Nightfall

Nightfall, published in 1990, is an apocalyptic novel by American science fiction authors Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. The novel is an expansion of Asimov’s short story of the same title, which he wrote and published in 1941 in an issue of Astounding Science Fiction. The magazine’s editor, John W. Campbell, encouraged Asimov to write a story about the mass psychology of people who see the stars only once every 1,000 years, alluding to a quote by the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. The story was immensely popular and became a calling card for Asimov’s early writing career.

Nightfall—like the short story of the same title—concerns a planet whose inhabitants are unaware of the universe beyond their six neighboring suns, which cast sunlight on the planet at all times of the day. As an eclipse settles over the planet, the local astronomers ponder the ways the darkness will affect their people psychologically, sparking fears of societal collapse and widespread destruction. The novel goes on to show the aftermath of such a collapse, inviting questions about science and its relationship with faith, public psychology, and the impact of human disasters.

This study guide refers to the hardcover first edition of the novel, published in 1990 by Doubleday.