The Torch tells the story of Fortune, who starts the book as a Petty-Captain in the army of the Towerman and then follows his trials, tribulations and machinations as a revolution of the Folk (the downtrodden masses of the story) is fomented around him.

I don't know if I reacted harshly to this book due to the fact that it's quite old, or just to the fact that it's quite poorly written. I'm vaguely prepared to provide the benefit of the doubt as possibly the book was written for the "Young Adult" market (although young people don't really need sub-par writing, perhaps just not quite as much of a demand on their prolonged attention). I don't think it's the age of the book, I've read enough titles from around the same period (1920) to know that there are plenty of well written books although you do need to turn a blind eye to the blatant sexism. Having said that, it is a little hard as the characters are all archetypal stereotypes and the women use their feminine wiles, never being able to amount to more than a controlling figure behind a powerful man. There are a few more choices for the men but, again, they're very stereotypical. Every action or plot device is telegraphed well in advance, there are certainly no surprises here.

Perhaps this is an example of the roots of the modern sci-fi/fantasy genres but I don't think that I would recommend that anyone read it for that reason alone, and I can't think of anything else particularly commendable about it.

For science fiction / fantasy written nearly 100 years ago, I was surprised by how enjoyable this story was. It was written before the modern divisions of fantasy from science fiction were even thought of and as such it straddles the lines between fantasy and science fiction. The ending was a little predictable but only because so many later stories have borrowed from it. Oddly, I keep finding myself coming back to the ending of A Tale of Two Cities whenever I think about the ending of this book. It was nowhere near as poignant (what is?), but it had, well, I suppose some of the same flavor.

At any rate: recommended. It's a quick read and it's an interesting look at the history of the genre.

Ok, I will first say that I love the idea behind Singularity&Co (saving out-of-print scifi books). But I think there had to be better choices than this. I overlook a lot of sexism in scifi and it usually doesn't even bother me, to be honest, but this was way over the top (for example, the hero is drawn back to visit a beautiful woman he saw once, and I thought that meant maybe he would try to woo her. But instead he doesn't even talk to her, he just puts his hand over her mouth and tries to drag her away? Also Alda and her weird "womanly" jealousy. Also, Kinst's woman who is so ugly they can't believe he likes her. Also, any scene involving any woman.) I may have forgiven it if I liked the book, but I didn't.

On the plus side, the blending of scifi and fantasy was cool, especially for 1920.

I hope the other S&Co choices are better!

I was all prepared to give this book two stars, as I was put off by the incredible, undeniable sexism and the general assumption that everyone who survived the nuclear holocaust (in New York City in, let me see here, 1989) was white. But then, in one of the final scenes, it hit me like a flash. I saw it laid out perfectly before me-- this story was meant to be an art deco graphic novel.

From that point on, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, reveling in my imaginary graphic novel-- the Tintin-esque lurid colors of New York's jungle or the clean lines of the Chrystler building ruined and made jagged.

Basically, if you want something that's a little bit like Game of Thrones and a little bit like The Road and a little bit like Rise of the Molemen (Revenge of the Sewers)* and a lot like a Tin-Tin comic (and, let's be real, all the cultural bias that entails), this book is for you!

Also, I love Singularity&Co's organizational vision and I am prepared to give them a lot of the benefit of the doubt on this book and future ventures.

*This book does not exist. Yet.