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All Judgment Fled
by James White
Winner of the 1979 Europa Prize
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| "Six Earthmen board a huge alien spacecraft
passing through the Solar System. They must decide which
of its multi-alien crew/passengers are sentient enough for
meaningful communication. '. . .develops remorselessly
and with an authenticity of detail that seems to belie the
fictional basis' (Books and Bookmen).
For the ending alone, it knocks Rendezvous with
Rama into a cocked space helmet." |
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| "The Old Earth titles are reprints of two
of White's best non-Sector General novels. The
Watch Below was a Hugo nominee. It's about a group
of people who survive underwater in a 'generation ship,' a
tanker sunk in World War II. They turn out to have a
lot in common with aliens coming to colonize the Earth's oceans.
It's a gripping read, and, rather remarkably, the reader's
credulity is not overly strained. All Judgment Fled
is blurbed, like Watch, 'a novel of first contact.'
It's a solid, less flamboyant version of the Rendezvous
with Rama scenario, written first, in 1968. Back
in the old days, these would be the sort of books Ballantine
or Ace would keep in print indefinitely. Those days
are gone. Be grateful to Old Earth Books for doing what
they can." |
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— Darrell Schweitzer
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| "Then there's All Judgment Fled, my personal favorite.
I never knew quite how to describe it until Rendezvous
with Rama came out and won the 1974 Hugo. Now I just
tell people that if they want to read Rama done right
(sorry, Arthur), pick up All Judgment Fled. "Like Rama,
this one has a mysterious space vehicle approaching the Earth,
and, like Rama, a human crew goes out to investigate
it. "But unlike Rama, the solution to the multitude
of frustrating puzzles is logical and satisfying - and you
don't have to hunt up the sequel(s) to find out what it is." |
| – Mike Resnick, The
White Papers |
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The OEB text is shot from a copy of the first UK hardcover
(Rapp & Whiting, London, 1968). Cover art is by Baltimore based
book designer Julie Buris.
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The Watch Below
by James White
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| "The setting for this story is a W.W.II tanker
which is sunk, but which finds zero buoyancy below the surface
due to a trapped air pocket, where a few have survived.
At the same time an Alien race heads for Earth, where
they become unlikely saviours. This book is considered
by many be James's finest work" |
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| "The Watch Below? Fabulous story. In
fact, two fabulous stories that dovetail beautifully by
the end of the book." |
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The OEB text is shot from a copy of the first UK hardcover
(Whiting & Wheaton, London, 1966). Cover art is by Baltimore
based book designer Julie Buris.
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