«O imperio do Sol» consagrou mundialmente o nome de J. G. Ballard. Mas Ballard já tinha atrás de si uma obra particularmente admirável no domínio d...
read full description
reviews
May 04, 2011
D_Davis
rated it: 
Somewhat slight and uninteresting; it was especially disappointing after Kingdom Come. Hello America almost reads as if it were a YA story. That is, it really lacks Ballard's edge and style. Maybe I was simply hoping for something more, something more scathing, or derogatory towards the fantasy of the American Dream; what Ballard delivered was more like a road trip/adventure story across a desolate and barren North America.
There are some good moments, though. I enjoyed how those More...
There are some good moments, though. I enjoyed how those More...
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Feb 23, 2011
Shawn
rated it: 
Ballard has been staring for too long into the sun again to conjure up this fantastic riff on the US of A. A brilliantly contrived and described catastrophe, his usual bunch of disparate characters out searching for their own goals, plunging into a transformative other world, facing West until they arrive purged and new born into the bizarre rainforests of Nevada and the satirical, whimsical climax in the streets of Las Vegas. President Charles Manson against the Robot Presidents of Old America!
More...
Jan 02, 2010
Stephen
rated it: 
The surreal elements of this book - the pop culture inconography set against a desolate wasteland - can be a distraction. I read this as paean to the essence of American character Ballard loved. Celebrity , worship, the decadence of Las Vegas, the general metabolism of American commercial culture versus the stoicism and individualism that also defines us. I think the choice of Las Vegas as a sort of end game, and the charater of Manson as the archetypal paranoria of the boundless American ener
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
May 20, 2009
Dan
rated it:
When I was done with this all those years ago, I beamed. He's a genius I thought. I would love to have his talents, his insights, his poetry.
But I was young and I knew that I was somewhat disappointed by it deep down. The big tipoff was Charles Manson as a long-lived fellow who seemed more grandfatherly than a blathering maniac. He still is weird and evil. But there was more that was somewhat disappointing but I can't recall. I'll read it again soon. It was a good adventure for the More...
But I was young and I knew that I was somewhat disappointed by it deep down. The big tipoff was Charles Manson as a long-lived fellow who seemed more grandfatherly than a blathering maniac. He still is weird and evil. But there was more that was somewhat disappointing but I can't recall. I'll read it again soon. It was a good adventure for the More...
Jan 29, 2012
Andrew
rated it:
Written in the 1981, this is a post-holocaust SF novel set in the 2100s, about an expedition across the continental US which had suffered a total manmade environmental collapse a century before. Now almost completely depopulated the former citizens live in colonies around the world. The novel follows some of these colo…nists in the first major expedition to re-explore the New World.
This being a ‘literary’ novel, it is full of vivid imagery – to the extent that you feel the author is More...
This being a ‘literary’ novel, it is full of vivid imagery – to the extent that you feel the author is More...
May 27, 2009
Lisa
rated it:
A great book, full of extremely interesting and witty ideas...
Set not so far into the future (now) and massive climate change has seen America abandoned as New York, Washington and the East Coast are transformed into vast deserts, and Las Vegas is a huge neon-lit jungle. Tribes of nomads, descended from the few Americans who remained, roam the continent, whilst in Vegas there is a new President going by the name of Manson...
I flat out loved some of the ideas in this - the More...
Set not so far into the future (now) and massive climate change has seen America abandoned as New York, Washington and the East Coast are transformed into vast deserts, and Las Vegas is a huge neon-lit jungle. Tribes of nomads, descended from the few Americans who remained, roam the continent, whilst in Vegas there is a new President going by the name of Manson...
I flat out loved some of the ideas in this - the More...
May 16, 2009
Cassandra
rated it:
Quite an entertaining read. I really appreciate the concepts and ideas he presents. This is an amazing 'what if' book. Explorative adventures in America one hundred years after massive amounts of American leave the continent due to a collapsing economy and exhausted natural resources. Good fun.
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 26, 2010
Charles Dee
rated it:
America is a desert but the American dream lives on in the minds of this exploratory team sent over by the European government. Ballard loved America and he enjoys describing it in ruins. This is straightforward adventure s-f, complete with last minute rescues and a race against a ticking nuclear bomb.
Sep 27, 2010
yengyeng
rated it:
One of the better America-wasteland-dystopia novella and it is written by a Brit?!
Aug 11, 2010
Dan
rated it:
Ballard’s novel could be read as a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The style seems rather casual and offhand in comparison with some of the short stories. Overall, the book was not really satisfying.
Nov 03, 2011
Richard
rated it:
It's a great idea for a story but I think it's dated badly. Originally published in 1981 and you can tell. Plus with main characters called Wayne and Anne Summers you can't really take the story seriously. Some books stand the test of time, this doesn't.
Jan 17, 2012
John
rated it:
A decent book, enjoyed the surreal elements to it and thought it was overall entertaining and dark....Not the best Ballard but good nonetheless.
Sep 05, 2008
Davin
rated it:
Postmodern / Postapocalypse
A crazy mishmash of pop culture and the American frontier mentality.
A crazy mishmash of pop culture and the American frontier mentality.
Feb 11, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
Jan 18, 2012
Jan 08, 2012
Jan 07, 2012
