This is the first story from Fritz Leiber that I was less than completely happy with. GATHER, DARKNESS starts out with heavyhanded exposition and a lack of vigor; it took some effort to keep reading. Almost exactly halfway through, though, the writing seemed to perk up and suddenly there was genuine suspense and excitement (this was about the time Jarles was given over to the brainwashing expert). There were still some clunky moments here and there, but the second half felt much more like what I have come to expect from Leiber.(A welcome touch of Leiber's gentle wit: the priests have a faint violet halo hovering over their heads when their suits are on, and one priest making his way through town at night grumbles, "A halo hardly gave you enough light at night to keep from tripping over things!")GATHER, DARKNESS! started out as a three part serial in ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, beginning in the May 1943 issue. Reportedly, Leiber was given the same premise from John Campbell that Robert Heinlein worked up into SIXTH COLUMN.. that is, a future dictatorship using fake religion to control the masses. As you might expect, the two books ended up quite differently (it's hard to imagine two writers with more differing viewpoints than Heinlein and Leiber).Two hundred years after the cataclysm (there are vague hints of a nuclear war, "the Blasted Heath" where nothing grows is a scar left by the ancient weapons) the entire world is being crushed by a huge theocracy calling itself the Hierarchy. It has some of the trappings of Catholicism, but it has set up a new deity called the Great God. The Hierarchy keeps the commoners in constant labor in a feudal society, controlling every aspect the laborers' lives while carrying on their own power struggles and backstabbing inevitably in any large bureaucracy. It might seem there is no way that this rigid tyranny can be brought down, but in fact an opposition has sprung up... the Witchraft.Now, right from the opening paragraphs, Leiber makes it obvious that both the Hierarchy and the Witchcraft are using advanced technology to simulate magic. From the huge stone colossus of the Great God looking down at the city (this statue can smile and gesture, quite an impressive sight), to the forcefields which inflate the priests' robes and protect them from harm to the small fighter aircraft which are fashioned to look like angels, it's all an elaborate charade from the Hierarchy. And the Witchcraft are working at undermining their authority with holograms of huge gray wolves, haunted houses, clouds of blackness chasing people and so forth.There are hints of a few surviving remnants of a more ancient witchcraft, too, the genuine folk beliefs and practices which somehow have not completely vanished. A likeable old hag named Mother Jujy represents this original witchcraft and, although she is colorful and sympathetic, she plays a minor role. To be honest, I was really hoping to see actual no-fooling Black Magic rear its head at some point. Some shocking moment when an actual demon or sorcerer stepped in, not a member of either political party using tech tricks. Nope. Maybe if this had appeared in UNKNOWN, instead.....I think the real reason GATHER, DARKNESS! seemed dated to me is that, sadly enough, its imagery and symbols have been so watered down by our time. Back in 1943, the use of organized religion in a story as a cruel oppressive sham might have had more impact and shock value than it does today. Too many scandals and abuses of power by religious figures have robbed holy symbols of much of their potency. When was the last time you saw a movie where an evil creature was actually repelled by a crucifix? And witchcraft has been so co-opted and defended by proponents of neo-paganism that any use of a witch as a villain gets a barrage of protesting letters. So GATHER, DARKNESS!, with its sinister priesthood and heroic witches, doesn't really seem that striking or revolutionary a concept any more.There are a few touches in the story that I really enjoyed. The witches have familiars, small spider monkey-like creatures that can communicate telepathically with their owners and which live on blood from those owners. It turns out these are greatly simplified and modified clones of the owners. The perfect pet, almost a twin, completely devoted and dependent, these critters are so appealing and creepy at the same time that they are one of the best aspects of the book.And there is one other point that took me by surprise. One of the weapons the Hierarchy priests use are the rods of wrath, evidently a small thing like a flashlight which projects a thin beam of violet energy. Usually, these seem to be a sort of raygun but there is this one duel: "Like two ancient swordsmen, then, the warlock and the deacon duelled together. Their weapons were two endless blades of violet incandescence, but their tactics were those of sabreurs - feint, cut, parry, swift riposte."What the heck. This seems vaguely familiar, two men fighting with blades of destructive light. I'm sure I`ve seen this in a movie somewhere.