description: Generally considered to be "the earliest of the modern Dystopian," it chronicles the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. It is arguably the novel in which Jack London's socialist views are most explicitly on display. A forerunner of soft science fiction novels and stories of the 1960s and 1970s, the book stresses future changes in society and politics while paying much less attention to technological changes.Table ofMY EAGLECHALLENGESJOHNSON'S ARMSLAVES OF THE MACHINETHE PHILOMATHSADUMBRATIONSTHE BISHOP'S VISIONTHE MACHINE BREAKERSTHE MATHEMATICS OF A DREAMTHE VORTEXTHE GREAT ADVENTURETHE BISHOPTHE GENERAL STRIKETHE BEGINNING OF THE ENDLAST DAYSTHE ENDTHE SCARLET LIVERYIN THE SHADOW OF SONOMATRANSFORMATIONTHE LAST OLIGARCHTHE ROARING ABYSMAL BEASTTHE CHICAGO COMMUNETHE PEOPLE OF THE ABYSSNIGHTMARETHE TERRORISTS' to 'Set in the future, "The Iron Heel" describes a world in which the division between the classes has deepened, creating a powerful Oligarchy that retains control through terror. A manuscript by rebel Avis Everhard is recovered in an even more distant future, and analyzed by scholar Anthony Meredith. Published in 1908, Jack London's multi-layered narrative is an early example of the dystopian novel, and its vision of the future proved to be eerily prescient of the violence and fascism that marked the initial half of the 20th century.
language: English
title: The Iron Heel
titlecomplete: The Iron Heel
characters: Ngurn, Avis Everhard, Ernest Everhard, Anthony Meredith, Bassett, Balatta
genres: Fiction, 20th Century, Speculative Fiction, Classics, Politics, Science Fiction, Dystopia, American, Literature, Novels
ratings_count: 10496
places: San Francisco, California, The United States of America
awards: awardedAt: 504950400000
name: Prometheus Hall of Fame Award
category: Best Classic Libertarian SF Novel
publisher: BookSurge Classics