Just Finished Reading Henry Kuttner's Clash by Night

The novella Clash by Night is widely considered a classic story in mid-twentieth century science fiction.  Published in March of 1943 (a significant year, considering its content) and written by established sci-fi/horror/fantasy writer Henry Kuttner, it takes an imaginative look deep into the future at human life on the planet Venus.  No, back in the '40s we didn't yet know that Venus was an unihabitable planet of sulphuric acid, extreme heat, supervolcano eruptions, and a runaway greenhouse effect.  Instead, Kuttner envisioned it as did many in his time: covered largely like Earth with oceans, with the land being impenetrable masses of dense jungle with extraordinarily hostile native life forms.  In Clash by Night, humanity lives in communities called "keeps", under large domes on the sea floor.  Each keep represents something like a city-state, and they are constantly at war with the other keeps on the planet for resources and power.  To this end they employ mercenary navies to fight their battles while the civilians under the domes maintain their own safety and continuity of civilization.  Brian Scott, the story's protagonist, is an officer in one of these mercenary groups and is currently employed by the Montana Keep.  There is an impending attack from another navy representing a different keep, and Scott must prepare for it.  One big rule that everyone follows: no atomic weaponry is allowed, something that is universally understood.  For, you see, in Earth's past its leaders destroyed the home planet through atomic warfare.  Uh-h-h, wait a minute, now...

Remember how I said that Clash by Night was published in 1943?  Well, during that time we were in the middle of World War II (which might explain this big war story of Kuttner's).  America's Manhattan Project to develop an atomic bomb was top-secret, but our author not only foresaw its successful development, but he also went down the logical path of inferring nuclear holocaust as a result...despite the fact that the first A-bomb would not even be successfully built and exploded for more than two years in the future.  Amazing...

As you might guess from the story's title and what I've written so far about it, Clash by Night ultimately concerns itself with a climactic military battle.  But the story is more than who wins and who loses.  It explores the vast gulf between being a soldier...especially during a war...and being a civilian: two very disparate kinds of life and worldview.  Scott is continually in a state of inner conflict about how he defines himself and how he should spend his future.  Wow, that sounds like what a lot of folks are going through nowadays...