Cities in Flight

Historical Context and Significance

«Cities in Flight» by James Blish is a work that embodies the spirit of mid-20th-century science fiction, when humanity gazed at the starry sky with awe and hope, dreaming of new worlds and freedom from earthly bonds. In this epic, cities, torn from their familiar soil, wander the galaxy like arks, carrying the memory of human culture, its contradictions, and aspirations. Blish masterfully weaves into the narrative reflections on the fate of civilization, the price of progress, and loneliness in the endless cosmos. His novel was among the first to dare to imagine an urban utopia on a cosmic scale, influencing a whole generation of writers and artists and inspiring images of flying cities in film, literature, and art. The book became a symbol of an era when the line between dream and reality seemed thin, and faith in the power of human reason and spirit was boundless.