The groundbreaking novella that gave rise to science fiction’s original space hero, Buck Rogers. In 1927, World War I veteran Anthony Rogers is working for the American Radioactive Gas Corporation investigating strange phenomena in an abandoned coal mine when suddenly there’s a cave-in. Trapped in the mine and surrounded by radioactive gas, Rogers falls into a state of suspended animation . . . for nearly five hundred years. Waking in the year 2419, he first saves the beautiful Wilma Deering from attack and then discovers what has befallen his country: The United States has descended into chaos after Asian powers conquered the world with advanced weaponry centuries before. All that’s left are ragtag gangs battling for survival against their brutal overlords. But when Rogers shows them how to band together and fight for more than mere survival, he sparks a revolution that will decide the fate of the future world. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

It was no accident that Buck Rogers became an almost instantaneous success as a comic strip. Behind its creation was one of the most logical, scientifically planned "worlds of if" ever conceived. The re-presentation of these original Buck Rogers stories secures for Philip Francis Nowlan the important place he deserves as a shaper of modern science fiction.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Sometime after World War I, although the allies won, USA were devastated and collapsed economically, which was exploited by the technologically advanced "Mongolians," who started their campaign of world conquest. In 2019 the Mongolians attacked the US using fleets of airships armed with disintegrator rays. After conquering the US, these "Airlords of Han" ruled North America as a province of the world empire. Living in cooperative gangs and hiding in the forests from the Hans, Americans secretly rebuild their civilization and develop the new technologies, and only now, four centuries later, begin to rebel. The main character, Anthony 'Buck' Rogers, was a veteran of the Great War and in 1927 he worked for the American Radioactive Gas Corporation. Exposed to radioactive gas, Rogers fell into a coma and remained in "sleep" for 492 years. He awakens in 2419 and, thinking he has been asleep for just several hours, wanders for a few days in unfamiliar forests. Introduced to the new world, Rogers becomes the leader of the American rebellion. "The Airlords of Han" – In the sequel to Armageddon 2419 A.D and the 'Buck' Rogers story, the hero and his beloved Wilma continue their war against the diabolical Han and technologically advanced Mongolians. Rogers gets captured by the Han and gets taken to their capital, where he serves as prisoner, but gets the treatment of a royal guest. Rogers exploits these circumstances to stick a knife in the heart of the enemy.

It was no accident that Buck Rogers became an almost instantaneous success as a comic strip. Behind its creation was one of the most logical, scientifically planned "worlds of if" ever conceived. The re-presentation of these original Buck Rogers stories secures for Philip Francis Nowlan the important place he deserves as a shaper of modern science fiction.

The Airlords of Han, the sequel to Armageddon 2419 A.D., continues the adventures of Buck Rogers, the famous sci-fi adventure hero of early comics and radio shows. Originally published in Amazing Stories in 1929, in the 1960s this novella was later combined with Nowlan’s original piece and re-published under the title Armageddon 2419 A.D.. In it Buck Rogers and his wife, Wilma Deering, lead Americans in a conclusive battle with the evil Han Empire. The story reflects the “Yellow Peril” mindset at the time of its writing, and successfully predicts many future technologies, including bazookas, night-vision devices, and paratroopers. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.