War with the Newts (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Karel Capek
- First Published: 1936
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction—future war
- Time of Work: The 1930’s
- Setting: West of Sumatra, Czechoslovakia, and other locations on Earth
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: Slavery or slaves, Revolutions, Future, 1930’s, Asia or Asians, War, Sea or seafaring life, Czechoslovakia or Czechoslovakians, Pearls, Reptiles
- Locales: Earth, Czechoslovakia
The Plot
The plot of War with the Newts is comparatively simple. What makes the book provocative and memorable are its multiple satiric targets and wealth of satiric detail. The story opens with J. van Toch, a crusty, disenchanted sea captain, a parody of a character out of a Joseph Conrad sea story, who is looking for pearls somewhere west of Sumatra. The Ceylonese pearl fisheries have been depleted, so he has to find new ones. When he learns that terrified Bataks will not dive at Devil Bay, he investigates and discovers that the supposed sea devils there are actually...
[The entire page is 898 words long]
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