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Daniel Saunders's avatar

I find this speculation interesting, even though I'm coming from a different place ethically and metaphysically. Possibly I can compartmentalise. But I enjoyed The Time Machine and Last and First Men. I probably have the late nineteenth century "Victorian pessimism" outlook that The Time Traveller displays; at any rate, I think a lot about London (where I've lived almost all my life) as a future ruin, broken-down and covered in vegetation.

Elana Gomel's avatar

You probably know “After London” by Richard Jeffries. That’s exactly it: the melancholy and beauty of an abandoned city.

Daniel Saunders's avatar

I have heard of it, but I haven't read it. I suspect the impetus for me comes more from the original Doctor Who's The Dalek Invasion of Earth which used guerrilla filming in the early hours of the morning to achieve an impressive abandoned London look on a very low budget.

Terry Nation, who wrote The Dalek Invasion... may well have read After London. He had certainly read The Time Machine, which was part of the inspiration for the first Dalek story the previous year.

George Shay's avatar

Methinks we might be better off if we stick to that good old time religion.

Elana Gomel's avatar

Depends what religion. I would rather not live in a world dominated by fundamentalist Islam.

George Shay's avatar

That's not an old time religion; it's a relative newcomer.