When Worlds Collide

By: Edwin Balmer, Philip Wylie

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

A runaway planet hurtles toward Earth. As it draws near, massive tidal waves, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions wrack our planet, devastating continents, drowning cities, and wiping out millions. In central North America, a team of scientists race to build a spacecraft powerful enough to escape the doomed Earth. Their greatest threat, they soon discover, comes not from the skies but from other humans.

A crackling plot and sizzling, cataclysmic vision have made When Worlds Collide one of the most popular and influential end-of-the-world novels of all time.

©1932, 1933 Edwin Balmer & Philip Wylie (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Great listening,

I had read the book in high school and it was a favorite of mind. So when I saw it I got it and the book that follows still as great as it was the first time I read it!

Suspenseful

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved listening to When Worlds Collide. I saw the movie years ago and knew the book would be better. I wasn't disappointed. The book is much different than the movie and I am glad. I won't give away plot secrets because that would destroy some of the suspense. It was written in 1933, between the world wars. I hated to turn it off to do anything else and often didn't. The book starts out broad and then narrows in on specific characters and events as the story unfolds. You start rooting for certain characters right off. You want them to survive and you want them to get their hearts desire. Cole Hendron is a scientist working to build a rocket ship to save a remnant of the human race and take them to an unknown planet in hopes of finding a way to help the human race survive.
Hendron is altruistic but determined to pick the best and brightest to take with him on this journey. But first they have to find a way to build a rocket ship strong enough to make the journey through space from the Earth to the new planet. They also have to survive what devestation will come when the 2 planets heading toward Earth approach and the other people on Earth who want what they have built. The suspense carries right through to the end of the book as we wait to see if Hendron will succede in saving his remnant or if the forces confronting them will overcome all their efforts.

I definitely am recommending this book as a great read. They say the science fiction writers that went into WWII were never the same, that is those who survived it.

Read the sequell and remember the state of the world around WWI and then WWII and you will definitely see their influence. After Worlds Collide continues the story begun in When Worlds Collide and is definitely worth the time.

What does Peter Ganim bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The nuances of language that only a good reader can bring to any story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When I realized that the book had different sub-plots than the movie, I was thrilled because I knew the excitement would be greater as the story unfolded for me without me knowing what to expect next.

Dated but not bad

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not a complete waste of time in that I enjoy end of the world stories, but I had several "eye roll" moments and head shaking through out the book due to the sexism, racism and classism that were treated and presented as normal.

Would you recommend When Worlds Collide to your friends? Why or why not?

I might, if they like end of the world type books. I would warn them of the sexism, racism and classism to prepare them and then let them decide for themselves.

What about Peter Ganim’s performance did you like?

I thought Ganim did a great job, not too overly dramatic, but with enough inflection to impart emotions. He read women without the annoying nasal voice that many readers use for women.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe, if they updated the science and cut out the sexist, racist and class prejudice. Actually, they have made updated movies on this theme, and I did enjoy them.

Any additional comments?

I really found the blatant sexism, racism and classism annoying. Our main character hero, Tony, feels entitled to OWN his love interest, and thinks/talks/behaves really angry and jealous when he can't have her as he is due. Tony (and therefore our authors) describe this love interest, Eve, as possessing an intellect "as good as a man's" unlike other women. At least she had a mind and used it (at the behest and direction of her father, of course) but it was more than I expected from a book pulished so long ago. Our hero Tony also has a "Jap" servant (actually called a Jap servant) named Keto who speaks in pidgin english, brings him coffee, answers the phone, all as directed of course, and gets ordered around and is described as being unable to comprehend what is going on, relying on Tony to fill in everything for him. And, Tony, is described as having a bearing of the class, wealth and breeding of all the high class generations behind him.

I had great difficulty relating to the people and culture because of this. I had mixed feelings ranging from annoyance to distaste to anger, and kept trying to remind myself of when this book was written. But, when it wasn't written, wasn't a sufficiant excuse for me to ignore and not care about the portrayals of women and non-white people, and I'm finding it difficult to accept that other readers can just ignore it.

Cool story.

Keep in mind,this is an old book. So some of the things in it are quite dated. Over all its a cool story about the end of the world and an inventive way to save humanity.

love story nearly killed it

Is there anything you would change about this book?

remove, burn, stomp up and down upon the silly little love story.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

no. the narrator sounded a bit like scott brick. monotone and serious. but somehow not as engaging. (inasmuch as one can be engaging when speaking in a monotone)

Any additional comments?

Some very old and unfashionable attitudes come in bold face in this little adventure.
Written in 1932, the protagonist's Japanese manservant is repeatedly referred to as ''the little jap''.
At one point a great leader ''wept like a woman'' explains the narrator in a vaguely disgusted tone.
When you consider that this book is 80 years old, it's surprisingly good. The descriptions of what might be like after a close encounter with a wandering planet, are imaginative and well thought out. But I wouldn't listen a second time. If you can get it in the bargain bin, yeah, give 'er a spin.

Phenomenal.

A must read for sci-fi lovers. This is a true classic that I read in high school and decided to read again 35 years later. I received the same pure joy the second time around.

Enjoyable story even though dated.

The story was definitely influenced by the politics and culture the existed when it was written.

Great story that didn't age too well.

After a couple of WTF moments while listening I had to dial my racism/sexism/classism spectrometer down to the Racis... err.. Roaring 30's setting. Loved the story and the science seemed pretty good for what was known at the time. Reminded me of "Hot Fudge Sunday" aka Lucifer's Hammer. So if you like end of world cosmic bodies canceling out life on earth and the neat physical descriptions of what happens to our planet then this is a pretty good book. Just dial down that spectrometer...

future from the perspective of 1933

the perspective of the future from Vantage Point of 1933 is interesting. the concept of space travel 3 decades before the Apollo mission is the most interesting aspect of the book. the book reflects the morality of 1933. as an African American it is not at all surprising that a book about the end of the world and the building of an Ark travel to a new world, would not include any people of color of course it's not a shock. their concept of saving Humanity includes: white Americans, White Europeans, white Australian and sad to say white( not black) South Africans. a single Japanese male was the only non-white person allowed on the ark. the fact that the story has the annihilation of all non-white people( not only Africans but Indians, all Asians who are not part of the superior Japanese. since only a single Japanese male was aboard the ark, the implication was that he would be the last Asian person to ever exist. is inconceivable that he would find a mate amongst the white women and have a Eurasian child on the new planet. this point of view from the perspective of the Year 2022 is of course of abhorrent but it certainly is not surprising that in the Years prior to the 1970s this would have been a universal view amoxil majority of Americans. the new planet for whites only would not be an unthinkable terrible thing back in 19 60 or even 1970 or even now among certain people in America.

because if its social implications the book is worth listening to. A special word about the narrator. he did a good job with all the various accents and individuals even women that he had to portray. I give him kudos. when one reads a book aloud with multiple characters with multiple languages, the narrator must be an actor as well as just a good reader. I don't have his name in front of me now but he did a great job. I will out of curiosity listen to the sequel: after Worlds Collide, just to see how the White humans Fair on their new planet restricted to whites only. I suspect that the absence of non-white people on the new planet will scarcely be a topic of discussion that alone regret.

2012, but better

It is the year of the end, but this is far better than the movie. The sociologic anachronisms are a little camp, but the story has aged very well. If you enjoy this type of older, science fiction-adventure story, read "Space Prison" by Tom Godwin. It is available for free on Kindle. You will enjoy it.