when Billy’s first encounter with the invading Russian soldiers is fairly pleasant and not threatening at all.
“You see, this is the first of the readjustments you will have to make. You think a Communist must necessarily be a fiend, a savage, a foreigner. You couldn’t conceive of a Communist being a soft-spoken, reasonable, mannerly person.”
However, things soon change. The so-called sleeper agents of the Russian Fifth Column, some of whom are Billy’s neighbours, are not hailed as vanguards of the new order but rather eliminated as soon as possible – “They knew, from long experience, that you don’t want trained revolutionaries kicking around in a country you’ve just whipped, revolutionaries who know how to hide and subvert and betray, because all of a sudden you are stability and order, and trained revolutionaries are a menace.” (page 30)
Quotas for farm production are set, initially low, but become increasingly and progressively higher. People like Billy begin to starve themselves to meet them. When the Russian elite soldiers, the MVD, arrive, the soldiers Billy saw earlier are taken to the nearby football pitch and shot, for being traitors to international socialism, with the locals forced to watch. The new regime is noticeably much harsher on the town, and the middle part of the book is on more familiar territory, showing the hardship and tyranny of being governed by a socialist state.
When, on the urging of Betsy, Billy takes on Mr Gribble as a boarder to work on the farm and help meet the quotas. There is a twist here when Billy then finds that his co-worker is a former Pentagon official, suffering from a nervous breakdown. Gribble is actually a mass murderer, who has killed in order to keep a secret safe, that in near-completion just a few dozen miles from Billy’s house lies underground a weaponised satellite that could be used in a counter-offensive against the Russians and Chinese.
As religious views are allowed to be given, as part of the simulacrum of free speech, Billy travels with the vicar Reverend Larkspur across America ‘spreading the word’, though often attacked, beaten up and tortured. At the same time, of course, this also allows Billy to contact the Resistance and explain what he has found.
Again, Billy shows some reluctance to be a hero. Hoping that the resistance movement would take this satellite off his shoulders, nevertheless Billy in the end finds himself to be a means for the North American People’s Democratic Republic to free itself from Communist rule. The term ‘Christmas Eve’ becomes a greeting and a rallying point for the subversives as they make plans to remove the threat and become independent again.
Again, this is perhaps what we would expect of a typical book of the age – the Resistance win and remove the oppressive rule of the invaders. Indeed for much of the last part of the book this is what seems to be happening, up to the fateful Christmas Eve (the UK title of the book). However, just when things look like they are going to end as we expect, the ending is not. The actual close of the book is different, with Billy taking an alternative solution.
This was a surprise and it has been noted by other readers that it is a bit of a misfire as a result, though it does reflect the view that there may be alternative solutions to the use of weapons. It also wrong-foots the reader again, repeating my thought that the book is, in part, about surprises.
Not This August is a what-if story designed to shock, to make the reader think, even when it doesn’t always go where you expect it to. Despite its age and occasional moment of clunkiness, it still holds up pretty well as a mirror to the paranoid feelings and troubling times of the Cold War.
What potential Cyril had!
Though Cyril Kornbluth published few solo novels in his sadly short lifetime (he died aged a mere 34 in 1958) this is a surprisingly good, if a tad dated, novel.
I can only imagine the shock value that this book could’ve caused in its time of publication. Published a mere two years after the end of the Korean War, and as the Vietnam War was just beginning, this story tells of the USA invasion mainly from the perspective of Billy Justin, Korean War veteran, once a commercial artist but now a dairy farmer due to the Farm or Fight policy introduced by the US government.
Now, with the hindsight of sixty-plus years after its publication, the idea is nothing really new. As a result, it would be easy and rather tempting to dismiss Not This August as a typical and even predictable product of the time it was written: a story clearly determined to jolt the reader to get its message across, steeped in Cold War paranoia, of eventual victory against impossible odds. I’m thinking something like Robert A Heinlein’s Sixth Column by comparison, for example. And so the book can be seen as such.
Personally though, I was surprised at how much within that premise Cyril messes with our expectations. What surprised me most of all is that despite the rather typical plot on the surface, there are many things that Cyril does here that are not what is expected.
Billy Justin appears to be a reluctant hero, at least at first. He is the type that will deal with difficult things when they happen, though won’t go looking for them. It also is a shock to find that in many ways Billy’s own views are rather unpleasant, as are many of the characters in this small-town America. Billy’s opinion of a British ref (refugee), a vicar, given with some scorn is quite a surprise:
“Justin was sick of refs, and so was everybody. The refs from the Baltic, the Balkans, Germany, France, England, Latin America – he vaguely felt that they ought to have stayed in their countries and been exterminated rather than bothering Americans.” (page 16)
Similarly the local grocer, Mr Croley, is far from the genial archetype we expect of our typical merchant. He quickly adapts to the new situation, making money on the Black Market at the expense of the good people of Norton. There is one pleasing change to the template though in the form of a young postwoman, Betsy Cardew, who is initially presented as the typical bright and cheery archetype of the age, yet soon is discovered to have a much more dangerous and subversive occupation.
What also blurs the lines between ‘friend’ and ‘foe’ is when Billy’s first encounter with the invading Russian soldiers is fairly pleasant and not threatening at all.
“You see, this is the first of the readjustments you will have to make. You think a Communist must necessarily be a fiend, a savage, a foreigner. You couldn’t conceive of a Communist being a soft-spoken, reasonable, mannerly person.”
However, things soon change. The so-called sleeper agents of the Russian Fifth Column, some of whom are Billy’s neighbours, are not hailed as vanguards of the new order but rather eliminated as soon as possible – “They knew, from long experience, that you don’t want trained revolutionaries kicking around in a country you’ve just whipped, revolutionaries who know how to hide and subvert and betray, because all of a sudden you are stability and order, and trained revolutionaries are a menace.” (page 30)
Quotas for farm production are set, initially low, but become increasingly and progressively higher. People like Billy begin to starve themselves to meet them. When the Russian elite soldiers, the MVD, arrive, the soldiers Billy saw earlier are taken to the nearby football pitch and shot, for being traitors to international socialism, with the locals forced to watch. The new regime is noticeably much harsher on the town, and the middle part of the book is on more familiar territory, showing the hardship and tyranny of being governed by a socialist state.
When, on the urging of Betsy, Billy takes on Mr Gribble as a boarder to work on the farm and help meet the quotas. There is a twist here when Billy then finds that his co-worker is a former Pentagon official, suffering from a nervous breakdown. Gribble is actually a mass murderer, who has killed in order to keep a secret safe, that in near-completion just a few dozen miles from Billy’s house lies underground a weaponised satellite that could be used in a counter-offensive against the Russians and Chinese.
As religious views are allowed to be given, as part of the simulacrum of free speech, Billy travels with the vicar Reverend Larkspur across America ‘spreading the word’, though often attacked, beaten up and tortured. At the same time, of course, this also allows Billy to contact the Resistance and explain what he has found.
Again, Billy shows some reluctance to be a hero. Hoping that the resistance movement would take this satellite off his shoulders, nevertheless Billy in the end finds himself to be a means for the North American People’s Democratic Republic to free itself from Communist rule. The term ‘Christmas Eve’ becomes a greeting and a rallying point for the subversives as they make plans to remove the threat and become independent again.
Again, this is perhaps what we would expect of a typical book of the age – the Resistance win and remove the oppressive rule of the invaders. Indeed for much of the last part of the book this is what seems to be happening, up to the fateful Christmas Eve (the UK title of the book). However, just when things look like they are going to end as we expect, the ending is not. The actual close of the book is different, with Billy taking an alternative solution.
This was a surprise and it has been noted by other readers that it is a bit of a misfire as a result, though it does reflect the view that there may be alternative solutions to the use of weapons. It also wrong-foots the reader again, repeating my thought that the book is, in part, about surprises.
Not This August is a what-if story designed to shock, to make the reader think, even when it doesn’t always go where you expect it to. Despite its age and occasional moment of clunkiness, it still holds up pretty well as a mirror to the paranoid feelings and troubling times of the Cold War.
What potential Cyril had!
July 11, 2023
Earlier in 2022 I bought a bunch of used science fiction novels really cheap, some of them being quite rare. I was personally most curious about the 2 titles by C. M. Kornbluth on sale, as I am frequently recommended him as an example of a good but underrated science-fiction author, so I started with those. (the other one being ”Gunner Cade”, which Kornbluth wrote with a co-author under the shared pseudonym Cyril Judd)
”Not This August” starts with a fairly standard Cold War dystopian premise of the US under joint occupation by the USSR and PRC (the book was obviously written before the Sino-Soviet Split) where only a Korean War vet dairy farmer can fly the resistance movement's secret super-spaceplane that might win the war. So far, so good. Kornbluth makes a point of setting up the premise for a conventional pulp action-adventure story only to then do something completely different with every single plot thread than he builds up to.
For example, I was surprised to learn that ”Not this August” spends most of the page count NOT on our hero flying the aforementioned military spaceplane but instead on exploring the corruption, infighting and incompetence among both the resistance movement and the occupation forces. There is also an in depth subplot about our hero's progress with learning yoga and Zen meditation... both of which come in handy later when he gets captured and interrogated by the Soviet authorities! Characters are also set up to fulfil specific roles in a stock invasion story, from a local Marxist-Leninist true believer couple who turn out to have spied for the KGB before the invasion to a sleazy local businessman who gets understandably nervous about his new overlords, only to do the complete opposite with their character development arcs than I expected. I don't want to spoil too much for other readers, but every time I had figured out where I thought the plot was going Kornbluth instead went for a direction which both surprised me and struck me as more realistic than my own expectation. The plotline of ”Not This August” even ends on an ambiguous note, where it remains uncertain whether the resistance movement's actions will improve the situation for the vast majority of the American population in the long term at all or just turn the occupation into a brutal war of attrition with no likely outcome being satisfying for anyone involved.
All of this does not exactly make for an enjoyable reading experience, but it does make for an interesting one. Certainly makes the reader view the ”ragtag band of rebels fighting against an overpowering occupying force” concept that now is a cliché of dystopian science-fiction in a more cynical light. It will be difficult for me to watch a ”Star Wars” or ”Terminator” film the same way again for sure. One definite minus here is the author's off-putting racism, most notably when the PLA is described as more brutal than the Red Army which the 3rd person narrator (NOT any of the in-story characters) chalks up to the ”traditional Chinese lack of respect for human life” or something like that. Don't count on ”Not This August” to be translated into Chinese at any point in the near future! Fans of ”King of the Hill” might also find it amusing that one of the side characters is a neurotic paranoid man whose surname is Gribble.
I would recommend ”Not This August” to people with an interest in dystopian/post-apocalyptic science-fiction and Cold War-era invasion literature, in particular if they are interested in a more realistic look at how those genres' tropes would play out in practice.
”Not This August” starts with a fairly standard Cold War dystopian premise of the US under joint occupation by the USSR and PRC (the book was obviously written before the Sino-Soviet Split) where only a Korean War vet dairy farmer can fly the resistance movement's secret super-spaceplane that might win the war. So far, so good. Kornbluth makes a point of setting up the premise for a conventional pulp action-adventure story only to then do something completely different with every single plot thread than he builds up to.
For example, I was surprised to learn that ”Not this August” spends most of the page count NOT on our hero flying the aforementioned military spaceplane but instead on exploring the corruption, infighting and incompetence among both the resistance movement and the occupation forces. There is also an in depth subplot about our hero's progress with learning yoga and Zen meditation... both of which come in handy later when he gets captured and interrogated by the Soviet authorities! Characters are also set up to fulfil specific roles in a stock invasion story, from a local Marxist-Leninist true believer couple who turn out to have spied for the KGB before the invasion to a sleazy local businessman who gets understandably nervous about his new overlords, only to do the complete opposite with their character development arcs than I expected. I don't want to spoil too much for other readers, but every time I had figured out where I thought the plot was going Kornbluth instead went for a direction which both surprised me and struck me as more realistic than my own expectation. The plotline of ”Not This August” even ends on an ambiguous note, where it remains uncertain whether the resistance movement's actions will improve the situation for the vast majority of the American population in the long term at all or just turn the occupation into a brutal war of attrition with no likely outcome being satisfying for anyone involved.
All of this does not exactly make for an enjoyable reading experience, but it does make for an interesting one. Certainly makes the reader view the ”ragtag band of rebels fighting against an overpowering occupying force” concept that now is a cliché of dystopian science-fiction in a more cynical light. It will be difficult for me to watch a ”Star Wars” or ”Terminator” film the same way again for sure. One definite minus here is the author's off-putting racism, most notably when the PLA is described as more brutal than the Red Army which the 3rd person narrator (NOT any of the in-story characters) chalks up to the ”traditional Chinese lack of respect for human life” or something like that. Don't count on ”Not This August” to be translated into Chinese at any point in the near future! Fans of ”King of the Hill” might also find it amusing that one of the side characters is a neurotic paranoid man whose surname is Gribble.
I would recommend ”Not This August” to people with an interest in dystopian/post-apocalyptic science-fiction and Cold War-era invasion literature, in particular if they are interested in a more realistic look at how those genres' tropes would play out in practice.
February 24, 2019
When I had first gotten obsessively into reading and discovering scfi and its authors during the beginning of the new millennium, it took little time to get to, and appreciate Frederik Pohl. I had eagerly anticipated the last novels he wrote – one with A.C. Clarke, “The Last Theorem.” It was cool to still have a few golden age authors, such as, Pohl, Clarke and Jack Williamson - who were still hard at work at the time. When you get to know Pohl, it is inevitable not to also learn of Cyril Kornbluth, who Pohl collaborated with much during the fifties and championed time and time again throughout his long career. As for Cyril, his career was not at all long as it was cut short due to heart failure at the age of just 34. Not This August is one of the few solo works he published during his short career – most of what he published were short stories and collaborations with either Pohl or Judith Merril (Pohl’s ex-wife) as Cyril Judd.
For me, Kornbluth is an enigma. Pohl claims he was the best of all the Futurians (a collective of early scifi fandom, writers, editors and critics set in New York) which is quite a claim as they consisted of such names as: Isaac Asimov, James Blish, Damon Knight, Robert A. W. Lowndes, Judith Merril, Frederik Pohl and Donald A. Wollheim, to name a few. I admit that I have not read all of Kornbluth’s work, but have tackled some. He is, in my opinion, thus far, a more difficult read than his contemporaries. He is smart, ironic and somewhat cynical. Perhaps that cynicism is his strongest attribute, and why Fred Pohl though he had much potential.
“Not This August” was my first look as to what this guy was all about, other than his brilliant collaboration with Pohl originally titled in magazine for – which I have a copy of, “Gravy Planet” wisely re-titled, “The Space Merchants” for book publication. I have to say that this paranoiac vision of America after being taken over by Russia and China – predating PKD’s “Man in the High Castle” by over half a decade – is a decent read, well put together, but far from brilliant. As Pohl claimed, he had potential,but did not have the time and experience to develop into a master author of the genre. Pohl did not really achieve this until the mid-seventies. Kornbluth never had a chance to do so.
For me, Kornbluth is an enigma. Pohl claims he was the best of all the Futurians (a collective of early scifi fandom, writers, editors and critics set in New York) which is quite a claim as they consisted of such names as: Isaac Asimov, James Blish, Damon Knight, Robert A. W. Lowndes, Judith Merril, Frederik Pohl and Donald A. Wollheim, to name a few. I admit that I have not read all of Kornbluth’s work, but have tackled some. He is, in my opinion, thus far, a more difficult read than his contemporaries. He is smart, ironic and somewhat cynical. Perhaps that cynicism is his strongest attribute, and why Fred Pohl though he had much potential.
“Not This August” was my first look as to what this guy was all about, other than his brilliant collaboration with Pohl originally titled in magazine for – which I have a copy of, “Gravy Planet” wisely re-titled, “The Space Merchants” for book publication. I have to say that this paranoiac vision of America after being taken over by Russia and China – predating PKD’s “Man in the High Castle” by over half a decade – is a decent read, well put together, but far from brilliant. As Pohl claimed, he had potential,but did not have the time and experience to develop into a master author of the genre. Pohl did not really achieve this until the mid-seventies. Kornbluth never had a chance to do so.
July 14, 2018
Storyline: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 3/5
There's nothing "pulp' or "golden" about Kornbluth's 1955 Not This August. This fits more with the grimmer, sociological turn in science fiction more prevalent in the 1960s. Considering that Kornbluth was friends with Asimov and Pohl, you would expect this to be more elaborate with the technology: space ships or ray guns, for example. Considering the trends of the 1950s and 60s, you might also expect this to turn into some paranormal power story. This was a fairly tame Cold War tale, however. We read it as alternate history today, but back then it was prediction, and Kornbluth's contribution to science fiction literature is to imagine the Cold War going very differently than it did in actuality (though very much how people feared it might go in 1955). What I found particularly enjoyable about it was that it wasn't predictable. For most of the tale I couldn't tell Kornbluth's politics: was he a patriot or a renegade? Kornbluth kept the audience guessing as to whether the protagonists were backward-looking idealists making things worse for everyone else or genuine heroes in the service a worthy cause. The portrayals of governments, politicians, and soldiers were remarkably nuanced given the brevity of the story. It was fun to read a tale not knowing what was going to happen and not knowing if you wanted to or should identify with the protagonist.
Warning: The synopsis on Goodreads gives away the entire plot of the book. Spoilers abound and anyone wishing to experience this not knowing all the major turns and ending of the book should not read it.
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 3/5
There's nothing "pulp' or "golden" about Kornbluth's 1955 Not This August. This fits more with the grimmer, sociological turn in science fiction more prevalent in the 1960s. Considering that Kornbluth was friends with Asimov and Pohl, you would expect this to be more elaborate with the technology: space ships or ray guns, for example. Considering the trends of the 1950s and 60s, you might also expect this to turn into some paranormal power story. This was a fairly tame Cold War tale, however. We read it as alternate history today, but back then it was prediction, and Kornbluth's contribution to science fiction literature is to imagine the Cold War going very differently than it did in actuality (though very much how people feared it might go in 1955). What I found particularly enjoyable about it was that it wasn't predictable. For most of the tale I couldn't tell Kornbluth's politics: was he a patriot or a renegade? Kornbluth kept the audience guessing as to whether the protagonists were backward-looking idealists making things worse for everyone else or genuine heroes in the service a worthy cause. The portrayals of governments, politicians, and soldiers were remarkably nuanced given the brevity of the story. It was fun to read a tale not knowing what was going to happen and not knowing if you wanted to or should identify with the protagonist.
Warning: The synopsis on Goodreads gives away the entire plot of the book. Spoilers abound and anyone wishing to experience this not knowing all the major turns and ending of the book should not read it.
November 25, 2015
Highly readable, though sluggish toward the end, this isn't a satire for post-Cold War sensibilities, but Kornbluth was astute enough to envision US power changing hands with very little degree of change. War is the actual enemy of freedom, he seems to almost say, but what to make of that ending?
November 29, 2011
review of
C. M. Kornbluth's Not This August
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - November 28, 2011
The front cover review excerpt from the Chicago Tribune reads: "The most shockingly realistic science fiction book since Orwell's '1984' - establishes Kornbluth as one of the best writers in the futuristic field." I find that review to be both flattering & a little odd. How many people at the time considered 1984 to be "realistic"? & is/was 1984 even a "science fiction book"? It seems that such a comparison was a potentially sly way of valuing Not This August & of sneaking 1984 in thru the back door of apparent Red Scare fiction.
At any rate, this IS a Red Scare novel.. at the same time that it's a pacifist one. It does seem like a realistic depiction of what a successful invasion of the US by the USSR & China might've been like at the time (set for approximately 10 yrs into the future from the 1955 publishing of the novel) that details all sorts of possible variations: some invaders who aren't harsh, some who are, American girls dating Russian soldiers, greed & treachery, underground resistance, starving overworked farmers, interrogation torture, etc..
But it's definitely NOT a Mickey Spillane / Mike Hammer take on the thing. The friendly neighbors of the protagonist turn out to be secret communist organizers who're immediately shot by the socialist invaders - to their surprise. The person who immediately gets into the best position w/ the invaders is the viciously capitalist storekeeper. The 'hero' is a guy who just sortof gets sucked into the whole mess against his somewhat weak-willed better judgment. The Americans are shown to make some horrific decisions. & the character who ultimately comes thru as the most sane is someone immediately established as a pain-in-the-ass.
All in all, the pacifism is precisely in the realism. People are shown reacting in believable ways, the resistance comes about as much as a result of an inability to cope any more w/ the harshness of the conditions - people become 'heros' out of desperation. Sympathy is, not surprisingly, w/ the invaded peoples - after all, who wdn't want to overthrow invaders? & it's possible that the invaded 'win' at the end. But the ultimate message of the novel seems to be that as long as human behavior continues as warlike as it has, humanity's stuck in a rut that merely 'winning' a battle will never solve. &, of course, some people have probably been concluding this for a very long time. So where are we? Still embroiled in as much war as ever.
C. M. Kornbluth's Not This August
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - November 28, 2011
The front cover review excerpt from the Chicago Tribune reads: "The most shockingly realistic science fiction book since Orwell's '1984' - establishes Kornbluth as one of the best writers in the futuristic field." I find that review to be both flattering & a little odd. How many people at the time considered 1984 to be "realistic"? & is/was 1984 even a "science fiction book"? It seems that such a comparison was a potentially sly way of valuing Not This August & of sneaking 1984 in thru the back door of apparent Red Scare fiction.
At any rate, this IS a Red Scare novel.. at the same time that it's a pacifist one. It does seem like a realistic depiction of what a successful invasion of the US by the USSR & China might've been like at the time (set for approximately 10 yrs into the future from the 1955 publishing of the novel) that details all sorts of possible variations: some invaders who aren't harsh, some who are, American girls dating Russian soldiers, greed & treachery, underground resistance, starving overworked farmers, interrogation torture, etc..
But it's definitely NOT a Mickey Spillane / Mike Hammer take on the thing. The friendly neighbors of the protagonist turn out to be secret communist organizers who're immediately shot by the socialist invaders - to their surprise. The person who immediately gets into the best position w/ the invaders is the viciously capitalist storekeeper. The 'hero' is a guy who just sortof gets sucked into the whole mess against his somewhat weak-willed better judgment. The Americans are shown to make some horrific decisions. & the character who ultimately comes thru as the most sane is someone immediately established as a pain-in-the-ass.
All in all, the pacifism is precisely in the realism. People are shown reacting in believable ways, the resistance comes about as much as a result of an inability to cope any more w/ the harshness of the conditions - people become 'heros' out of desperation. Sympathy is, not surprisingly, w/ the invaded peoples - after all, who wdn't want to overthrow invaders? & it's possible that the invaded 'win' at the end. But the ultimate message of the novel seems to be that as long as human behavior continues as warlike as it has, humanity's stuck in a rut that merely 'winning' a battle will never solve. &, of course, some people have probably been concluding this for a very long time. So where are we? Still embroiled in as much war as ever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2021
Picked this off at random from the sci-fi part of my bookshelves and I do believe it was a good choice. A "what-might-be" tale somewhat in the vein of "It Can't Happen Here" crossed with "The Sound of His Horn." with a lot of "Red Dawn" tossed In. The USA has lost WWIII to the combined forces of Russia and China. The setting is rural upstate New York, and despite the seemingly serious subject the book is pretty amusing - there's a nice light touch to it. That's about where I am now. Written in the 50's, this book was updated for its re-issue(removing the obvious anachronisms) a bit by a pal of the late author's - Frederick Pohl. Cyril Kornbluth … (no middle name - the "M" was an embellishment) I read the author's Wiki page and was taken by the man's eccentricities. He was a VERY prolific writer of short stories, and since his name is familiar to me I assume I must have read some stories of his in various collections going all the way back to the late fifties, when I began reading sci-fi. C.M.K. died at the too-young age of 34 of heart troubles.
- "Signor" (Niccola Fontana) Tartaglia = 16th c. mathematician and designer of fortifications
- John Harrison = 18th c. inventor of the marine chronometer
Getting near the end and will likely finish tonight. The style continues to be sort of barebones low-key sardonic. The brutality of the Russian occupiers is duly noted but the descriptions are NOT dramatic at all. Interesting ...
Finished with this crude-but-effective although somewhat dated book a couple of nights ago. not much to say ...
- The final scrap between the Russkies and the locals evokes Lexington & Concord in April of 1775.
- Another link = The Hunger Games = oppression through starvation/control of food supply.
- 3.25* rounds down to 3*.
- "Signor" (Niccola Fontana) Tartaglia = 16th c. mathematician and designer of fortifications
- John Harrison = 18th c. inventor of the marine chronometer
Getting near the end and will likely finish tonight. The style continues to be sort of barebones low-key sardonic. The brutality of the Russian occupiers is duly noted but the descriptions are NOT dramatic at all. Interesting ...
Finished with this crude-but-effective although somewhat dated book a couple of nights ago. not much to say ...
- The final scrap between the Russkies and the locals evokes Lexington & Concord in April of 1775.
- Another link = The Hunger Games = oppression through starvation/control of food supply.
- 3.25* rounds down to 3*.
February 22, 2013
It was okay in parts, but I guess its 1950's worldview was a little much, even for someone who revels in Red Dawn's chaos. Philip K. Dick must've read this, because "The Man In The High Castle" envisions Eurasian and Asian superpowers conquering and dividing the United States and does a much better job of it.
July 18, 2011
Dated, rather juvenile and unrealistic representation of a communist occupation of the USA. It may be of interest, however, to someone studying the Cold War and the paranoid ideas it engendered.
February 25, 2023
3.15 stars
Feels old and paced slower than modern stories. Not as good a satire as others that I've read recently.
Feels old and paced slower than modern stories. Not as good a satire as others that I've read recently.
November 6, 2019
More interesting as an artifact of McCarthyism's red scare than as a science fiction novel, Not This August is an alternate history novel where America is invaded by the USSR and China in 1965 leading to a Pol Pot-like carnival of horrors as well as a well intentioned resistance movement.
The book suffers from a lot of stereotypical, often xenophobic and straight-up racist portrayals of Russians and Chinese people, with our "heroes" frequently mocking the invaders in pretty despicable ways, it also suffers from really over-inflating the cruelty of the Communists for no other apparent reason than that they are supposedly evil.
Interestingly it chooses to portray American communists not as evil traitors but as well intentioned but naive and dumb people who are the first to be shot by the invading forces. It all reads a bit like a screed, a McCarthyist fever dream that remains of interest as an artifact of the times.
The book suffers from a lot of stereotypical, often xenophobic and straight-up racist portrayals of Russians and Chinese people, with our "heroes" frequently mocking the invaders in pretty despicable ways, it also suffers from really over-inflating the cruelty of the Communists for no other apparent reason than that they are supposedly evil.
Interestingly it chooses to portray American communists not as evil traitors but as well intentioned but naive and dumb people who are the first to be shot by the invading forces. It all reads a bit like a screed, a McCarthyist fever dream that remains of interest as an artifact of the times.
October 18, 2021
Originally published in 1955 as a possible-future about the US being invaded by the USSR and China—obviously dated at that level, but at this point it’s moved beyond dated and feels like a sort of alternate-history novel. I read it in the 80s and took it as much more jingoistic than it actually is—I blame a steady diet of 1980s Red Dawn-style public narratives for blinding me to the fact that Kornbluth resolutely portrays both armies, and war in general, as brutal and ugly. The book opens with the hero hearing on the radio that a woman’s been executed by the US military for helping her son desert the army after the destruction of Chicago, so it isn’t like the tone was subtle at all, I just failed reading comprehension.
The characters really make the narrative work, and they remain compelling across almost seventy years.
The characters really make the narrative work, and they remain compelling across almost seventy years.
July 30, 2019
More of an historical curiosity than a good book. I’d read some of Kornbluth’s short fiction in my early teens and read about what a promising career he likely had ahead of him had he not died in his early 30s.
Russia and China defeating the US and occupying our nation doesn’t sound like much of an original idea now. But given that it was written in 1950, it was a pretty fresh idea then. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of several influences and sources for Red Dawn.
Wooden characters, trite and racist stereotypes about the Chinese especially (who never actually appear but are described in an appalling manner).
It’s a quick read. Worth it if you’re a completist and are interested in Kornbluth’s place in 1940-50s science fiction. Otherwise, pass it by.
Russia and China defeating the US and occupying our nation doesn’t sound like much of an original idea now. But given that it was written in 1950, it was a pretty fresh idea then. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of several influences and sources for Red Dawn.
Wooden characters, trite and racist stereotypes about the Chinese especially (who never actually appear but are described in an appalling manner).
It’s a quick read. Worth it if you’re a completist and are interested in Kornbluth’s place in 1940-50s science fiction. Otherwise, pass it by.
January 3, 2020
A 1956 Hugo Award finalist. The story of the surrender and occupation of the U.S. by Soviet and Chinese communist forces and resistance by american civilians. I wonder if this had any influence on the 1980's film Red Dawn, there were a lot of similarities.
December 1, 2020
2½. An engaging story, sure, but the results are ultimately inconsequential. Perhaps it packed more of a punch to those reading it during the Cold War era, but my first thought upon finishing it was that SO MUCH more could have been done with this premise.
March 18, 2019
Great first half but not so good second part when it descends into cod-Rambo territory. However as it was written when the Cold War was barely beginning it can be excused that.
October 9, 2020
On April 17, 1965, the United States government surrenders to Chinese and Russian forces, having failed in a 3-year war to prevent those forces from over-running the country. After Chicago and Pittsburgh are taken out by nuclear missiles, both sides apparently neutralized further nuclear attacks with air defense systems. In the long siege, which employed conventional armed forces, all US citizens not on active duty are assigned war- and society-critical jobs. This is the case for the novel’s principal character, 37-year-old Billy Justin, Korean War veteran and commercial artist, now assigned to milk farming in a small, rural upstate NY community.
The novel is far too short to portray with sufficient amplitude and gravitas the successful invasion of the United States, its occupation, the resistance, and finally the successful expulsion of the Chinese and Russian forces. Aware of this, Kornbluth tries to fill out the story, giving some credible background and ongoing account of the Russians and the effects of the occupation on the US citizens. While some of this is pretty good—especially the details of milk production, Justin’s contempt for a particular self-serving citizen, and the description of his wanderings as an ascetic acolyte—it’s just not possible to contain all of this in a 170-page novel without the story appearing summary.
I had hoped to find in this “boy’s adventure story” more about the zeitgeist in which it was written, circa 1955. The novel appears to be a cautionary tale, one aimed at reminding Americans that they needed to at least be vigilant, if not hawkish, about potential Russian and Chinese nuclear might. So, while the American leadership may have been lax in not having anticipated communist aggression, the resistance movement, in jingoistic fashion, is very can-do. One note did appeal to me as evidence of Kornbluth’s darker sensibility: a poke at those who put themselves in authority, the suggestion that the command center of the US resistance—to which Justin had to travel for months and suffer hardship and torture—was merely spinning its wheels, self-satisfied, and even a bit reluctant to abandon its routines when Justin suggested they might actually have a secret weapon they could employ. Another amusing bit of sardonic filigree was the smug assurance of the US citizens who’d been political communists before the war, then the discovery that the Russians were quietly taking them aside and exterminating them as nuisances.
The novel is far too short to portray with sufficient amplitude and gravitas the successful invasion of the United States, its occupation, the resistance, and finally the successful expulsion of the Chinese and Russian forces. Aware of this, Kornbluth tries to fill out the story, giving some credible background and ongoing account of the Russians and the effects of the occupation on the US citizens. While some of this is pretty good—especially the details of milk production, Justin’s contempt for a particular self-serving citizen, and the description of his wanderings as an ascetic acolyte—it’s just not possible to contain all of this in a 170-page novel without the story appearing summary.
I had hoped to find in this “boy’s adventure story” more about the zeitgeist in which it was written, circa 1955. The novel appears to be a cautionary tale, one aimed at reminding Americans that they needed to at least be vigilant, if not hawkish, about potential Russian and Chinese nuclear might. So, while the American leadership may have been lax in not having anticipated communist aggression, the resistance movement, in jingoistic fashion, is very can-do. One note did appeal to me as evidence of Kornbluth’s darker sensibility: a poke at those who put themselves in authority, the suggestion that the command center of the US resistance—to which Justin had to travel for months and suffer hardship and torture—was merely spinning its wheels, self-satisfied, and even a bit reluctant to abandon its routines when Justin suggested they might actually have a secret weapon they could employ. Another amusing bit of sardonic filigree was the smug assurance of the US citizens who’d been political communists before the war, then the discovery that the Russians were quietly taking them aside and exterminating them as nuisances.
November 29, 2022
While I don't think it lives up to the blurb on the cover from the New York Daily News that it's "far more powerful than 1984," it is more grounded in the contemporary geopolitical reality of its 1955 publication date. In in the then-near future, a ground war being waged by the USA against the USSR and China simultaneously leads to an American surrender and an occupation by both foes. In upstate New York, Korean war vet turned farmer Billy deals with the new diktats of his communist overlords until they push him too far and he seeks out a role with the inevitable resistance.
Of special note are the formerly idealistic underground Communists who had been laying the groundwork for their glorious revolution here in America: Once the Soviets march in, their hopeful revolutionaries are rounded up and summarily shot. There is no need of revolutionaries after the revolution, and their idealistic energy would foul up the real-world application of the Soviet boot to the American face.
Kornbluth's prose isn't dated at all; if it weren't for his untimely death at the age of 34, he would have become a giant of both genre fiction and American letters, relegating Asimov and Heinlein to mere footnotes.
Of special note are the formerly idealistic underground Communists who had been laying the groundwork for their glorious revolution here in America: Once the Soviets march in, their hopeful revolutionaries are rounded up and summarily shot. There is no need of revolutionaries after the revolution, and their idealistic energy would foul up the real-world application of the Soviet boot to the American face.
Kornbluth's prose isn't dated at all; if it weren't for his untimely death at the age of 34, he would have become a giant of both genre fiction and American letters, relegating Asimov and Heinlein to mere footnotes.
October 16, 2017
Man, do I love a good tale about the ole' Russkies. In this short but interesting and intense read, Kornbluth weaves a tale about the defeat of the United States and the occupation of America by the Russians and the Chinese. The seemingly benevolent Russians slowly give way to their typical authoritarian institutions, and soon enough the main characters plot a conspiracy to retake the nation.
Not This August is a bit eerie, because 60 years after it was written, you could argue that perhaps there might be some conflict brewing between these three nations yet again. While the communist menace is nowhere near as prevalent today, the relationships between Russia, China and the US are complicated and often under stress and tension. Perhaps Kornbluth will be revealed to be prophetic?
In any case, the book was a great deal of fun.
Not This August is a bit eerie, because 60 years after it was written, you could argue that perhaps there might be some conflict brewing between these three nations yet again. While the communist menace is nowhere near as prevalent today, the relationships between Russia, China and the US are complicated and often under stress and tension. Perhaps Kornbluth will be revealed to be prophetic?
In any case, the book was a great deal of fun.
October 29, 2020
I really wanted to like this book. Great concept. The USG is over, the President executed, the Soviets are in total control. Now what?
But this book assiduously fails to deliver upon the strength of that concept. The characters are flat, the action is tepid, and the plot points silly and stupid. The big roman a clef is that theres an unfinished doomsday satellite that can be launched to force the Soviets to capitulate.
This book should have been about the crushing pressure of occupation and about the American psyche and ethos after total military and economic collapse. Thats an interesting statement to make, no matter which direction an author takes. But this novel was nothing of that and just ham handed.
Red Dawn has better substance and emotional depth than this book.
20/100, */****, F
But this book assiduously fails to deliver upon the strength of that concept. The characters are flat, the action is tepid, and the plot points silly and stupid. The big roman a clef is that theres an unfinished doomsday satellite that can be launched to force the Soviets to capitulate.
This book should have been about the crushing pressure of occupation and about the American psyche and ethos after total military and economic collapse. Thats an interesting statement to make, no matter which direction an author takes. But this novel was nothing of that and just ham handed.
Red Dawn has better substance and emotional depth than this book.
20/100, */****, F
August 30, 2020
While this novel is the epitome of dated, it is also a blast. Kornbluth knew how to tell a story, and the political cold war subtext is folded right into the dough. His usual humor is largely absent, but even in this grimmer mode, the narrative has a bouyant quality which keeps the overriding ideological content from overriding the story.
Along with Dr Strangelove, this may be the best window onto the zeitgeist of mid-20th century US of A.
Along with Dr Strangelove, this may be the best window onto the zeitgeist of mid-20th century US of A.
August 31, 2023
A very surprising book from the 1950’s.
This book does several unexpected things for a book of its era. First - the U.S. is defeated and occupied and government leaders executed. Second - an active and engaging female character. Third - a character dealing with PTSD. Fourth - the protagonist and female character do not magically fall in love by looking at each other (or even end up together). Fifth - a yoga-crazed preacher. And more.
To me it was a fast paced read, I recommend it.
This book does several unexpected things for a book of its era. First - the U.S. is defeated and occupied and government leaders executed. Second - an active and engaging female character. Third - a character dealing with PTSD. Fourth - the protagonist and female character do not magically fall in love by looking at each other (or even end up together). Fifth - a yoga-crazed preacher. And more.
To me it was a fast paced read, I recommend it.
May 12, 2021
Cyril Kornbluth, conocido sobre todo por sus sátiras a dos manos con Frederick Pohl, se desmarcó en 1955 con esta historia superseria sobre la derrota y ocupación de los EE.UU. por una fuerza combinada de rusos y chinos. Tuvo la mala suerte de quedar obsoleta prácticamente al año mismo de haber sido publicada (tanto por el desarrollo del equilibrio nuclear como por la ruptura entre Rusia y China), pero pese a todo es una gran muestra de literatura sobre el "peligro rojo" y, pese a la paranoia implicada, no se puede decir que Kornbluth fuera demasiado desencaminado sobre los excesos que ya habían cometido o cometerían los regímenes de Stalin y Mao. El final es un poco forzado, tanto por lo apresurado (la historia hubiera agradecido al menos otro segmento, pero las exigencias editoriales de la época eran las que eran) como por una candidez que está mayormente ausente en el resto de la historia, pero sigue siendo un título a reivindicar, que hoy en día se podría leer casi como una ucronía.
Totalmente merecida su nominación al premio Hugo de aquel año, y de hecho contaba con argumentos más que suficientes para plantarle cara a "Estrella doble" de Heinlein, la ganadora final. Ambas, sin embargo, se encuentran por detrás de la también postnuclear "The long tomorrow", de Leigh Brackett, que tal vez hubiera sido una triunfadora más justa.
Reseña completa disponible en Rescepto Indablog (https://rescepto.wordpress.com/2021/0...).
Totalmente merecida su nominación al premio Hugo de aquel año, y de hecho contaba con argumentos más que suficientes para plantarle cara a "Estrella doble" de Heinlein, la ganadora final. Ambas, sin embargo, se encuentran por detrás de la también postnuclear "The long tomorrow", de Leigh Brackett, que tal vez hubiera sido una triunfadora más justa.
Reseña completa disponible en Rescepto Indablog (https://rescepto.wordpress.com/2021/0...).
June 5, 2017
Very old fashioned and pretty short. A fairly long hot war between the US and the USSR/China ends up with the US occupied, then they fight back. Moves along pretty quickly and I like Kornbluth's language, but I don't think I'd really recommend this to anyone.
October 4, 2025
Unbelievably strange artifact of a fevered 50’s mind. Takes some substantial liberties with atomic physics, but also contains a moment in time and outlook which has vanished completely. See also such gems as South Bend being called out as a world-historic gem of industrial production.
November 27, 2017
The fears from the sixties are always true...
September 7, 2022
A stiff, somewhat dated story about the US capitulating to an invasion by the Soviet Union and China. A few interesting observations, but overall nothing new or enlightening.
Read
November 28, 2025Doppio
August 7, 2016
April 17, 1965. The United States and Canada have been at war with the Soviets and Chinese for three long years. Europe and Latin America have fallen to the Communist forces. America holds the Sino-Soviet forces at the El Paso line; Canada launches yet another offensive in the north. American society is a mockery of rationing and want—a radio news bulletin notes 784 traitors executed for treason, such as an 87-year-old grandmother who gave food to her grandson after his desertion, before announcing “substitute chocolate” available in a “big, big half-ounce bar.” Things are bad. They only get worse when the United States admits defeat and capitulates.
Billy Justin was a Korean War vet and freelance author, but when the Farm-or-Fight law hit, he chose to run a small dairy farm over the draft. He struggled to meet his quota under the American government, and does the same under Soviet occupation. When he takes on a crazed boarder—a former Pentagon official suffering from nervous breakdown—Billy learns of lost state secrets, that the real Yankee Doodle weaponized satellite was not destroyed by Chinese special forces and in fact sits in near-completion just a few dozen miles from his house...
Cyril M. Kornbluth is often overlooked or forgotten today, but he wrote some impressive SF social satires in the 1950s before his untimely death at the age of 34. Most of his books were short-stories, and you can see a little strain on this one---his acerbic wit and biting commentary can feel hyperbolic at times, and the novel is formed out of Cold War paranoia and fear. But if you're not bothered by Kornbluth's bleak tone or the fact that the novel is very much a product of its time, it's a fine work of 1950s social satire SF. It offers a disturbing look not just at the American will to be free, but also at the military-industrial complex and the insanity of endless war, the race to mutually-assured destruction. Not This August can be read as a Red Dawn-type adventure, but at its core it's a scathing look at the Cold War itself.
Billy Justin was a Korean War vet and freelance author, but when the Farm-or-Fight law hit, he chose to run a small dairy farm over the draft. He struggled to meet his quota under the American government, and does the same under Soviet occupation. When he takes on a crazed boarder—a former Pentagon official suffering from nervous breakdown—Billy learns of lost state secrets, that the real Yankee Doodle weaponized satellite was not destroyed by Chinese special forces and in fact sits in near-completion just a few dozen miles from his house...
Cyril M. Kornbluth is often overlooked or forgotten today, but he wrote some impressive SF social satires in the 1950s before his untimely death at the age of 34. Most of his books were short-stories, and you can see a little strain on this one---his acerbic wit and biting commentary can feel hyperbolic at times, and the novel is formed out of Cold War paranoia and fear. But if you're not bothered by Kornbluth's bleak tone or the fact that the novel is very much a product of its time, it's a fine work of 1950s social satire SF. It offers a disturbing look not just at the American will to be free, but also at the military-industrial complex and the insanity of endless war, the race to mutually-assured destruction. Not This August can be read as a Red Dawn-type adventure, but at its core it's a scathing look at the Cold War itself.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews