From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	Literature Portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Novels, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to narrative novels, novellas, novelettes and short stories on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit one of the articles mentioned below, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and contribute to the general Project discussion to talk over new ideas and suggestions.
Start	This article has been rated as Start-Class.
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the importance scale.
Assessment comments This article has been rated for quality and/or importance but has no comments yet. If appropriate, please review the article and then leave comments here to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article and what work it will need.

[edit] Loose Ends

• What happens to China in the end? I would guess that the whole country is under fallout, but I wouldn't know that for a fact. 68.189.69.252 19:29, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

• • The nuclear attack on China was used tactically against the Army guarding China's border. The Russians never completed the invasion because of the subsequent events (China launching against Russia, Russia launching against the U.S.) Harry's next book talks about China and an invasion of it, but I don't know it it's a direct sequel to Arc Light. PeregrineV 18:07, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Techno-thriller turned alternative history?

This book was about a drastic change in human society, in the future, caused by application of scientific discoveries, and thus arguably was science fiction when it was published. Traditionally, most nuclear-war-and-aftermath novels are deemed science fiction, even though the publishing industry chooses not to market them that way.

Since the future depicted in this book did not take place, I believe the persons who tagged it as alternative history argue that it has become an alternative history, like all its kindred before it, from Hackett's The Third World War: August 1985 to Earth Abides. --Orange Mike 18:43, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

In general I agree with Clute's take on techno-thriller vs. really speculative fiction, but I suppose if society-changing results of nuclear war are shown in enough detail (haven't read the book), it does cross the border of SF; feel free to add the tag/category.

However it takes place 5 years in the future from the time it was published; that the year has come and go doesn't make it AH any more than Clarke's 2001. --Malyctenar 18:44, 13 January 2007 (UTC)