A Town Is Drowning

INTRODUCTIONFrederik Pohl (1919-2013) and C.M. Kornbluth (1920-1958) need no introduction to longtime science fiction readers. Separately, they were two of the greatest writers of their generation, authors of countless classics (both in short form and novel length). But when they collaborated—as they often did—they work reached new heights. They published 5 science fiction novels together: The Space Merchants (1953) Search the Sky (1954) Gladiator at Law (1955) Not This August (1955—a posthumous revision) Wolfbane (1957) In addition to these, they published 3 mainstream novels: A Town Is Drowning (1955) Presidential Year (1956) Sorority House (1956) One can’t discount their short stories, too, which were numerous. Complete lists can be found online at the Internet Science Fiction Database, for those who wish to track them down. I ws fortunate enough to meet and speak to Fred Pohl at a number of science fiction conventions in the 1980s. He was already an elder giant of the field, full of publishing stories and still fascinated with the future. (His blog, thewaythefutureblogs.com, appears to be down now, but it’s archived online at the Wayback Machine—hosted at archive.org—and also well worth reading.) * * * * I wasn’t aware of A Town in Drowning until recently, and it’s a solid disaster novel, written in the Pohl & Kornbluth fast-paced style. Although not really science fiction (unless you count climate change as science fiction), it’s a strong addition to their body of work, enjoyable for all who read the “disaster novel” genre, or just want to watch two masters trying to break into the ranks of national best-sellerdom. Pohl revised many of their collaborative novels later in life, but never made it to this one. So the text of A Town Is Drowning is exactly as it originally appeared from Ballantine Books in 1955. Enjoy! —John Betancourt Cabin John, Maryland