Books › The Coming Race
The Coming Race
First published 1871 · 523 pages
A slow, eerie descent into a subterranean utopia that explores the chilling perfection of a technologically supreme society.
What it feels like
Reading this early piece of speculative fiction feels like wandering through a vast, dimly lit cavern where marvels and monsters are indistinguishable. The pace is decidedly leisurely, prioritizing intricate sociological world-building and philosophical musings over rapid-fire plot. As you descend into this subterranean utopia, the initial mood of Victorian wonder gradually curdles into a creeping, claustrophobic dread. The prose is formal and dense, meticulously detailing the customs, language, and terrifying energy source of a society that has evolved beyond human frailty—and perhaps human empathy. It is an atmospheric, thought-provoking experience that traces an arc from awe to profound alienation. This book will delight readers who savor the eerie, didactic world-building of classic hollow-earth lore and early science fiction.
- Mood
- eerie
- subterranean
- claustrophobic
- wondrous
- Tone
- philosophical
- didactic
- cautionary
- detached
- Pace
- leisurely
- Themes
- evolutionary anxiety · the limits of utopia · technological supremacy · alienation and isolation
- The writing
- Formal, dense, and meticulously descriptive, characteristic of 19th-century sociological exposition.
- The arc
- The journey shifts from wide-eyed Victorian curiosity to a creeping, existential dread regarding human obsolescence.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by early speculative fiction, hollow-earth lore, and intricate, philosophical world-building.
Content notes
- 19th-century racial ideologies
- eugenics themes
- claustrophobia
About the book
The Coming Race, an early science-fiction work, with its superman race the Vril-ya descended from the same ancestors as the great Aryan family, from which in varied streams has flowed the dominant civilization of the world spawned a occult secret society known as the Vril Society or Luminous Lodge - its philosphy and swastika symbol profoundly influenced the Nazis. Please Note: This book has been reformatted to be easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.
Description from Open Library.
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