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50th out of 61 books
—
169 voters
Selection Event
In an isolation experiment, Martin Lake had been below-ground for fourteen months and two weeks. He came up on May 30, Wednesday, 11:35 AM. He discovered that civilization had folded its arms across its breast, closed its eyes, and ceased.
When natural selection wipes the slate, there are always a few survivors. Unfortunately, nature does not select for beauty or intellige...more
When natural selection wipes the slate, there are always a few survivors. Unfortunately, nature does not select for beauty or intellige...more
ebook, 0 pages
Published
April 22nd 2011
by Wayne Wightman
(first published April 21st 2011)
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Selection Event was a great book, with a tight plot that moves along at a comfortable clip, despite the fact that the cast of characters grows throughout the progress of the novel. Martin's character development in his new place in society is believable and compelling. The flashbacks to characters from Martin's past really bring the events of the plague to life, without making the book about the plague. This book is not about the plague, it's about the aftermath, and the book knows that.
A couple...more
A couple...more
Mar 25, 2013
Tom Harrington
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-might-read-twice
Selection Event is a very good post-apocalyptic/dystopian work with an interesting premise to start the ball rolling. The story moves along at a good pace and, for me, it was the proverbial page-turner.
This could have - and probably should have - been another hundred pages in length (it's about 300 pages in the Kindle version) in order to add better character development for several of the characters. The ones that are developed are nicely done, and quite believable. Also parts of the novel see...more
This could have - and probably should have - been another hundred pages in length (it's about 300 pages in the Kindle version) in order to add better character development for several of the characters. The ones that are developed are nicely done, and quite believable. Also parts of the novel see...more
Imagining what a world nearly emptied of humans could look like has a horrific, yet romantic fascination for me. What disasters would Earth face in our absence and how would it regrow and flourish? For the humans that would remain in such a dystopia, what facets of human behavior would survive? In Selection Event, we follow a survivor who had been locked away in an isolation experiment as he struggles against food and fuel scarcity and violent religious fanatics in his efforts to build a functio...more
Interesting premise...guy who is kind of a drifter signs up for a college experiment to live alone in an underground bunker for a year. His year comes and goes and yet he isn't released by those conducting the experiment...why? They are all dead; in fact, most of the world's population has died from a virus. He enters "a whole new world" and the rules of civilization no longer exist. The best part of this book...the characters, including the dog (and yes, you get the dog's narrative and perspect...more
This is a nice, tightly plotted drama that could not have existed without The Stand (my sweet baby!), but quickly tears off and becomes its own thing. We rotate among a cast of several characters, chief among them Martin, his dog Isha, and a biker afflicted with bipolar depression named Diego, who appears to have been based upon one of Wightman's own friends. (In which case he clearly cared for his friend a great deal, because Diego is more sharply and lovingly drawn than any other character.) O...more
This book is a very long lecture on the evils of Republican Christian gun toting meat eating humans. It started off with how bad humans were and how good the earth would have it now because all the humans were dead. Now the world can go back to normal. Then the author introduced two Christian characters that were written so evil or stupid that the reader wants them dead. I love that the life long heroin addict is a better human than the christian leader. I thought that the sequences written thro...more
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Dare I give a book 5 stars? Not sure I have ever done that before...
Though it is not perfect and I do have some minor objections with the story, it is but a matter of a difference of opinion between the author and I. This rich and thoughtful PA story is a step away from the norm, and is very well done.
As we know from the summary, the protagonist has spent 14 months alone underground, participating in an isolation experiment. When he emerges, society has...ended, completely unbeknownst to him.
The...more
Though it is not perfect and I do have some minor objections with the story, it is but a matter of a difference of opinion between the author and I. This rich and thoughtful PA story is a step away from the norm, and is very well done.
As we know from the summary, the protagonist has spent 14 months alone underground, participating in an isolation experiment. When he emerges, society has...ended, completely unbeknownst to him.
The...more
4 likes
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like
· see review
The pace for Selection Event by Wayne Wightman is set by a loving dog, Isha, who is waiting in the front window for her owners, who never come home because they have been killed by a virus which kills off the majority of mankind. Isha is saved by survivor Martin, who was participating in a year-long isolation experiment and thus missed the virus and its devastation. Martin emerges into an empty world and spends his time looking for other survivors and trying to build up something of a community....more
What an amazing adventure! Thoroughly enjoyed it. I've read some of the reviews trashing this book (mainly for some of the 'non-Christian themes') written by obvious Christian people. But what we need to do is disengage our belief system and just enjoy the book for what it is, a bloody good read and a rollercoaster of an adventure. After such an event, I do believe that the Christians would actually bear a slight similarity to those displayed in the book. Certainly not using heroin or drugs to k...more
to say that the author was a bit heavy-handed with the anti-christian overtones would be a huge understatement, not all religious people are terrible nor are all atheists society's saviors. not only was this book preachy and fairly obnoxious overall, but also inconsistent. the author tries to give the impression that all animals should be allowed to live freely without the threat of being someone's dinner, but that idea only goes so far as to include mammals... fish are apparently less sentient...more
I really enjoyed this post-apocalyptic novel. I see a lot of reviewers feel like the author was biased against Christians and Christianity, but I didn't come away with that at all. I think the author was trying to portray how people would respond to an extreme situation, and I don't find it far-fetched or discriminatory to imagine that some people would corrupt and manipulate religion to suite their own needs.
At any rate, I thought it was a good book. I had a hard time putting it down and finish...more
At any rate, I thought it was a good book. I had a hard time putting it down and finish...more
If I could give this a zero, I would. I un-recommend it highly.
Essentially, the author's point ends up "Belief systems are bad; believers in them force people into thinking their way, and if you don't believe that way, the believer's natural reaction will be to kill you. So, the only belief system that works is Libertarianism. You must believe this way, or we will kill you."
Truly a) obviously circular, b) shows a blackness of spirit in the author that's just sad, and c) not the balance I believe...more
Essentially, the author's point ends up "Belief systems are bad; believers in them force people into thinking their way, and if you don't believe that way, the believer's natural reaction will be to kill you. So, the only belief system that works is Libertarianism. You must believe this way, or we will kill you."
Truly a) obviously circular, b) shows a blackness of spirit in the author that's just sad, and c) not the balance I believe...more
Well for the most part I was okay with the story. My only beef is with how every single crazy murderous power hungry person in the book was 'Christian'. They were the villains everytime.
I don't generally let what people say or think about different groups get to me, especially in a fictional story, but for some reason this felt excessive. I think that at least once there could have been a villain that didn't claim to be led by God.
There were some things that I did like, Isha's point of view wa...more
I don't generally let what people say or think about different groups get to me, especially in a fictional story, but for some reason this felt excessive. I think that at least once there could have been a villain that didn't claim to be led by God.
There were some things that I did like, Isha's point of view wa...more
So I am really into post apocalyptic books right now, and this one was great. It is a super quick read, and certainly satisfied what I was looking for in a book at the moment. The idea is that after a year doing an isolation study this guy comes out to total devastation. Most of the world is dead, from a virus. Unlike most post apocalypse books, this was relatively realistic, and pretty frightening because of how realistic it was. Human beings are fragile things, and one virus really could wipe...more
I enjoyed the book and recommend it, but yes, the commonly mentioned criticisms are unfortunately true. There isn't a single religious person in this book who isn't evil or crazy. And there isn't a single ideological follower who isn't actually doped up and tricked into staying with the group (whether the ideology is religion or over-exuberant patriotism).
I think if there is a sequel, it should explore how the remainder of humanity is about to wiped out by invasive species of predators that were...more
I think if there is a sequel, it should explore how the remainder of humanity is about to wiped out by invasive species of predators that were...more
Earnest. Episodic. Preachy. Uneven.
This is a nice concept and a nice effort, but the overall product is disappointing, frequently too pedantic and heavy-handed, and a bit hard to get through in places. The book sucked me in with the first chapters, and especially those from Isha's perspective -- the perspective of a dog who doesn't understand why her people aren't coming home and nearly starves to death waiting for them. This part was really well done, but it was kind of downhill from there. I...more
Wow! I could not put this book down! The plot may be "tried and true", but the telling of the story was absolutely gripping. Told from the perspectives of two men and one dog, I was absolutely caught up in the characters, their stories, and how believably the end of (and the possible new beginning of) humanity played out. In particular, the way Martin unfolded was a true study in the way a somewhat floundering and hapless young man grows into a reluctantbut effective leader. One of the best nove...more
I purchased this book as a inexpensive kindle download. There were some things I enjoyed about the book, including the chapters with the point of view of the Isha the collie and her pet manx cat, though the cat's story was a bit sketchy at times. Also, just the fact that is was a story about survival after a very sudden apocalyptic event kills the majority of humans always interests me. But the heavy religion bashing, the sudden jumping in bed together of characters (yes, there were not many peo...more
A fun read and a great break in the monotony of Game of Thrones. I really liked the characters -- especially the dog. I think it could have been longer but it would have ended up being boring and like so many other books of its genre. It surprised me at several points when it could have been so predictable. It was very real and thought provoking. I really like Mr. Wightman's writing an character development and plan to read more of his work. Enjoy!
I enjoyed a lot about this book. I liked the interactions between people, I like the way the society of the "good" people worked itself out, I liked the dog, I enjoyed the little poly family, I liked how Diaz kept sending strays back to Martin...
I did not like the treatment of Christians. It would have been nice to have had some Christians of the non-zealot variety represented in the book.
Overall, though, good read. Thanks http://lendle.me
(If you hate this book due to the liberal bias, give Fl...more
I did not like the treatment of Christians. It would have been nice to have had some Christians of the non-zealot variety represented in the book.
Overall, though, good read. Thanks http://lendle.me
(If you hate this book due to the liberal bias, give Fl...more
Incredible book! Could not put this one down! Martin is an ordinary man who decides to take part in an experiment and live underground for a year, only to discover the world is not the one he left behind.
The characters are well thought out and the story moves well. Did not want this to end....ever.....
The characters are well thought out and the story moves well. Did not want this to end....ever.....
Great read, not going to win any nobel prizes for literature but a strong story, well-formed characters you can actually care about (one of them a dog), and the end of the world in chapter one. It's nice to get that out of the way first, right?
If you like apocalyptic fiction, this is a worthwhile read..
If you like apocalyptic fiction, this is a worthwhile read..
Decent Post Apocolyptic story. Basic "What would you do if..." - Little heavy handed against christian beliefs and the left leaning folks. Getting past that, it's okay for a summer read. Interesting approach with sections from the protagonists dog point of view.
Oh My,
This is soooo good,,one of the best books I have read this year.
I loved this story and the people in it..
I was wondering if this was going to have a sequel it could have - heres hoping....
Read this in just under 2 days... Brilliant....
BTW I adore this cover - so creepily GOOD!!!
This is soooo good,,one of the best books I have read this year.
I loved this story and the people in it..
I was wondering if this was going to have a sequel it could have - heres hoping....
Read this in just under 2 days... Brilliant....
BTW I adore this cover - so creepily GOOD!!!
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LOVED this book. It couldn't have been more to my liking. It had everything about a PA book that it should have. If you're at all into Post Apocalypse stories set in California you'll go ape for this one. It's almost a companion piece to "The City, Not Long After", by Pat Murphy. So good. SO good.
I bought this as I was stranded for the night in an airport. I was looking for something to entertain me without too much brain work. Got exactly what I was looking for, it's light reading, not very dense characters or a too winding line.
It's a decent post-apocalyptic story. Not the best, but by far not the worst. It could use some culling of words and a bit of a kick in the pants on pace and action.
I doubt this will be a "read it again" book, but not bad...not bad.
I doubt this will be a "read it again" book, but not bad...not bad.
The second 2/3rds of this book was much better than the first third. Maybe it was just me, but it took a little too long to get rolling. Once it did though, I couldn't put it down. Debated giving this three stars, but the latter part of the book made up for the former's shortcomings.
May 09, 2012
Cass
marked it as read-the-ebook-sample
This review is based on the ebook sample
Rating: definetly
Love the idea. Some guy underground during an isolation experiment emerges to find the world wiped out by a plague.
Rating: definetly
Love the idea. Some guy underground during an isolation experiment emerges to find the world wiped out by a plague.
Very much like The Earth Abides but updated for the 21st century, although thankfully lacking the white male centric point of view of its predecessor. The story wasn't a whole lot more exciting though.
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