Nightfall's narrative structure is not particularly remarkable. Most of it is devoted to a quest for safety, with some events being predictable. The novel's principal characters meet with religious fanatics, crazed people, would-be dictators, as well as predictably encountering other stereotypes representing different responses to the novel's events. The novel's principal attractions are its ideas and its suspenseful tone of mystery. Any fan of science fiction is likely to enjoy the workmanlike plot, but the lively interplay of ideas and otherworldly suspense are likely to be the most important attractions to readers unfamiliar with science fiction.

The novel's situation is designed to focus on a particular set of ideas. Science fiction novels are often written this; authors can pretty much conjure up any kind of planet and culture they want, so they can "stack the deck" so that a particular idea is highlighted. In the case of Nightfall...