I meant to read this with the Evolution of SF group, but had a brain fart & read it a month early. (Actually, it hasn't officially won the poll yet.) I meant to read this with the Evolution of SF group, but had a brain fart & read it a month early. (Actually, it hasn't officially won the poll yet.) I guess it's on my mind since I've been rather fascinated by apocalyptic stories since I was a kid. As with most things, 90% are crap, but some are great & I've reread them over the years. I should have read this one sooner.
I'm always fascinated by what kills folks off & what remains for the survivors since they're a reflection of the times the author lives in. The earliest I've read recently is The Last Man (1826) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. It's a slog. Everyone dies of a plague & the guy wanders around, finds & abandons a dog. This heinous crime really hurt the book for me.
The "Scarlet Plague" is a slimmer, updated version of Shelley's with most of mankind wiped out by the plague as told by a very old man to his grandsons who have reverted to barbarians. Its influence on Earth Abides (1949) is quite obvious. Shorter than either of the other books, I think it manages to deliver the main message every bit as well.
Other apocalyptic books I've really liked: Before the 1950s, disease was the bugaboo that killed us off, but after that we usually ruin our civilization with atomic warfare. On the Beach (1957), Alas, Babylon (1959), & A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) are all classics, IMO.
Recent (to me) books seem a bit more varied in how the apocalypse comes about. Zombie plagues are common & owe a great debt to I Am Legend as well as Romero & Russo for the "Living Dead" movies. ("Night of the Living Dead" came out in 1968). One Second After is an updated version of "The Bomb" from the 50s & 60s by wiping out the electrical grid. Its point of the complexity & fragility of our supply lines has been made quite clear by the pandemic. Another book that makes this point is The Harrows of Spring: A World Made by Hand Novel. I didn't like it as much, though. (I don't recommend any of Kunzler's other books.)...more
I picked this as the Sep2021 Short Story group read for the Evolution of SF group. Some of SF's finest work is in the short stories, so I pick a free I picked this as the Sep2021 Short Story group read for the Evolution of SF group. Some of SF's finest work is in the short stories, so I pick a free one. It can be from any date & area. This one is fairly new & is written by... well, I won't say since I think not knowing until the end helps prove that people are the same all over the world. We're discussing it here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
The story was good, fairly short, & mightily depressing. Not an easy read, but definitely moving. I had to search out a few things.
manioc is another word for cassava, a root that is a staple in much of the world. I know it best as what tapioca is made from. It was also mentioned in a book I read recently as poisoning poor people when its price goes up. Apparently they wind up selling all they've processed because they need the money & eat the unprocessed root which is toxic.
après moi sounded familiar, but I couldn't define it. It's part of an expression "après moi le deluge" attributed to Louis XV describing people who behave as if they don't care about the future, since the "flood" will happen after they're gone. His ineffectual rule contributed to the outbreak of the French Revolution 15 years after his death.
cetiya are objects & places used by Buddhists to remember Buddha.
I wondered about the location since it was quite generic at first. The names didn't narrow it down for me. It wasn't until I tried searching on the foreign script about loneliness that I could nail it down to (view spoiler)[Sri Lanka since it's Sinhala. Indeed, the end note says the author is from there. (hide spoiler)]
Several of my GR friends gave this a solid 4 stars & got me excited about it. My library didn't have it, so I bought it & dove in expecting a great stSeveral of my GR friends gave this a solid 4 stars & got me excited about it. My library didn't have it, so I bought it & dove in expecting a great story. I got a lot of atmosphere & a twisty mystery, but I was hoping it would end half way through. I didn't dislike the main character, but living in his head for so long didn't thrill me. I usually like first person POVs, too. It was just too long & too much detail for me.
The world was well drawn, very good premise, especially since I just finished reading Lucifer's Hammer. It's great to see updates on such interesting ideas. What would society be like? I think Winter's nailed it.
Well narrated, but not really my cup of tea. I might check out another of his books at some point, but I won't be in a rush....more
The end of our civilization comes as a comet hits the world & we're shown through the eyes of a bunch in California. This book has it all & is well reThe end of our civilization comes as a comet hits the world & we're shown through the eyes of a bunch in California. This book has it all & is well researched. I first read it when it came out in the 1970s & am surprised by how well it has aged - very well indeed. Perennial problems with race, religion, & the morals of survival are all examined through a large, but well drawn cast of characters.
I read this with the Evolution of SF group & it was a great pick since I can see where it helped spawn several excellent other SF novels including The Postman & One Second After. It also examined some hard truths about how much we take for granted. The end was fantastic: "Give my children the lightening." Wow. Yes that's a bit of a spoiler, but you'll need to read the book to find out just how much is held in that small sentence. If you haven't, I highly suggest you do.
I don't think this is the correct audio edition. I'm pretty sure mine is from the 1980s or 1990s & was ripped off a cassette tape I got used from the library. Well done....more
This book is 60 years old, but well worth reading & not just for its influence on the genre. It's one of the first to deal with a post apocalyptic worThis book is 60 years old, but well worth reading & not just for its influence on the genre. It's one of the first to deal with a post apocalyptic world after a nuclear war, so it's not pretty, but it is instructive on many levels & an entertaining read. It should be a Thanksgiving Day read in the US because it shows how much we have to be grateful for: electricity, clean water delivered to the tap, good food, medicines, medical care, & relative order.
Frank really sets the scene well. Fort Repose reminds me a lot of the small town where I lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. It's very southern & I lived there in the mid 60s, so not long after this book was published. The racial issues were about the same, almost a complete separation between races, although the public school was desegregated when I went there. Not everyone was happy about that on either side. There's a telling sentence when Randy, one of the least prejudiced characters, realizes the new school will be desegregated.
I really liked the way Mark explains the situation to Randy. Not only does it fill me in on the state of the world, but it does so in a logical way that eases the data dump. The seeds of MAD are clearly shown as are the reasons behind JFK's space race. Later, the retired admiral expands a bit on this pointing out how all the upper level thinking was tactical, none strategic. They're important points to remember for the last bit of the novel. Wow! Frank really knocks the point home.
As I read through this, I had a feeling Frank could have gone into a lot more detail, but I'm glad he didn't. He addressed the main points & let characterization fill in much of the rest. Some people rose to the occasion, some couldn't live with it, others just slowly decayed. Florence was a hoot & a great hook to explain so much of the everyday life. While there was greed & some violence, the book never resorted to gore or outrageous action. It was always real people dealing with a very scary & realistic situation. It highlights how unprepared & useless the 'best' of society could be & how well prepared some of the 'least' were, especially the so-called second class citizens of the day. The need for some specialists, such as a doctor were also well displayed.
I've read quite a few post apocalyptic novels over the years. Many are nothing more than action-porn, entertaining, but not not particularly filling. If you like this, I highly recommend One Second After an update of this book & World Made by Hand which shows it doesn't take a cataclysmic event to bring down civilization. On the Beach was written a few year later than Alas, Babylon about a much worse nuclear war. About a decade before, Earth Abides shows a world where almost all the humans die due to a disease, an update of Shelley's The Last Man & far more readable.
Seemed like an interesting premise. It was certainly weird, but just too far out for me. 22% of the way through & I just didn't want to pick it up agaSeemed like an interesting premise. It was certainly weird, but just too far out for me. 22% of the way through & I just didn't want to pick it up again. I didn't feel any connection to the characters. Death & Fate (if that's what the latter was) were interesting, but that wasn't enough to save it from the disconnect. I might have continued trying a bit longer, but a new book that I want to read more is available so I'm moving on.
An interesting, quick apocalyptic story following several sys admins who live because of their jobs. There's a lot of heart ache, heroism, & some doseAn interesting, quick apocalyptic story following several sys admins who live because of their jobs. There's a lot of heart ache, heroism, & some doses of humor along the way. I started reading this & realized I'd already read it just a couple of years ago. I don't know why it wasn't listed on my shelves. Anyway, it's free & a quick read. Highly recommended. ...more
Not grabbing me at all. Maybe it's my mood. I'll try another day. April 2019.Not grabbing me at all. Maybe it's my mood. I'll try another day. April 2019....more
This was a comic book in audio form, pretty much what I expected. It has no redeeming features save that it was mindless fun. It was actually 3 novellThis was a comic book in audio form, pretty much what I expected. It has no redeeming features save that it was mindless fun. It was actually 3 novellas plus a short story bonus, so longer than I expected. One story at a time as a palate cleanser between more serious books would have been fine.
It's set in the Judge Dredd universe, so I had no trouble visualizing it in my mind even though I've never read any of the comics, just saw 2 movies. It's about like them, but this Judge is part of the PSI branch. I find PSI abilities particularly well suited to comics which have a logic (or lack) all their own. Lots of neat elements including a cowboy robot, crazy inmates, terrorists, & an awful moral conundrum. While this was very well narrated, I expect artwork would have made it far better. Still, it was enjoyable....more
I found this rather long, but interesting. There are 2 threads about our heroine that alternated. They were separated by a decade in which she describI found this rather long, but interesting. There are 2 threads about our heroine that alternated. They were separated by a decade in which she describes the world & works on the case of a strange death that brings to light other problems. It was an interesting way to do it & probably the only reason I stuck with the book besides very good narration.
I think I read a short story set in this world set quite a while before, possibly 60 year or so. It was pretty good, too. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3....more
I didn't have great hopes for this since I've read a lot of post apocalyptic stories & books over the years. There's rarely anything new, the same oldI didn't have great hopes for this since I've read a lot of post apocalyptic stories & books over the years. There's rarely anything new, the same old tropes. Kadrey even explains most of them in his offering as he paints a truly poignant picture that puts them all to shame. Most of the stories here are truly unique & fantastic.
Only Butler's story was a repeat for me. I even liked King's! He was short & to the point for a change. Good point, too. Doctorow's story focused on an overlooked area, not your typical survivor types. I wonder if xkcd was the inspiration. [image]
This was wonderful as an audiobook with a bunch of fantastic narrators. I got this free as a founding supporter of Skyboat Media's DRIP campaign. That's been a wonderful investment as Gabrielle de Cuir & Stefan Rudnicki have discussed how audiobooks are made, published & distributed.
Introduction—John Joseph Adams The End of the Whole Mess—Stephen King Salvage—Orson Scott Card The People of Sand and Slag—Paolo Bacigalupi Bread and Bombs—M. Rickert How We Got Into Town and Out Again—Jonathan Lethem Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels—George R. R. Martin Waiting for the Zephyr—Tobias S. Buckell Never Despair—Jack McDevitt When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth—Cory Doctorow The Last of the O-Forms—James Van Pelt Still Life with Apocalypse—Richard Kadrey Artie’s Angels—Catherine Wells Judgment Passed—Jerry Oltion Mute—Gene Wolfe Intertia—Nancy Kress And the Deep Blue Sea—Elizabeth Bear Speech Sounds—Octavia E. Butler Killers—Carol Emshwiller Ginny Sweethips’ Flying Circus—Neal Barrett, Jr. The End of the World as We Know it—Dale Bailey A Song Before Sunset—David Grigg Episode Seven: Last Stand Against the Pack in the Kingdom of the Purple Flowers—John Langan
If you like this sort of story, this is a must read. One of the best....more
Like Glory Road, this is almost 2 books. The first one focuses on the Cold War, an atomic attack, & then a survival story. I liked it a lot. RAH actuaLike Glory Road, this is almost 2 books. The first one focuses on the Cold War, an atomic attack, & then a survival story. I liked it a lot. RAH actually managed some subtlety with his characters at times. They weren't all perfect & some of the imperfections were well used later in the book. For instance, Karen's perfection was marred by her aping black slave speech that was common to older movies of the time & it's brought up later to great advantage.
It's at least partially autobiographical since RAH was in the Navy & he had a bomb shelter. So does Hugh Farnham. A lot of the ideas on religion & politics seem the same, too. IOW, the same older Heinlein lead character like Lazarus & Jubal. Barbara is a younger, female version - Hazel in her prime. Still, Joe & Duke were both far better & more complex than normal.
I doubt younger folks will understand how well the whole bomb shelter & imminent nuclear war setup was done. I heard conversations similar to those early on in the book debating the worth of bomb shelters, how preparedness talk worried people, & a lot of people had radios tuned for emergency broadcasts. The way Hugh commanded things was high-handed & completely believable for the time & characters. While he wasn't perfect, at least he kept it from becoming a mess like The Shelter, a fantastic Twilight Zone episode. Reading this was a real blast from the past that I'm glad is gone. Sure, we have terrorism today, but that seems less likely to roast the entire planet in a few minutes. It was a nervous time.
While RAH was quite progressive in his ideas on race & sex, he's pretty heavy-handed with them for the most part. Very good for the times, not so hot 50 years later to a younger crowd that doesn't realize how much things have changed. For its time, I think this did a wonderful job pointing out some issues. Joe's extreme shyness of the girls was well done. It becomes obvious that it's both because of the mores of the time as well as his race. For all that 3 of them show no racial prejudice, it's still there.
Then they're found & it's a whole other book. The tone & themes change. He went too far with the cannibalism & the creation of the society isn't believable, but otherwise did a pretty good job with showing how power corrupts with Joe & the dangers of temporary security with Grace & Duke. The end is kind of fun, but would fit better in a comic book.
The biggest thread I had an issue with was the damn cats, but I've never cared for them much & the way he treated them has caused far too many issues. Feral cats are a huge issue, so his no spay or neuter policy is awful.
This is the wrong edition. Mine is a 1992 (I think) cassette I got from my library & ripped into a file many years ago, but I don't recall listening to it before. It's a Baen edition for the Blind. Well narrated....more
This is one of my favorite books of all time, rather odd since I've never cared for anything else that Delany wrote. None of his other books hooked meThis is one of my favorite books of all time, rather odd since I've never cared for anything else that Delany wrote. None of his other books hooked me at all & I've tried several over the decades quite a few times. I've often wondered at his popularity until I found out he's black & gay (Who cares?) so put it down to political correctness especially after attempting to read Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders which is such gross gay porn that I wonder how anyone could get through more than a few pages.
Well, even a broken clock is right occasionally, but he made a true masterpiece with this story book. No, it isn't really a story, so much as a mood piece filled with great imagery and some of the best bits to ponder. I'll never say I understood them, but I enjoy them all the same. It's myth-SF-fantasy. A futuristic Orpheus clashing with wild West & other myths along the way.
While Stefan Rudnicki does a great job narrating this, I don't think audio is the best format for any save a first read. It would be great for that, but it requires subsequent reads in text format. In Fahrenheit 451 a character says that one of the best things about books is that you can shut them when you need to think. True & this book requires that. Sometimes my hands were busy, so I couldn't pause fast enough. Fleeting thoughts & connections are sometimes too fragile to survive even a few seconds more.
Still, I loved it & I think it's a great addition to my audio library. Highly recommended....more
This has been recommended to me several times, but I didn't think it was my cup of tea. I happened to stumble on this abridged audio version at my libThis has been recommended to me several times, but I didn't think it was my cup of tea. I happened to stumble on this abridged audio version at my library, so I thought I'd give it a try.
I think I read this or one of the books years ago, but I'm not sure. I get it confused with Jerry Ahern's Survivalist series (Total War) & possibly some others from the 70s. These are guy action porn that seemed to litter the landscape, so were handy to read when nothing else was at hand. I never cared for them much, though.
Like the Executioner series (Mac Bolan) they rely on a strong, driven protagonist who kills all the bad guys with lots of different weapons. One of the most irritating habits of the writing is to describe just the gun in great detail (.45 caliber Heckler & Koch HK45 with a blah blah blah & a this that & the other thing plus a so & so scope with x, y, & z) almost every time it is mentioned & then use the damn thing like a club. They also seem to have an endless supply of good-guy bullets plus plenty of other lethal devices until they should walk bowlegged.
Anyway, this book was pretty good as an abridged audio. I got the gist of the story without being too turned off. The plot was fairly stupid & showed up more since it wasn't hidden by the detail, but it was kind of fun & had some interesting points. For instance, the women are strong & well done. There were a lot of cool toys, nasty bad guys, & heroic good guys/girls. Some even died. While traditional races were equal, all muties were bad... well, almost. There is a slightly interesting twist there that will be exploited in later books I assume. It was also pretty gritty, which I like.
I can't recommend this series. I prefer the Destroyer series which made fun of the Executioner, James Bond, Doc Savage, & other such books plus the politics of the day. The Horse Clan series is set in a post apocalyptic world created by nuclear war like this series & far more interesting to me....more
A great addition to the Paratwa trilogy. It is a prequel written after the original trilogy & should be read afterward. I know, that's not chronologicA great addition to the Paratwa trilogy. It is a prequel written after the original trilogy & should be read afterward. I know, that's not chronological order & I'm generally all for that, but this contains a LOT of spoilers & would ruin the slow reveals of the trilogy which add a lot to it. So read this last!
It was great to read about an earlier segment of Nick & Gillian's life. It's not often that a dwarf is the hero. Hinz projects a world spiraling into ruin as technology and capitalism have run amok & dragged us into a quagmire of social & environmental collapse. There's obviously a message here & it can be a bit heavy handed at times, but it's wrapped up in a rousing SF adventure. Even though we know where it is heading, there are still quite a few surprises.
I highly recommend reading all 4 books in published order....more
This is actually a trilogy containing The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, & Ardneh's World in order. They read like fantasies, but they're set in aThis is actually a trilogy containing The Broken Lands, The Black Mountains, & Ardneh's World in order. They read like fantasies, but they're set in a post apocalyptic world with an interesting bit of SF blended in. It's listed as a precursor of his Swords series on Wikipedia, but IIRC there were inconsistencies when I read them many years ago. I never did manage to get them all together for a chronological read back then, though. I got them all a while back, but I haven't gotten around to reading them. Maybe I'll start working my way through them this year since this book was so well done.
This was quite an interesting series of adventures that follows a handful of characters. While characterization isn't Saberhagen's strongest suit, he does a good enough job sketching them out & there is excellent growth & twists along the way. Some fitting revenge, too.
Where tech impacts magic is very well done. The semi-mythical elephant is a real hoot. After it all plays out, sitting back & thinking it over tickles me. Saberhagen has a great sense of humor, if a subtle one at times.
This is the second book in a trilogy, must be read in order. 56 years after the first book, the fleet is coming & it may well doom mankind to become sThis is the second book in a trilogy, must be read in order. 56 years after the first book, the fleet is coming & it may well doom mankind to become slaves of their own creations. You'd think the entire race would do anything it could, but it's business as usual for all too many in the huge life cylinders orbiting the completely messed up Earth. Party politics, social climbing, & a lot of odd, seemingly disconnected events that hint only to the brightest & most paranoid that things aren't as they should be.
The world building is fantastic. Very believable & captivating right down to modern entertainments that could only take place in cans in orbit. The characters are memorable & the mysteries abound. I got so wrapped up in hurrying into the third & final book that I forgot to read this.
This has to be one of the best kept secrets of the 90s. I highly recommend it....more
That was long! Good in places, boring in others, it wasn't really what I expected. From the author of Frankenstein: The 1818 Text & set in the end of That was long! Good in places, boring in others, it wasn't really what I expected. From the author of Frankenstein: The 1818 Text & set in the end of the 21st century, I expected some SF elements, but there were none. The war is one that could have taken place any time in the prior centuries & was taking place then. While there is some travel by balloon, most is by horse. Ships still rely on sails save for a few steam powered ones. Being published in 1826, there is no knowledge of germ theory so the plague is basically the Black Plague on steroids, but she left out or skimmed over many of the most horrific parts.
Few stories could have used an editor more. If they were to make a movie of this brick, they could pack it into a 2 hour made for TV movie without much trouble. The story is worth reading, though. It gets 3 stars for in it lie the seeds for many great action, SF, apocalyptic, & post apocalyptic novels, but be warned; most are contained in the last half of the last volume. It's a long hike to get there. Although it contains spoilers, I'd highly recommend reading the Wikipedia entry on this story.
The introduction uses an interesting device for finding the story. Shelley is on vacation & finds her way into the rarely visited, scary cave of Sibyl where she finds Verney's manuscript. Edgar Rice Burroughs adored this device & used it often. He shared Shelley's theories of physiognomy which I remarked on in my recent review of The Mucker, too.
The book is broken into 3 volumes. The first is a pastoral English novel that introduces the characters in 'stunning' detail. By 'stunning', I mean that I was almost stunned into insensibility by sheer boredom. Think Pride and Prejudice on Prozac. The most redeeming features were the autobiographical (She's Verney.) & biographical references/comparisons to her circle of friends (Most especially Percy as Adrian & Byron as Raymond.) so if you're not familiar with who she was & hung out with, read her bio on Wikipedia first. These references run throughout the novel.
The second volume is about the final war between Greece & Turkey in which the plague is born, but not through any scientific artifice, just typical bad sanitation, siege, & general war. Warning, the Plague is first mentioned not long before the 40% mark - a LONG time coming, IMO. The Plague strikes the world & generally everything breaks down, but Adrian provides a shining example. There's a thread of just how good benevolent tyrants are for a nation.
The final volume was by far the best part & even that is told in a distant voice that rarely elicits much in the way of empathy. Verney tells of great emotions, but I never really felt them due to the writing style & his self-centeredness. For instance, at the end, wretched with loneliness, he finds a dog who is really happy to see him, but he doesn't mention anything about making provisions for it in his final journey. As a dog lover, that's an oversight that I can't overlook.
It's this final volume that holds the germ of so many great & popular novels that came after. Verney's access to the abandoned fruits of civilization, the dog, the False Prophet, & more were brought to life in I Am Legend & Earth Abides. Toss in zombies & you have "Dawn of the Dead". His visit to the abandoned monuments forms an iconic scene in This Immortal. The Road has the same despair & aimless wandering. (OK, the last isn't even particularly good, but it does have some popularity.)
Shelly has a real flair for description, although a grounding in the classics is required to understand many of her allusions. There I was on firm ground, but again I wish I knew Latin. I had to translate that which required searching the text copy & I don't spell Latin any better than American. It was trying at times, but generally the meaning was clear enough without translation. I see her influence here on Zelazny & this part of her style, more than anything else, gave me the ability to get through the seemingly interminable first volume.
Where's the beef? As Arlo Guthrie Jr. says in Alice's Restaurant "...it kind of starts out slow & then fizzles out altogether." And so it went.
I'vWhere's the beef? As Arlo Guthrie Jr. says in Alice's Restaurant "...it kind of starts out slow & then fizzles out altogether." And so it went.
I've wanted to read this for some time now. This was supposed to be right up there with the classics in post-apocalyptic SF, but I knew McCarthy had an aversion to punctuation, an unforgivable sin. I don't even insist on proper punctuation since I'm not sure myself, but an honest attempt should be made. Leaving it out on purpose is the mark of the artistic poseur trying to obscure their deficiencies.
American & English spelling is weird enough that leaving apostrophes out of contractions is ridiculous, even sadistic. "Cant" & "can't" are both fine words with completely different meanings & a reader shouldn't have to waste energy differentiating between them. Knowing this about McCarthy's writing thanks to the reviews of my GR friends, I never even attempted to read it in paper or ebook. I'd have just abandoned it in disgust & listening to it as an audio book removed these issues. The narrator was quite good supplying the proper punctuation through his craft, thankfully.
Unfortunately, the writing wasn't very good. I don't ever want to read "OK" or "I don't know." in dialogue again. I adore well phrased allusions, but McCarthy's were often twaddle. What the hell is 'autistic dark'? What am I even supposed to make of 'vestibular calculations in his skull cranked out their reckonings'? I know all the words, but they evoke no more meaning or feel than the ravings of a syphilitic monkey. Not all were that bad & I was able to focus on the story, but...
The story was pointless depression punctuated by moments of horror. I never found out what the apocalyptic event was, so the end was only slightly uncertain, a cheap shot. I don't mind uncertainty or even a depressing ending. On the Beach, A Canticle for Leibowitz, & Earth Abides all got high marks from me, although I have to say I preferred Alas, Babylon more. This book had all the depression of On the Beach & an even more ridiculous faith than A Canticle for Leibowitz without any of their redeeming features & shouldn't really be compared to any of them. It is not in the same class at all.
A classic of post apocalyptic fiction needs to make some sense. Here we have no reason for it nor hope of redemption. I might as well have masturbated in sand - no payoff, just pointless pain. I'd warn everyone away from this, especially in any sort of print. As an audio book, I made it all the way through, but it's hours I could have spent listening to a good book....more
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