The Night Land

A Love Tale

By: William Hope Hodgson

Narrated by: Drew Ariana

In the far future, an unnamed narrator, who along with what remains of the human race dwells uneasily in an underground fortress-city surrounded by brooding, chaotic, relentless Watching Things, Silent Ones, Hounds, Giants, "Ab-humans", Brutes, and enormous slugs and spiders, follows a telepathic distress signal into the unfathomable darkness. The Earth's surface is frozen. At some point in the distant past, overreaching scientists breached "the Barrier of Life" that separates our dimension from one populated by "monstrosities and Forces" who have sought humankind's destruction ever since. Armed only with a lightsaber-esque weapon called a Diskos, and fortified only by his sense of honor, our hero braves every sort of terror en route to rescue a woman he loves but has never met.

Public Domain (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"[Good science fiction stories] give, like certain rare dreams, sensations we never had before, and enlarge our conception of the range of possible experience.... W. H. Hodgson's The Night Land [makes the grade] in eminence from the unforgettable sombre splendour of the images it presents...." (C.S. Lewis)

"For all its flaws and idiosyncrasies, The Night Land is utterly unsurpassed, unique, astounding. A mutant vision like nothing else there has ever been." (China Miéville)

flawed but worth it.

very cool setting, love story is a little cringe at times, needed an editor but overall worth reading.

A flawed classic

Amazingly imaginative work. The narrator is very good for the difficult language and makes it flow despite itself. The misogyny of its age is very evident about three quarters of the way through the book, so be warned it is quite distasteful in some places. For those who would like to enjoy the imagination and the romance of the story without the archaic language and the misogyny, I recommend the reverent rewriting of the book: The Night Land: A Story Retold. I believe both books have their place. I read the revised book before I read this classic original and it really helped in parsing the direction and movement of the story. YMMV.

My Kingdom for an Editor

The setting is very creatiwe and interesting, but the language is extremely tedious and the majority of the story is filled with trivial and repeditive details.

"And lo, it was that I took a step with my right food. And verily, this was followed by none other than the same from my left. And it was that mine right foot took a step again. And surely, my left did so too, as was proper. And verily, then my right foot stepped forward. And thence, the left of my two feet did move to be in front of the other.

"Then I killed ten monsters.

"And it was such that after the monsters were slain, I did to set about walking again. And lo, I took me a step with my right foot..."

-only slightly paraphrased

Tough read, but rewarding

What did you like best about The Night Land? What did you like least?

Easily, this book has one of the best concepts ever written, the idea of a future world where the sun has died and humanity holds out in a giant metallic pyramid, protected by some ill-understood force from mountain sized monsters and other crepuscular beasts is fantastic. But not only is the premise imaginative the world is full of, if not realistic detail, then at least overflows with romantic, at times sentimental, creativity. My favorite creatures being the watchers and the slugs. Truly for it's imagination it is deserving of broader recognition.

However, as much as I wanted to love this novel, the style interferes too much with enjoyment by any reader, especially a modern one. The romantic sentiment helps with the adventurous spirit and tone but weighs it down in other sections - especially the whole chapter dedicated to the seemingly insane coquettish behaviors of his beloved after he rescues her from the smaller redoubt. Those that might be inclined to the story's romantic aspect will no doubt be turned off by it's historical misogyny. The affected speech is not only foreign to modern ears but would have been ill-constructed in the period it was trying to imitate. This affected English is not only distracting, but really impedes a lot of the action, much to the books detriment.

By the end of the novel the listener will hate the phrases, "in verity" and "as you can know/imagine/comprehend/grasps etc."

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Night Land?

The opening scenes in the the Night Lands, chapter 2-3, where the world of the the Night Land is set down for you. Certainly there are cool monsters and journey and vistas, seas of fire and such, but for me at least, the initial introduction was the best.

Would you be willing to try another one of Drew Ariana’s performances?

Hard to tell it was hard to listen to the whole story, the voice sounds a bit monotone, but I feel a lot of that was more the text, and that there was very little anyone could have done to liven it up. At any rate he got me through the whole book, which I could never finish on my own so that is worth something. I supposed I might give him another shot.

Could you see The Night Land being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Unknowns, these characters belong in a romantic and adventurous period that most major actors would look out of place in. Best you could maybe hope for is a Sean Bean type character but even he wouldn't really fit.

Maybe Ray Winstone?

Any additional comments?

Definitely for fans or students of weird fiction, not for the general consumption. It is a very tough read, and at time may make you drowsy, but if you can stand the monotone and try to re imagine what is at times poorly described, it becomes very impressive and rewarding.

A perfect example of audio benefits

This would have been a more challenging book to read. Written when it was and in the style it was - the language used was odd to this modern reader. Hearing it read was far more interesting and, once past a couple chapters, both understood and enjoyed.

A classic book that is oft cited as an influence on Lovecraft - this story is about a journey through a horrific future land for love.

Obviously dated - some elements might be tough for today. Especially attitudes and action between the sexes. In that regard, it’s not a very enlightened perspective of the future. The woman is still portrayed as weak, in need of protection, and generally as property to be managed - sometimes using violence.

Historical context aside, the portrait of the nightland is nightmarish and horrific. With a little imagination, listening to this book will transport you to a place you do not want to be! Yet - you want to join the protagonist in the journey once invested.

For some reason, in addition to Lovecraft - I kept thinking this read a little like a Conan novel. With an archetype hero, helpless maiden, and monsters in all directions.

Fun book to listen to. I’m glad to be safely back.