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Dec 16, 2009

Aerin rated it:

I really enjoyed this. The Postman was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula the same year as Ender's Game, which really isn't a fair competition. Had this book come out in a different year, I think it would've won both.

The Postman tells the story of Gordon, a loner trying to survive in post-Apocalyptic Oregon. The world had fallen apart 16 years ago, from a combination of nuclear war, biological weapons, and domestic terrorism. Now, there is virtually nothing left of civilization, More...

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2011

Apatt rated it:

In my experience people who pretend to be postmen are usually up to no good, they are more apt to enter your homes under false pretenses and rob you blind than attempt to unite the post apocalyptic Disunited Sates of America. The protagonist of this book has to be the most heroic postman in fiction. You thought Postman Pat and Cliff Clavin from Cheers are the bees knees? They got nothing on Gordon The Postman, he really knows how to deliver!

This is the second Brin book for me, the pr More...

4 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2011

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

I bounced between 4 and 5 stars on this one as I don't give many 5s. Still I think this is one of the books I enjoy that much.

I stumbled on this book some years ago and frankly was surprised at how much I liked it. There are a lot of post apocalyptic books out there, this is actually a good one.

No spoilers, but we pick up some years after the collapse when the infrastructure of the country has ceased to exist. Our hero spots a scam that will help him survive but....he alw More...

18 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 31, 2011

Amy rated it:

Of course, I thought I'd be different and actually enjoy this book since I really enjoyed the movie. But, no. What a train wreck! The first half was great; I'd give it 4.5 stars. A post-apocalyptic wandering bard finds a postman's outfit and begins delivering the mail, hope, and unity to the scattered masses. Lovely. It could have cleanly ended there and all would have been well.

The second half of the book is, at best, 1.5 stars. It's as if someone else wrote it, and it barely resemb More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 05, 2011

Checkman rated it:

I wish I could give this book 2.5 stars.

First let me say I have to go against the overwhelming tide of opinion that holds this novel to be an excellent work. Not that it's terrible, but it wasn't what I expected - or wanted.

The first half of the novel isn't bad as we accompany the protagonist and his effort to survive in post-apocalyptic America. The character isn't heroic. Instead he's a survivor. And then we get started with the postman charade. At first it has potentia More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 20, 2012

Kelanth, in tenebris lux tua rated it:

Il genere apocalittico o meglio post apocalittico è una branchia della fantascenza che mi ha sempre intrigato. Cerco sempre di scovare, soprattutto nelle banceralle dell'usato, come in questo caso, dei libri che ne trattano.

Purtroppo devo dire subito che questo non l'ho trovato particolarmente brillante; non ci sono descrizioni accurate dell'ambiente e dell'ipotetica vita post-apocalittica, che io solitamente apprezzo molto, anche la storia di fondo dell'avventuriero che si ritrova More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 24, 2011

Lori rated it:

Review copy from author

This was another one of those novels that eluded me for quite a few years. Originally made aware of it's existence when checking out top 10 post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction lists, The Postman was hailed as one of the better books within those genres.

After searching high and low at local book chains, indie shops, library and used book sales, I contacted it's author David Brin, who selflessly sent me a copy for review. (Many thanks David!)
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 17, 2011

Mark rated it:

If I remember right, this is a book that received quite a mauling at the time of the 1997 film flop. However, when I read it in 1985 I quite enjoyed it. And it was Locus's book of the year in 1986, not to mention a Hugo and Nebula nominee.

Basically it's the story of how a postman (or at least someone with the garb of a postman) reunited a post-apocalyptic America by helping connect disparate communities through their official function.

The first section deals with ho More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2009

Greg of A2 rated it:

Apocalyptic SF at it's most fun and endearing. I wouldn't call this great literature but the tale is quite enjoyable and it's softer (science-wise) than much of Brin's repertoire. It's almost like Brin decided to make a modern SF pulp novel and he succeeded.

Movie Opinion: Kevin Costner's movie version did not do this novel justice and was a big bore in comparison.

Also, if you ever get a chance to attend a Brin talk, he's an excellent speaker. He's very engaging and knowl More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2012

Leo rated it:

What starts as a ploy to survive takes on a life of its own and propels Gordon into an epic quest to bring hope into a dying and cruel world. The selfishness of the world is all that is left when everything else crumbles but Gordon is able to progress beyond mere survival and sacrifice his own desires for that of the greater good. Will his example be enough to inspire what's left of society to rise up and triumph over the terror the waits just over the horizon?

The author does a fanta More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2008

Andy rated it:

The Postman is a perfect example of a great storyline with a great build-up that is then totally ruined by a deus ex machina resolution. It's as if the author were given a page count limit and then realized that he was about two dozen pages from that limit and said, "Uh-oh, I'd better wrap this up."

This ranks right up there with Stephen King's The Stand for a horrible, abrupt ending that had little to do with the build-up and character development of the first 95 percent o More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Rob rated it:

To Brin's credit: this book moves along quickly, follows a nice formula, and goes roughly where you expect it to go with just enough twists to keep it engaging along the way.

That said, this is also an exemplar of a very average novel about a "post-apocalyptic America". It makes me want to see the film with Costner. Just to compare.

Also: Brin's attempt at being sympathetic to a woman's plight in this post-apocalyptic scenario? Fell way short. Trust me bro, th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 12, 2007

Matt rated it:

Don't let the movie version keep you away from this book. Yes, the plot is very similar-- a wanderer in a post-apocalyptic America stumbles across a US Postal Service truck/uniform, and uses the uniform to bluff his way into communities by promissing that he is a representative of a newly formed US Government -- but on the plus side, there's no Costner involved :) This book is actually three novellas with stitched together, each with its own distinctive story arc. All told, an interesting rea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 19, 2011

Andre rated it:

Years, ago I remember buying this book along with several others at Borders. I remember driving home, opening the front door, sitting in my reading chair, opening the The Postman, and finding myself 4 hours later, still reading, shoes still on, keys and wallet still in my pocket, bag of newly-purchased books still not rifled through as I hadn't moved an inch.

The first few pages just captivated me and I kept on reading, finishing the book in one day (I didn't sleep). I'm a sucker for po More...

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Dec 14, 2011

Nora rated it:

Don't EVER watch the movie allegedly based on this book. And if you were so unfortunate as to see the movie, try the book anyway, because it is WORLDS better than the movie (when I heard that Kevin Costner was starring in the movie, I knew it would be awful and unfortunately I was right).

The book is a hopeful post-apocalyptic novel, which sounds like a contradiction in terms, but the heart of the book is about hope, about the power of hope to transform not just individual lives but More...

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May 31, 2011

Brian rated it:

A post-apocalyptic novel with a few too many gimmicks. Without the additions of artificial intelligence and genetically augmented humans, I would've liked this book a lot more. The premise is quite good, with a nuclear war devastating the planet. The powers that deploy the weapons have second thoughts and war is cut short, but the damage has already been done and a 3 year long nuclear winter results. This allows humankind to survive and not be totally obliterated. The chaos that results after th More...

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Jun 21, 2010

Austen rated it:

With all due respect to Kevin Costner - who is one of my favorite actor/directors - do not see the movie... ever. Just read the book. The wanderings of Gordon backgrounded by the ruined planet are very intense and well-descibed. The various factions that exist - the hurt and scared citizen survivors, the remnants of the Holnists, the scientific commune of Cyclops - all hurt in the Doomwar, all trying to survive in their own way. Into the middle of this stumbles Gordon with his found Postman unif More...

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Oct 18, 2009

Roger rated it:

Again with my interest in post-apocalyptic stories. I guess I’m always a sucker for man stripped of all his contrivance and forced back to earlier software build. It’s kinda like reinstalling the OS for the world, I guess.

The Postman must not be confused in any way with the Kevin Costner adaptation for screen. While that one did a decent job of capturing some of the visuals, the emotion of the story seems bleached out.

In brief, our hero is a survivor in a fractur More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Oct 09, 2009

Ratiocination rated it:

A thoughtful take on a post-apocalyptic setting. There's a hard balance to strike in the subgenre; a lot of works suffer from either "too close to be so different," or "too far for so much to be the same." Either the big global disaster is in the recent past, in which case you shouldn't have complex new societies and traditions yet, or it's in the distant past, in which case there shouldn't be quite so many artifacts of our present lying around. You want your mohawked barbari More...

1 comment like

Aug 28, 2009

Cécile rated it:

Given what I had heard of David Brin, I had very high expectations when I began The Postman. Consequently, I was sorely disappointed. This does not sound at all like the work of a major SF author. The writing has absolutely nothing exceptional, I cannot remember a single striking sentence, image ir idea. As for the story, the only thing that struck me about it was its lack of subtlety. I really don't know if it can seem meaningful or moving to an American (after all, this is about rebuilding the More...

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Jan 20, 2011

Pamela rated it:

Wicked good! My husband asked me if it was the same one about an apocalyptic future like the movie with Kevin Costner. I didn't know the book had been made into a movie. He said it wasn't very good. I told him the book is WICKED GOOD!! SCARY GOOD!! and that sometimes screen writers just don't adapt books well. I told him I didn't care if the movie sucked.... he NEEDED to read the book! Yes, I guess it is the basis of the movie as the plot is the same... after a great war... a man trying to survi More...

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Jan 09, 2010

Brit rated it:

The Postman's place among post-apocalyptic classics is well-deserved. Brin's Oregon is well-imagined, and in some aspects more realistic than, say, The Road, which makes no attempt at political constructs for justified thematic reasons. Brin's style is fast and readable without skimping on details. True, it may be less than subtle from time to time, but true heavy-handedness is distracting, and this was not. If anything, a bit of repetition is a boon to the reader when there are lot of details t More...

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Jan 30, 2011

Jason rated it:

This isn't a perfect novel, but as far as canonical postapocalyptic work goes, it's right up their with A Canticle for Leibowitz (indeed, the Postman is resonant of this work in many ways). Brin posits a post-war America that is on its knees, with feudal societies, walled off villages and almost non-existant trade. Interestingly, in his setting it is the militant survivalists that are the problem, whereas in this subgenre the rugged individualists are usually the heroes. It's an interesting t More...

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Jul 12, 2011

Algernon rated it:

I stayed away from this book for a long tme, mostly due to some scenes from the Kevin Costner movie I've caught between switching channels on my TV.
I'm glad I've finally got around to give it a try. It's starts as a rather bland postapocalyptic adventure, but gradually the author weaves in the real theme - the role of myths (or Big Lies as they are called in the text) in shaping society. The Postman, the supercomputer and Denna are all riffs on the theme of the Messiah in the guise of Duty More...

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Apr 19, 2010

Robert rated it:

The Postman is a postapocalyptic novel written at the height of the Cold War. Its hero is a lone traveller who yearns for the return of civilisation, for someone, somewhere, to take responsibility and take charge and rebuild the United States of America. One day, he finds a postman's uniform and, wearing it, he finds himself falling into a role of Post Inspector...

The novel is not bad. It just isn't any better (or more enjoyable) than any other postapocalyptic fiction. It isn't as an More...

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Feb 09, 2011

Jaron rated it:

4.5 Stars. This was the book that the Kevin Costner movie (which I never saw) was based on. I had no trouble NOT picturing Costner as the main character.

Highly recommended for fans of post-apocalyptic action adventure stories. The action sequences reminded me, in a good way, of those in the Hunger Games series. It's been a while since I read a book that I had such a hard time putting down. I would read it in the kitchen while waiting for water to boil and I would take it with me in t More...

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Sep 29, 2010

Marc rated it:

The Postman wasn't what I expected since I saw the movie first. I was one of the few that actually enjoyed the movie.

The book went into more depth than the movie. Despite all that, it seemed to all take place in Oregon. Also, while Gordon was important, he wasn't the only important character. I was surprised at how much more likable he was in the book than in the movie. He danced, sung, and acted.

I just wished there was more to The Postman. I felt the stuff that caused i More...

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Jan 03, 2009

Mark rated it:

I first heard about The Postman over 10 years ago when a good friend briefly gave me an introduction to the plot of the book. It was one of those books that had been in the back of my mind to read ever since but never quite made it to the top of the ever-growing reading list. Recent reads of several post-apocalyptic sci-fi books reminded me to finally pick up this novel.

Unlike the forgettable Kevin Costner movie (which I may now need to rewatch to reconfirm its terrible reputation) More...

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Oct 23, 2011

Roxanne rated it:

I simultaneously liked this and was kind of bored by it. The world was interesting and complex, but there were certain parts (Cyclops and the augmented) that were boring - maybe just outdated (this book was published in the 1980s).

The main character - shit, I can't even remember his name - GORDON, Gordon something - was a bore. I would speculate that he bored me partially because he is a man, but there was a man protag in another book I just finished that I loved, so that can't be all More...

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Aug 11, 2011

Scott rated it:

Much much better than the movie (which I kind of hated although the premise made me seek out the book). Interestingly, the movie only used the first third of the book at best and completely mangled the plot and the point of the novel. The full story explores the deadly survivalist groups that destroyed the United States as well as the last artificial intelligences, augmented super soldiers, and the new Amazonian pseudo-feminists. The pacing of the novel is enjoyably brisk from action to plot t More...

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