OTHER NOVELS
And a New Earth. By : C. E. Jacomb. (Routledge. 7s. 6d. net.)—This - romance, worked out with great care and in much detail, describes a New State in which a higher social level is to,,be attained and which -by various devices is to be kept _Ode. apait- from the present day civilization. As the author -Specifically, :states that the opinions and beliefs of the hero -" correspond in. detail" with his own, it is to be presunted that he', expects 'rnote serious criticism than is generally"- 'Osier} to works of fancy. It is therefore deeply disappointing 16'0nd-that, stripped of the romantic atmosphere in which they-alre: enveloped, the two basic principles of the new Kingdom are slavery, so far-- as its internal affairs are concerned, and terror—inflicted by super-bombs and other murderous devices—on any World Power which attempts to interfere with the splendid isolation of the Island. The coming of the Second Flood in which the old Kingdoms of the earth are 'destroyed gives' the autho6; island a maximum of isolation, but the internal problem of what he calls the " coolie "• race remains unsolved and as far as this volume is concerned unelaborated. ' If, however, the book may be regarded as pure romance, not as an attempted solution Of ethical problems, it may be recommended as 'a most ingenious and entertaining story. From the point Of view of human interest it might be more successful if a few characters were introduced in detail. But the story is purely impersonal and only one individuality is developed, that of the narrator.
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