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.

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.

This is one for the older generation.

Being a youngster of 73 this book was written a few years before I was born. I remember going to the movie theater, spending my $0.25 for the picture and becoming rapt in it. I enjoyed it so much I actually got the book and read it.

It must be remembered that this was written before the conditions that exist today but it still applies to people. Listen to it and it will bring back memories of when you were younger.

Interesting but outdated

This book, written prior to World War II, presents a quite dated look at the end of the world. A pair of runaway planets are on a collision course with earth. The world is doomed--but humanity might have a chance to survive, if the best and brightest minds in the scientific world can succeed in building a spaceship to take a few lucky pioneers to resettle on one of the approaching planets.

Without question, this book was ahead of its time in a number of respects. The description of space travel, for example, is remarkable, given that the book was written more than a decade before the earliest high-atmosphere rocket launches. Likewise, the use of atomic energy in the book predates the actual use of fission power by a number of years. The apocalyptic genre is similarly prescient; nowadays, this kind of book is everywhere, but in the 1930s, prior to the doom-and-gloom days of the Cold War, the end of the world was not something too many people were writing about.

The writing quality, narrative style, and characterizations all betray the book's age. One glaring example of this is the main character, who is horribly sexist, bordering on misogynistic, and this is portrayed as perfectly normal and acceptable. This is doubtless a fairly accurate depiction of society's view of women at the time, but it's distracting nonetheless. I found myself rolling my eyes at least once a chapter.

The almost monotonous reading does not help matters. Peter Ganim is at his best when speaking in the accented voices of scientists from South Africa and France, but most of the time his reading is less than compelling.

The story itself is pretty good, particularly the imaginative natural-disaster scenarios that play out as the planets approach earth. As "modern" society descends into chaos, only the strongest and smartest survive, and the authors did a good job of showing what that might look like.

When Worlds Collide is a worth listening to if you enjoy science fiction, particularly early science fiction. It's not exactly on a level with Ray Bradbury, but it's a good story and will hold your interest. Recommended without much enthusiasm, but recommended nevertheless.

Good story. Different from the movie.

Would you listen to When Worlds Collide again? Why?

Yes. Kinda old fashioned and real good performance.

What did you like best about this story?

Old fashioned.

Which scene was your favorite?

When they launch the rocket to kill the attackers

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes. deeply touching.

second reading

Very good story if you consider it was written in the mid-30s. This is the second time that I've listened to it. Still enjoyed it. There is a sequel called "After Worlds Collide". Also good. There is also a movie that was made from the book back in the last century.