Armageddon 2419 A.D. - A Review

Armageddon 2419 A.D. and The Airlords of Han are two novellas  written by Philip Francis Nowlan and serialized in the late 1920s. Both stories were combined into one volume in the '60's under the former's title. Both books are notable because they're the origin of the Buck Rogers character (referred to in these books as Anthony Rogers).

Like all later incarnations, the story tells of a 20th-century man who wakes up nearly 500 years in the future in a post-apocalyptic United States. Quickly rising through the ranks, Rogers ends up using his long-forgotten knowledge of the past to help a gang of rebels in their fight against the oppressive Hans ('Mongolians', who after several wars, have taken over the globe). Although I'm not a huge Buck Rogers fan, it's interesting to see how the character evolved from this 'old-fashioned' sci-fi adventure tale.

Besides being the origin of Buck Rogers, these novellas are also notable for predicting several technologies that wouldn't exist for several decades, such as the bazooka, paratroopers, and unmanned drones. Other impossible technologies Nowlan invents are too outlandish to be believable, but fit the context of the story and the era it was written in. The author was also way off base in predicting real-world events after the close of World War I, and most of his science has no real basis in fact. Even so, all these elements give the books a very retro-futuristic feel (what's not to like about giant airships armed with distingrator rays?).

If you don't mind reading vintage sci-fi, I'd definitely say give these stories a shot. Both are short, and therefore, fast-paced, telling a fun adventure story in the world of tomorrow (but hopefully not in this reality...). Both stories are in the public domain here in the US, and can be downloaded for free (in several different ebook formats) from Project Gutenberg (here and here).