The End of Eternity

Name: The End of Eternity
ISBN: 9787539957173

Isaac AsimovJiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House2014

4.5

Chapters: 18
Series: Duku Foreign Fiction Library: Isaac Asimov
ISBN: 9787539957173

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Summary

The story is set in the distant future of humanity. In the 24th century, humanity invents the "Temporal Field"; by the 27th century, people have mastered time travel and established a vast organization called "Eternity." Eternity operates century by century, working silently behind every era, correcting historical deviations through countless small adjustments and nipping disasters in the bud, thereby securing lasting peace for humanity. Andrew Harlan was born in the 95th century and is a "Technician" within Eternity, a member of the elite class of humanity's future society. His duty is to operate the time kettle, shuttling through the various eras to carry out observation and adjustment tasks, safeguarding the future order of hundreds of millions of humans as he understands it. During one mission, Harlan meets a woman who captivates him. This sudden love makes him question for the first time the system he has always served, and forces him to reexamine the meaning of Eternity's existence. Meanwhile, a quietly forming causal chain is tightening, the seemingly absolutely safe future faces the threat of termination, and humanity's last hope falls upon the final time mission Harlan must carry out. With rigorously logical world-building, the novel explores the tensions between free will and destiny, safety and risk, individual emotion and collective order, and is one of the works Asimov himself repeatedly named as his favorite.

Editor's review

阿西莫夫一生著作近五百种，以“基地”与“机器人”系列享有盛名，但他本人多次表示，《永恒的终结》才是自己最满意的作品。这部1955年问世的长篇，把时间旅行从单纯的奇观变成一套自洽的运作制度：永恒时空按世纪微调历史，用“消除灾难”换取人类的安全。全书最大的魅力，在于它并不止步于技术想象，而是把“要不要一个没有风险、也没有突破的未来”这个命题推到了读者面前。此次中文版由崔正男翻译，是这部作品首次以完整全译本的形态引进简体中文世界，译文清晰利落，专业术语与时空层级关系交代得有条不紊。江苏凤凰文艺出版社采用平装小32开，篇幅约255页，读起来轻便，但情节的推进层层收网，末章的回转常让读者重新检视前面所有细节。对初读科幻的读者，它像一扇低门槛的门；对老读者，它又经得起反复推敲。豆瓣长期9分以上的评价，也说明这本书在中文读者中经受住了时间的检验。

Who it's for

A good fit for

喜欢时间旅行、因果悖论题材的科幻读者
想了解阿西莫夫非“基地”系作品的读者
希望从一部长篇进入经典科幻的入门读者
喜欢在故事之后继续思考自由意志与宿命题的读者

Not a good fit for

偏好硬科幻技术细节、要求大量科学设定推演的读者
期待快节奏动作场面与激烈冲突的读者
不喜欢围绕组织制度与规则展开叙事的读者

Reading tips

开头几章要注意“永恒时空”的等级与职能划分，记住时空技师、观测师、计算师的分工，后文会反复用到。
读到中途可以停下来想一想：如果历史上所有灾难都被抹去，人类会失去什么。带着这个问题读结局会更有意思。
读完后不妨回头翻第一章与最后一章对照，因果链的闭合往往藏在最初被忽略的细节里。
若对阿西莫夫感兴趣，可接着读“基地”系列或机器人短篇，体会他不同宇宙设定之间的呼应。

About the publisher

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.

Chapter 1 The Technician
Chapter 2 The Observer
Chapter 3 The Novice
Chapter 4 The Computer
Chapter 5 The Citizen
Chapter 6 The Life-Planner
Chapter 7 The Beginning of the Crime
Chapter 8 The Crime
Chapter 9 Interlude
Chapter 10 Trapped
Chapter 11 The Complete Causal Chain
Chapter 12 The Opening of Eternity
Chapter 13 The Era Before the Beginning
Chapter 14 The Crime of the Past
Chapter 15 The Search of the Primitive Era
Chapter 16 The Hidden Century
Chapter 17 The Closing of the Causal Chain
Chapter 18 The Opening of Infinity

FAQ

这本书是阿西莫夫的“基地”系列吗？

不是。《永恒的终结》是一部独立长篇，与“基地”系列和机器人系列没有情节上的直接延续关系，但同属阿西莫夫对未来人类命运的宏观设想，可以单独阅读。

这个中文版是完整全译本吗？

是。江苏凤凰文艺出版社2014年版由崔正男翻译，出版时被宣传为该书问世近六十年来首个中文全译本，收录全书十八章。

没读过科幻，能看懂吗？

可以。小说设定集中，主要概念在开篇几章就会交代清楚，叙事以人物行动驱动，不依赖前置的科幻知识，适合作为科幻入门读物。

这本书适合多大年龄的读者？

文字难度不高，中学生即可阅读；不过涉及制度伦理与命运选择等抽象命题，成年读者往往体会更深，亲子共读也是不错的选择。

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About the author

Isaac Asimov Author · American · 1920–1992

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) was a Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry, and one of the representative figures of the Golden Age of science fiction. Born in Petrovichi, Russia, he moved to the United States with his parents at the age of three. He earned a doctorate in chemistry from Columbia University and later taught at Boston University. His writing centered on science fiction, with representative works including the Foundation series and the Robot series; he also proposed the far-reaching "Three Laws of Robotics." Over his lifetime he wrote nearly five hundred books, covering science fiction, popular science, and other fields. This site holds three of his works, including The Complete Short Stories of Isaac Asimov (4 volumes), The Complete Short Stories of Isaac Asimov 1: The Last Question (2 volumes), and The Complete Short Stories of Isaac Asimov 2: The Bicentennial Man (2 volumes). Most are classified under premium fiction and science fiction, reflecting the enduring influence of his short stories among Chinese readers.