Book Review: "Daybreak--2250 A.D."

1952; 182 pages

Andre Norton was a prolific writer of science fiction and fantasy in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. Her books were light reading, oriented around action-adventure plots, aimed at a teenage or young adult audience. Her science fiction was probably better described as "space-opera," formulaic, and often featured lost civilizations and a future marred by nuclear war. This is probably her best known novel set on a post-apocalypse Earth.

First published in 1952, the story was set approximately 150 years after a nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) war that destroyed all civilization on the planet. (That is, the war apparently was supposed to take place around 2000, since she describes atomic powered vehicles). The cities have all been abandoned and, generally speaking, are shunned by the remaining humans for good reason--some are too radioactive to enter, and others are inhabited by giant, intelligent mutant rats, referred to as "beast-things". Likewise, there are other radioactive blast zones that are inimical to human life.

The main character, Fors, is a youth that was raised in a village located in the Smoky Mountains, founded by a group of astronaut trainees that survived the nuclear holocaust. His tribe has attempted to collect and preserve ancient knowledge with the hope of rebuilding civilization. Select male members of the tribe become "Star Men" who are tasked with exploring the ancient ruins to bring back knowledge and artifacts. They also act as ambassadors, scouts and trackers. They have as companions, giant descendants from house cats. Fors has a strong, almost psychic bond with his cat. (The cover shown above is inaccurate in that it shows his cat as striped, whereas it was actually a Siamese--this was corrected in a later cover).

Other peoples mentioned in the book are plainsmen--obviously drawn from the Plains Indians and Mongols--fierce horsemen that engage in herding. They are peaceful with the mountain men of Fors tribe and, in fact, Fors mother was the daughter of a plains chieftain. And, migrating into the area from somewhere in the American Southwest are tribes of black farmers whose ancestors were apparently Air Force airmen that survived the war.

The story starts with Fors being passed over to become a Star Man, like his father. Refusing to become a simple farmer or tradesman, he breaks into the Star Man lodge and steals his father's notes and sets off to prove himself worthy to be a Star Man. His father had theorized as to the location of a largely intact ancient city, and Fors sets off to discover it. After a series of adventures, he finds the city (presumably Chicago) and begins to explore the ruins of the city. There he rescues Arskane, a young man from the southern farmers, who has been scouting ahead of his tribe. Arskane had fallen victim to trap laid by the beast-things, and it soons becomes apparent to the two that the city is overrun with beast-things led by one that is apparently much more intelligent and seeking to spread beyond the ancient cities into the countryside where the humans live.

The rest of the story is about Fors and Arskane's fleeing the city, being captured by the beast-things, escaping only to be caught by the plainsmen, and then trying to make peace between the different tribes while warning them of the threat by the beast-things. In the end, the beast-thing army is beaten back, peace is made between the plainsmen and the new tribe of farmers, and Fors is accepted by his tribe.

There is probably nothing realistic about this book. It presents a romanticized vision of a post-apocalypse world with ancient ruins to explore, hidden dangers (including largely unknown mutants), and a young man seeking to become a man. Nevertheless, I think it is a great book for a adolescent boy. I first read it when a 6th or 7th grader, and have reread it a few times since. For me, the most captivating part of the book are the descriptions of the various ruins described--from a section of highway choked with rusting cars with the skeletons of the drivers still inside, to the crumbling remains of  a small town bank, to the concrete canyons of the ancient metropolis on the shores of a great lake. and the miles of blasted radioactive landscape outside a pre-ruin air base.

If you haven't read it, I would recommend tracking down a copy. It was popular enough in its time that used copies are still readily available.