Nightfall
by Isaac Asimov · first published 1969
50% recommend47% neutral3% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short 1941 sci-fi story about a world with six suns where night comes once in two thousand years. Admired for its ideas on religion and mass hysteria and its chilling payoff; a good entry point to Asimov.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
These two renowned writers have invented a world not unlike our own--a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the stubborn denial of scientists. Only a handful of people on the planet Lagash are prepared to face the truth--that their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in 2,000 years, signaling the end of civilization!
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> You should read Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. It's a short story about a planet that has four suns so it is always daytime, except for one night every thousand years. >> If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years,…
on “Apparent size of Andromeda galaxy compared to the Moon” ↗Nightfall, as mentioned at the end of the piece, is a great little early Asimov story - a culture to whom candles are alien and the idea of artificial light is bizarre. Thoroughly recommend. In fact, here it is:…
on “Alien life could thrive in ancient star clusters” ↗…exceptionally good. Asimov was a fine writer, but this story was his crowning achievement in short fiction and he knew it too. You can read his other things and none of them will give the same feeling. Nightfall is a decent story though. But yeah, The Last Question is in a league of its own. It's one of my favorite short stories ever along with The Library of Babel by Borges, The Great Automatic Grammatizator…
on “The Last Question” ↗I'm going to put my vote in for an old one Nightfall by Asimov and Silverberg. http://smile.amazon.com/Nightfall-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0553290991...
on “Sci-Fi Novels You Should Read” ↗…Highly Recommended: Cosmos - !!! The Measure of Reality - How quantification has completely changed the face of society. Very interesting stuff. This has probably been my favourite read this year. Nightfall - Interesting ideas of the role of religion in society and mass hysteria Speaker for the Dead - Really fascinating book. I love sci-fi where there is an alien species that humans have trouble understanding…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗…poster for submitting this. I'm just now reading the last of the Culture Series[0] by Ian Banks (not included in the list, and for good reason) and will be looking for something new soon. I didn't see Nightfall[1] in the list (although I just skimmed, so it may be there), which (indirectly) addresses orbital dynamics in a system with multiple stars. Perhaps it should be included? [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series…
on “Science Fiction Stories with Good Astronomy and Physics: A Topical Index” ↗That was an excellent read. Kind of a reverse of the short story "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov.
on “There Are Only Four Billion Floats, So Test Them All (2014)” ↗For a VERY different take on this concept, do yourself a huge favour and read “Nightfall” by Isaac Asimov. Just thinking about it sends shivers up my spine.
on “Hubble Sees Possible Runaway Black Hole Creating a Trail of Stars” ↗This is uncannily reminiscent of Asimov’s Nightfall – a real gem if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading this short story before! http://www.whitehole.net/storyPages/files/misc/Nightfall.pdf
on “Ancient Culture Torched Its Own Homes Every 60 Years” ↗In addition to the other comments, "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov also covers a similar topic, especially in the full-length novel (though I prefer the short story).
on “Is the Sun Conscious? (2021) [pdf]” ↗Odd that this is Asimov's favorite - it seems so inferior to Nightfall, or The Dead Past, or probably some others that I am forgetting.
on “The Last Question” ↗'nightfall' is also very good, both the short and novel version. It may have influenced Vernor Vinge's Deepness in the Sky portrayel of the civilization of the intelligent spider creatures who hibernate through…
on “The Last Question by Isaac Asimov (1956)” ↗If you haven't, please read Asimov's short story "Nightfall". Your comment was made for it. http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/fwalter/AST389/TEXTS/Nightfall.h...
on “You Can See the Milky Way” ↗When I put together a list of the "best" SF shorts a while back by author, this was my choice for Asimov. (IMO I can make an argument for "Nightfall" but that's a novella and other things being equal I was prioritizing shorter works.) That said, Asimov has a lot of good short stories including quite a few of his robot stories.
on “The Last Question” ↗Seconded. It's excellent. And if you liked that one make sure you don't miss 'Nightfall', either as a short or the novel.
on “A List of Isaac Asimov's Books” ↗