The Coming Race ( A novel by Edward Bulwer - Lytton)

Original cover of 1871 edition

               
             
About the book :

The coming race is a novel written by Sir Edward Bulwer- Lytton in 1871. It was reprinted as " vril, the power of the coming race  ". Among its readers have been some who say that the account to the  existence of a superior subterranean master race and the very powerful energy Vril, is accurate to some extent. All the same, the whole story has been accepted based on occult truth. Considering the fact that it's his very first sci-fi novel, it was taken very seriously  by the lovers of Atlantis. The plot of the book has also been recycled for various sci-fi movies and various crank theories.

Review:

Have you ever considered the fact that there could be the existence of life below the Earth's surface? Well, according to Bulwer, there is not just life but innumerable races, well organized like ourselves, even more civilized. Be well aware that  the  street is like electricity, anything can shock you. The coming race is going to be more like a shocker. It tells a supposed  true life story of a young wealthy traveller  who descended into a cage for a mining business and found himself in an entirely new world. The young traveller takes his time to study and observe all the characteristics of the various races and with the help of Aph-Lin (his host ) and Zee( his host's daughter), he is able to acquire an adept knowledge of everything, spanning from their origin, language, philosophy, politics, science, literature, art, religion and morals.

Tish, as is referred to him by this new set of people, takes account of everything necessary and this helps to make his stay in the subterranean world very adventurous. He is introduced to vril, a very powerful source of energy which can be compared to our earthly sun and also serves as the core foundation of knowledge and civilization to them. What amazes me the most about this underworld nation is their ability to perform electro-biological experiments which involves the art of controlling humans and machines by mere touch.  Another wonderful thing is their wings, at first I mistook them for Angel like creatures, but as I read further, it was made obvious that the wings are worn and with the help of vril, they are able to fly effortlessly  like Angels.

I find the idea of a lady wooing a man and the man acting coyly as is expected of a lady a bit outrageous, but all the same hilarious. This underworld race practice feminism to a very raw extreme by placing the women above the men in almost every aspect. This sense of superiority make the women too forward and rather unethical.  Zee proves this when she openly professes her affection for Tish right in the presence of her father.

Finally, I couldn't help but feel a certain kind of sadness at the end of the story. Obviously, Tish would have been much happier if he had accepted Zee's love and stayed back. Well, I think the whole idea of the novel is to warn us about the danger of a much more superior and intelligent race than ours below the earth's surface and that our upper world might be put in jeopardy if ever they should ascend upwards. Sci-fi lovers would find this very interesting.

Rating;  3.0 / 5