영어로 읽는 고전 _ 로버트 M. 윌리암스의 종말 전야
로버트 무어 윌리엄스의 "종말의 전야"는 1950년대 후반에 쓰인 과학소설입니다. 전쟁 중 파멸의 벼랑 끝에 선 세계를 배경으로, 이야기는 "새로운 사람들"로 알려진 신비한 존재들 뒤에 숨겨진 진실을 밝혀내려는 미국 정보요원 커트 젠을 따라갑니다. 플롯이 전개되면서 젠의 탐구는 그를 임박한 위험과 마주하게 하고, 전쟁의 혼돈 속에서 이 수수께끼 같은 집단의 잠재적 능력을 탐험하게 합니다. 소설의 시작에서 긴장감은 뚜렷하게 느껴지며, 커트 젠은 폭력적인 갈등의 한복판에서 생명을 구하는 기적을 행할 수 있는 특별한 존재들의 이야기에 불안해합니다. 초반 장에서 그는 핵폭발의 즉각적인 위협으로부터 자신과 네드라라는 간호사를 보호하려 시도하면서 파멸적 파괴의 공포와 씨름합니다. 그들의 상호작용은 더 깊은 층의 음모와 매력을 암시하며, 특히 커트가 네드라가 자신이 조사하고 있는 바로 그 집단에 속할지도 모른다고 의심하면서 그렇습니다. 이야기는 서스펜스로 가득하며, 젠의 임무가 전쟁으로 찢어진 세계를 배경으로 펼쳐지는 동안 그는 "새로운 사람들"의 존재가 갖는 의미와 네드라에 대한 자신의 커져가는 감정과 씨름합니다. 플롯이 가속화되면서 충성심, 정체성, 그리고 생존의 문제가 중심 무대에 서며, 독자들을 절망 속에서도 더 밝은 미래를 찾는 인간의 회복력에 대한 흥미진진한 이야기로 끌어들입니다.
Classics Read in English _ Doomsday Eve by Robert Moore Williams
Robert Moore Williams's "Doomsday Eve" is a science fiction novel written in the late 1950s. Set against a world standing on the precipice of destruction during wartime, the story follows Kurt Zen, an American intelligence officer determined to uncover the truth behind mysterious beings known as the "new people." As the plot develops, Zen's investigation leads him to confront imminent danger and explore the potential abilities of this enigmatic group amid the chaos of war. At the novel's opening, tension is palpably felt as Kurt Zen finds himself in the midst of violent conflict, disturbed by stories of extraordinary beings capable of performing life-saving miracles. In the early chapters, he grapples with the fear of catastrophic destruction while attempting to protect himself and a nurse named Nedra from the immediate threat of nuclear explosion. Their interactions hint at deeper layers of conspiracy and attraction, particularly as Kurt suspects that Nedra may belong to the very group he is investigating. The narrative is rich with suspense as Zen's mission unfolds against the backdrop of a war-torn world while he wrestles with the implications of the "new people's" existence and his growing feelings for Nedra. As the plot accelerates, questions of loyalty, identity, and survival take center stage, drawing readers into a gripping tale of human resilience and the search for a brighter future amid despair.
Among the contents
The legends clustering around the new people began before the war, while the man who started the group, old Jal Jonnor, was alive, but they received their greatest circulation during the conflict.
If the war is long and the fighting is bitter, with neither side able to achieve victory or even a substantial advantage, soldiers eventually begin to tell strange stories of sights seen when death is near, of miraculous deliveries from destruction, of impossible ships seen above the Earth, and even of non-human allies fighting on their side. Psychologists, given to believing only what they can see, feel, hear, or measure, generally have credited these stories to hallucinations resulting from long-sustained stress, or, in the case of the non-human allies, to plain, wishful thinking rising out of a deep feeling of insecurity. What psychologist was ever willing to believe that an angel suddenly took over the controls of a falling fighting plane, righting the ship and bringing it down to Earth in a crash landing that enabled the wounded pilot to crawl away, then curing the wound the pilot had sustained?
Red-Dog Jimmie Thurman swore this happened to him. He had tangled with an Asian fighter group escorting a hot, high level bomber over the north pole.
