Damnation Alley

Roger Zelazny, an American writer, first published the science fiction story "Damnation Alley" as a novella in 1967. Two years later, in 1969, he expanded it into a full novel. The plot takes place in a Southern California that has been devastated by nuclear war three decades earlier.

Plot introduction

The landscape is treacherous: hurricane-force winds above five hundred feet make air travel impossible, unpredictable "garbage storms" strike without warning, and giant mutated animals and insects are a constant threat. Several police states now control what habitable land remains in the former United States. The protagonist, a Hells Angels member named "Hell" Tanner, sits in prison. He is offered a full pardon in exchange for a suicide mission: driving a convoy of three heavily armed Landmaster vehicles through a narrow, relatively radiation-free route called Damnation Alley.

Reception

The convoy must travel from San Diego, California, to Boston, Massachusetts, to deliver a desperately needed plague vaccine to survivors. Critic Barry N. Malzberg judged the novel harshly, calling it "an interesting novella converted to an unfortunate novel" and dismissing it as a mechanical action-adventure story written at the bottom of Zelazny's talent. Zelazny himself agreed with Malzberg, stating that he preferred the novella and only expanded it at his agent's request, adding that without the novel there would have been no movie deal.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation, loosely based on the novel, was released in 1977 and directed by Jack Smight. Zelazny liked the original script by Lukas Heller, which he felt was more faithful to his book, and expected that version to be filmed. He only realized the shooting script—by Alan Sharp—was significantly different when he saw the finished movie in a theater. Several later works acknowledge "Damnation Alley" as an influence.

Related works

Walter Jon Williams wrote the novel Hardwired as an homage, and the two authors later became good friends. Kevin O'Neill stated that the 2000 AD magazine story "The Cursed Earth" was inspired by it. Hawkwind's album Quark, Strangeness and Charm includes a song titled "Damnation Alley" based on the story.