From Publishers Weekly
This collaboration by two masters of the genre expands on Asimov's classic short story first published in 1941. Kalgash is a planet with six suns, a world where darkness is unnatural. Scientists realize that an eclipse--an event that occurs only every 2049 years--is imminent, and that a society completely unfamiliar with darkness will be plunged into madness and chaos. The novel traces events leading to this discovery, and the fates of the main characters immediately following the apocalypse. While the premise is convincing in the context of a short story, this longer version brings up too many unresolved questions. The original tale was tightly written, succinct and stunning, but the novelization seems flabby and drawn-out--the reader recognizes the significance and consequences of the impending events long before the characters do. An abrupt and simplistic ending further mars a hallowed SF tale. 100,000 first printing. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-- Because of its six suns, the planet Kalgash is bathed in perpetual sunlight. However, once every 2,049 years all six suns are eclipsed, plunging the planet into total darkness and causing widespread madness that results in the civilization's complete destruction, thus allowing the cycle to begin again. Night fall , expanded from Asimov's 1941 award-winning short story, lets readers experience the cataclysmic event through the eyes and biases of a newspaperman, an astronomer, an archaeologist, a psychologist, and a religious fanatic. This novel improves upon the original through the use of better developed characters and an expanded, more textured story that results in an absorbing, richer tale.- John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, Fairfax, Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Science and religion form an uneasy and fractious alliance on the planet Kalgash when a group of astronomers and a cult of religious fanatics predict the inevitable coming of darkness to a world that has never known night. Based on Asimov's short story "Nightfall," this joint venture by two of sf's most revered veterans focuses less on characterization than on the exploration of the human psyche's ability to cope with the imminent destruction of civilization. Recommended.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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!

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This collaboration by two masters of the genre expands on Asimov's classic short story first published in 1941. Kalgash is a planet with six suns, a world where darkness is unnatural. Scientists realize that an eclipse--an event that occurs only every 2049 years--is imminent, and that a society completely unfamiliar with darkness will be plunged into madness and chaos. The novel traces events leading to this discovery, and the fates of the main characters immediately following the apocalypse. While the premise is convincing in the context of a short story, this longer version brings up too many unresolved questions. The original tale was tightly written, succinct and stunning, but the novelization seems flabby and drawn-out--the reader recognizes the significance and consequences of the impending events long before the characters do. An abrupt and simplistic ending further mars a hallowed SF tale. 100,000 first printing. (Nov.)

Library Journal

Science and religion form an uneasy and fractious alliance on the planet Kalgash when a group of astronomers and a cult of religious fanatics predict the inevitable coming of darkness to a world that has never known night. Based on Asimov's short story ``Nightfall,'' this joint venture by two of sf's most revered veterans focuses less on characterization than on the exploration of the human psyche's ability to cope with the imminent destruction of civilization. Recommended.

School Library Journal