The Long Loud Silence
Encyclopedia
The Long Loud Silence is a science fiction
novel written by Wilson A. Tucker
. It was first published in hardback edition by Rinehart & Co.
in 1952, followed by Dell
paperback editions in 1952 and 1954.
The story takes place following a nuclear holocaust
which wipes out every major city east of the Mississippi and leaves the survivors permanently infected with plague
. To prevent the plague from spreading, the army sets up a cordon sanitaire
along the Mississippi. The story follows one survivor, Russell Gary, as he attempts to get back across the river.
s of the disease, the entire eastern third of the country has been quarantined.
Gary is nevertheless determined to cross over. He joins up with a former school teacher, Jay Oliver; they make camp in the hills outside an intact bridge in Kentucky, waiting for the army to allow people across. A woman joins them, trading food for sex. After realizing that the quarantine is permanent, the three decide to go to Florida for the winter where they find a fisherman's cabin on the Gulf coast. After a few months the woman becomes pregnant and expresses her preference for Oliver; Gary decides to leave.
The following winter he finds himself near the Canadian border. He awakes one night in an abandoned car and sees a young girl running toward him, pursued by men with guns. Gary shoots the men and saves the girl, who tells him that the men have killed her brother. She leads Gary back to the scene of the murder; he discovers that the body has been partially dismembered and concludes that the men were cannibals. He takes the girl to her home, a farmhouse where both mother and father are still alive. Out of gratitude, the father offers to provide lodging if Gary will guard the farm. Gary agrees and spends the winter there.
The following spring he sets off toward Washington DC, hoping to find remnants of the government. While passing through Ohio he chances upon a convoy of army trucks under attack. He joins the attack and saves the convoy. The commanding officer thanks him, but makes it clear that he can not join them; they have come from the west, with orders to deliver gold from Fort Knox, and have not been exposed to the virus. Gary offers to fix a tire, but does so in such a way that it slowly loses air; he catches up with the convoy and through a combination of stealth and boldness, kills most of the men and takes one of the trucks. He drives to the bridge on the Mississippi where the men had been planning to cross over. Masquerading as one of them, he is allowed to cross. From there he escapes into the country side; he is labeled an "enemy agent" and a man hunt is initiated but he evades capture. However, everyone he comes in close contact with succumbs to the plague. He finally realizes that he has no future in the west and returns over the river, to survive for a number of years until he encounters the girl he had met in Illinois.
wrote that The Long Loud Silence is
In his "Books" column for F&SF, he selected Tucker's novel as one of the 10 best sf books of the 1950s.
Boucher
and McComas
praised Tucker's writing for its "strikingly effective simplicity."
Cyril M. Kornbluth
also praised the novel, writing that it was "a book of social criticism which might have had the effect of an Uncle Tom's Cabin or Upton Sinclair's The Jungle". He suggested that the novel was overlooked because publishers chose to market it as science fiction rather than as mainstream fiction.
Groff Conklin
, although describing the novel as "easily readable," faulted its lack of "imaginative richness" when compared to similar stories.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel written by Wilson A. Tucker
Wilson Tucker
Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote professionally as Wilson Tucker....
. It was first published in hardback edition by Rinehart & Co.
Rinehart & Company
Rinehart & Company, an American publishing company, was the successor to Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. In 1946, following the departure of John C. Farrar, the company was renamed Rinehart & Company. The brothers Stanley M. Rinehart and Frederick R. Rinehart continued to operate the company until its...
in 1952, followed by Dell
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing, an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte, Jr.During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Dell was one of the largest publishers of magazines, including pulp magazines. Their line of humor magazines included 1000 Jokes, launched in...
paperback editions in 1952 and 1954.
The story takes place following a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
which wipes out every major city east of the Mississippi and leaves the survivors permanently infected with plague
Pneumonic plague
Pneumonic plague, a severe type of lung infection, is one of three main forms of plague, all of which are caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. It is more virulent and rare than bubonic plague...
. To prevent the plague from spreading, the army sets up a cordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire
Cordon sanitaire — or quarantine line — is a French phrase that, literally translated, means "sanitary cordon". Though in French it originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of disease, it has often been used in English in a metaphorical sense to refer to attempts to prevent the...
along the Mississippi. The story follows one survivor, Russell Gary, as he attempts to get back across the river.
Synopsis
Gary, an army corporal, wakes up in a hotel room in Illinois following a drunken binge. He discovers that the town is deserted except for a handful of corpses and comes to the realization that the country has been subjected to an attack. He discovers one other survivor, a girl of 19. They take a car and, after filling it with supplies, drive toward Chicago, which they find to be in flames. They drive west, only to discover that almost all bridges over the Mississippi have been disabled; the one remaining bridge is guarded by army troops on the western side, who shoot anyone attempting to cross over. The girl abandons him; as he travels further, Gary learns that the nuclear attack was combined with bacteriological warfare which infected the entire population with pneumonic plague. Only those rare individuals with natural resistance have survived, but since they are carrierDisease carrier
Disease carrier could refer to:* Asymptomatic carrier, a person or organism infected with an infectious disease agent, but displaying no symptoms* Genetic carrier, a person or organism that has inherited a genetic trait or mutation, but displaying no symptoms...
s of the disease, the entire eastern third of the country has been quarantined.
Gary is nevertheless determined to cross over. He joins up with a former school teacher, Jay Oliver; they make camp in the hills outside an intact bridge in Kentucky, waiting for the army to allow people across. A woman joins them, trading food for sex. After realizing that the quarantine is permanent, the three decide to go to Florida for the winter where they find a fisherman's cabin on the Gulf coast. After a few months the woman becomes pregnant and expresses her preference for Oliver; Gary decides to leave.
The following winter he finds himself near the Canadian border. He awakes one night in an abandoned car and sees a young girl running toward him, pursued by men with guns. Gary shoots the men and saves the girl, who tells him that the men have killed her brother. She leads Gary back to the scene of the murder; he discovers that the body has been partially dismembered and concludes that the men were cannibals. He takes the girl to her home, a farmhouse where both mother and father are still alive. Out of gratitude, the father offers to provide lodging if Gary will guard the farm. Gary agrees and spends the winter there.
The following spring he sets off toward Washington DC, hoping to find remnants of the government. While passing through Ohio he chances upon a convoy of army trucks under attack. He joins the attack and saves the convoy. The commanding officer thanks him, but makes it clear that he can not join them; they have come from the west, with orders to deliver gold from Fort Knox, and have not been exposed to the virus. Gary offers to fix a tire, but does so in such a way that it slowly loses air; he catches up with the convoy and through a combination of stealth and boldness, kills most of the men and takes one of the trucks. He drives to the bridge on the Mississippi where the men had been planning to cross over. Masquerading as one of them, he is allowed to cross. From there he escapes into the country side; he is labeled an "enemy agent" and a man hunt is initiated but he evades capture. However, everyone he comes in close contact with succumbs to the plague. He finally realizes that he has no future in the west and returns over the river, to survive for a number of years until he encounters the girl he had met in Illinois.
Critical reception
Damon KnightDamon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
wrote that The Long Loud Silence is
a phenomenally good book ... The plotting is close-knit without being contrived; the style is compact and eloquent; the characters, in Faulkner's words, "stand up on their hind legs and cast a shadow." ... The book is honest, courageous, deeply felt.
In his "Books" column for F&SF, he selected Tucker's novel as one of the 10 best sf books of the 1950s.
Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
and McComas
J. Francis McComas
Jesse Francis McComas was an American science fiction editor. McComas wrote several stories on his own in the 1950s using both his own name and the pseudonym Webb Marlowe....
praised Tucker's writing for its "strikingly effective simplicity."
Cyril M. Kornbluth
Cyril M. Kornbluth
Cyril M. Kornbluth was an American science fiction author and a notable member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, Walter C. Davies, Simon Eisner and Jordan Park...
also praised the novel, writing that it was "a book of social criticism which might have had the effect of an Uncle Tom's Cabin or Upton Sinclair's The Jungle". He suggested that the novel was overlooked because publishers chose to market it as science fiction rather than as mainstream fiction.
Groff Conklin
Groff Conklin
Edward Groff Conklin was a leading science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories , wrote books on home improvement and was a freelance writer on scientific subjects as well as a published poet...
, although describing the novel as "easily readable," faulted its lack of "imaginative richness" when compared to similar stories.