Synopsis
Gladys and her daughters are at home as an atomic war happens.
History
First publication: Doubleday, 1950
Review
In 1950, science fiction was never about families. Even though I keep saying that people are too harsh of critics on classic sf for its characters, the characters just didn't get as deep as literary fiction did. The focus was always on the ideas. And you didn't have a woman as the protagonist. At least not in general. This is the book that turns all of those things on its head. This has a woman and mother as the main protagonist. The story is about a family dealing with the occasion of an atomic bomb attack on the US. The mother and her daughters are very well characterized. The writing is tense even though this is not an action novel. I found it hard to tear myself away once I got into it. The description of the atomic attack is a bit dated. We’ve learned a lot more about what would likely happen than we knew in 1950. But I think it is accurate to what we knew at the time. And Merril adds the idea of atomic bombs placed on missles for delivery. I think that was a new idea in 1950. Mostly this is a character book. At that I think the writing is excellent. The characters are great, the plotting is great. I can’t believe that this novel is not a lot better known. Highly recommended.
Videos
We have the story in these editions:
Shadow on the Hearth, hardcover, Doubleday, 1950-00-00
Spaced Out, hardcover, NEFSA Press, 2008-10-00
