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The Pelbar Cycle #1
By Paul O. Williams The Breaking of Northwall (The Pelbar Cycle, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]
One thousand years after a devastating and chaotic series of nuclear exchanges, all that is left of the United States of America are scattered, warring tribes and small city-states. One of the latter is Pelbar—proud, civilized, and intolerant of change and new ideas. Rebels and troublemakers are sentenced to a year of exile at the massive midwestern fortress of Northwall, defending Pelbar against the fierce Shumai and Sentani tribes. Restless and brilliant Jestak is a visionary who has seen and learned too much in his distant travels to be content with life in Pelbarigan. During his exile at Northwall, he makes contact with Pelbar’s age-old enemies and risks all to rescue his beloved Tia from nomads armed with long-lost weapons from before the atomic holocaust. Jestak’s daring quest for love brings profound changes to his world. The Breaking of Northwall is the first in a series of seven classic postapocalyptic novels about the Pelbar people. Williams’s fascinating and uniquely optimistic vision of an America long after a nuclear war has enthralled readers for decades.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1981
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About the author
Paul O. Williams
26 books22 followersPaul Osborne Williams was an American science fiction writer and haiku poet. Williams was professor emeritus of English at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois.
His most notable science fiction works are a series of novels, the Pelbar Cycle, set in North America about a thousand years after a "time of fire", in which the world was nearly totally depopulated. The novels track a gradual reconnection of the human cultures which developed. Much of the action takes place in the communities of the Pelbar, along the Upper Mississippi River — in the general vicinity of Elsah. Several cultures, including the matriarchal Pelbar, join together in the Heart River Federation. Others, especially the tyrannical Tantal and slave-raiding Tusco, fall apart after suffering defeats. The predominant characters are change agents: Jestak, Stel and his wife Ahroe Westrun. All are Pelbar. Williams won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1983.
He is also known as a writer of haiku, senryū, and tanka, and wrote a number of essays on the haiku form in English. In a 1975 essay, he coined the term "tontoism" to refer to the practice of writing haiku with missing articles ("the", "a", or "an"), which he claimed made the haiku sound like the stunted English of the Indian sidekick, Tonto, in the Lone Ranger radio and television series. Williams was the president of the Haiku Society of America (1999) and vice president of the Tanka Society of America (2000).
Williams died on June 2, 2009.
His most notable science fiction works are a series of novels, the Pelbar Cycle, set in North America about a thousand years after a "time of fire", in which the world was nearly totally depopulated. The novels track a gradual reconnection of the human cultures which developed. Much of the action takes place in the communities of the Pelbar, along the Upper Mississippi River — in the general vicinity of Elsah. Several cultures, including the matriarchal Pelbar, join together in the Heart River Federation. Others, especially the tyrannical Tantal and slave-raiding Tusco, fall apart after suffering defeats. The predominant characters are change agents: Jestak, Stel and his wife Ahroe Westrun. All are Pelbar. Williams won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1983.
He is also known as a writer of haiku, senryū, and tanka, and wrote a number of essays on the haiku form in English. In a 1975 essay, he coined the term "tontoism" to refer to the practice of writing haiku with missing articles ("the", "a", or "an"), which he claimed made the haiku sound like the stunted English of the Indian sidekick, Tonto, in the Lone Ranger radio and television series. Williams was the president of the Haiku Society of America (1999) and vice president of the Tanka Society of America (2000).
Williams died on June 2, 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 22, 2018
I'm surprised this book isn't better known. The first of a seven book series, it's a really good beginning and a solid tale in its own right. Lots of colorful characters populate a well realized world. Set long after an apocalyptic event, along the rivers of what was Mississippi, it tells the story of tribes, separated by culture and tradition, but with more in common than they realize. A bold adventurer, willing to look beyond tradition, beyond cultural differences, into the hearts of people, thinks life could be more than conflict and suffering.
I hope this gets reprinted. It deserves to be wider read.
I hope this gets reprinted. It deserves to be wider read.
August 26, 2023
Reread August 2023 - DNF: I bring my rereading streak to a disappointing end with this second look at a fondly remembered book of my teen-age years.
I can see why it appealed to me at the time, though. It's post-apocalypse, has a map, and I like the Pelbar and Sentani cultures Williams describes. I waded through nearly 100 pages of info-dumps and awkward dialog but nostalgia can only take you so far.
It's not a bad book. It's just not a good book; aside from the nostalgia, it deserves at best two stars.
____________________
Like the Horseclans, an example of a series that should have been brought to an end sooner rather than later. Though, the first few books were very enjoyable.
I can see why it appealed to me at the time, though. It's post-apocalypse, has a map, and I like the Pelbar and Sentani cultures Williams describes. I waded through nearly 100 pages of info-dumps and awkward dialog but nostalgia can only take you so far.
It's not a bad book. It's just not a good book; aside from the nostalgia, it deserves at best two stars.
____________________
Like the Horseclans, an example of a series that should have been brought to an end sooner rather than later. Though, the first few books were very enjoyable.
December 25, 2019
Отдавна не бях чел толкова приятна приключенска фантастика. Със сигурност ще продължа със следващите от цикъла, дано запазят духа и плътността на разказа.
Хиляда години след "Времето на огъня", вероятно голяма ядрена война, човечеството се е върнало към номадски начин на живот с различни социални изключения запазени от остатъци на култура и техника. По поречието на Мисисипи, наричана Сърцето, хората живеят в племена враждуващи по между си племенни групи с доста различни социални привички.
Джестаг е млад мъж от Пелбар - общност живееща в три големи каменни крепости, която е почти миролюбива и е под постоянна атака от номадските си съседи Сентини и Шумай, които също се колят където намерят. Съдбата му е отредила да стане обединител. Неспособен да се впише в собствената си култура, той е прокуден в странство, уж със задача да установи търговски отношения с Източните градове. Следват приключения с номадите, робство, бягство, завръщане, нова експедиция на запад, сблъсък с други племена и нрави. Но явно предопределението ще го направи обединител на племената покрай Сърцето, защото от изток идва голяма заплаха под формата на робовладелските кораби на племето Тантал.
(Абе може да съм омотал някой от имената, ама не ми се проверяват едно по едно сега.)
Има доста приключения, една постоянна положителна нотка на чест и задружност и една огромна финална битка между големи кораби, добре укрепен град, стрели, примитивни огнестрелни оръжия и доста прилични стратегия, партизанска тактика, инженерни решения и военна доктрина.
На места е наивна, но през цялото време е пълен кеф за четене. И е доста оптимистична. Решението да не бъде фетъзи в измислен свят, а постапокалиптична фантастика, дори и толкова лека е задало ограничения, които правят цялото изживяване по-близко и по-достоверно, което даже вече не е било задължително за осемдесетте години, когато е писано.
Хиляда години след "Времето на огъня", вероятно голяма ядрена война, човечеството се е върнало към номадски начин на живот с различни социални изключения запазени от остатъци на култура и техника. По поречието на Мисисипи, наричана Сърцето, хората живеят в племена враждуващи по между си племенни групи с доста различни социални привички.
Джестаг е млад мъж от Пелбар - общност живееща в три големи каменни крепости, която е почти миролюбива и е под постоянна атака от номадските си съседи Сентини и Шумай, които също се колят където намерят. Съдбата му е отредила да стане обединител. Неспособен да се впише в собствената си култура, той е прокуден в странство, уж със задача да установи търговски отношения с Източните градове. Следват приключения с номадите, робство, бягство, завръщане, нова експедиция на запад, сблъсък с други племена и нрави. Но явно предопределението ще го направи обединител на племената покрай Сърцето, защото от изток идва голяма заплаха под формата на робовладелските кораби на племето Тантал.
(Абе може да съм омотал някой от имената, ама не ми се проверяват едно по едно сега.)
Има доста приключения, една постоянна положителна нотка на чест и задружност и една огромна финална битка между големи кораби, добре укрепен град, стрели, примитивни огнестрелни оръжия и доста прилични стратегия, партизанска тактика, инженерни решения и военна доктрина.
На места е наивна, но през цялото време е пълен кеф за четене. И е доста оптимистична. Решението да не бъде фетъзи в измислен свят, а постапокалиптична фантастика, дори и толкова лека е задало ограничения, които правят цялото изживяване по-близко и по-достоверно, което даже вече не е било задължително за осемдесетте години, когато е писано.
June 15, 2016
Das heutige Buch, das ich rezensiere, ist der erste Teil einer Septologie. Die Pelbar Reihe erschien das erste Mal auf Deutsch vor 30 Jahren (1985) und ist nun wieder erhältlich im Cross Cult Verlag, mit neuer Aufmachung und einer überarbeiteten Übersetzung. Paul O. Williams schrieb nicht viele Romane und mit dieser Reihe sorgte er für viel Aufsehen und gewann den John W. Campbell Award 1983 als Nachwuchsautor.
Erster Satz des Buches: "Wieder einmal stieg Adai von Jestan gegen Abend mühevoll die breiten, geschwungenen Steinstufen zum höchsten Turm hinauf."
Zu jedem Buch gibt es zwei Klappentexte, einmal der Allgemeine, der auf der Rückseite steht und innen noch einen kurzen, der den genauen Teil jeder Reihe beschreibt.
1000 Jahre nach dem nuklearen Holocaust. In den USA haben nur wenige Menschen den Krieg und die nachfolgenden Seuchen überlebt. Ihre Nachfahren sind wieder zu Wilden geworden, die das weite und zum Teil noch radioaktiv verseuchte Land als Jäger durchstreifen oder sich - wie in Pelbar - in kleinen befestigten Siedlungen verschanzen. Allmählich bilden sich kulturelle Zentren aus, erneut erstarkt die Welt. Auf gefahrvollen Expeditionen beginnt man die postatomare Wildnis des amerikanischen Kontinents zu erkunden und trifft auf tödliche Gegner.
Zum ersten Band: Jestak kehrt nach seiner Flucht aus der Sklaverei in seine Heimat zurück und setzt alles daran, die benachbarten Stämme zu vereinen, denn im Norden ist ein mächtiger Gegner entstanden. Dieser hat das Geheimnis des Schießpulvers wiederentdeckt und droht, die Pelbar-Städte zu erobern und ihre Bewohner zu versklaven.
Das Cover zeigt den Nordwall und den Herzfluss unter ihm, während eins Angriffes. Hier und da erkennt man noch weitere Details, die im Buch beschrieben werden. Es ist durchaus ein schönes Cover, mit angenehmen Farben und den Buchrücken ziert das selbe Bild, verkleiner mit Titel und Reihenzahl.
Den Schreibstil von Paul O. Williams, besser gesagt, die Wirkung von seinem Schreibstil würde ich als ruhig und entspannt beschreiben. Aber nicht immer eine leichte Kost, denn am Anfang wird man in eine vollkommen andere Welt geworfen und muss sich zunächst mit ihr auseinander setzen. Die erste Hälfte des Romans empfand ich als eine interessante lange Erzählung, bevor die Spannung anstieg und das Tempo der Handlungen angezogen wurde.
Der Protagonist in diesem Band ist Jestak und er gehört zu dem Volk der Pelbar. Die Pelbar leben zurückgezogen in ihren Mauern aus Stein und haben auf den ersten Blick wenig gemeinsam mit den verschiedenen nomadischen Stämmen in ihrer Gegend. Außerdem regieren in Pelbar nur die Frauen und sonst, sind sie Fremden gegenüber verschlossen.
Jestak aber ist anders als sein Volk. Er wurde hinausgeschickt um eine Ausbildung bei den Innanigen zu absolvieren, aber kommt Jahre später zurück. Er hüllt sich in Schweigen, sieht verwildert aus und ist tätowiert mit dem Zeichen der Sentani. Die Pelbar schicken ihn nach Nordwall und dort beginnt Jestak seine Geschichte dem Rat zu erzählen, über mehrere Tage hinweg.
Ab dem Punkt wurde es sehr interessant, den wir lernen die anderen Stämme, wie Shumai und Sentani kennen, die über die Länder ziehen.
Aber Jestak erzählt viel mehr, als die Pelbar kennen und da fängt ihr Weltbild an zu bröckeln. Gemeinsam mit dem verwunderten Pelbar lernen wir Jestak und seine Geschichte kennen, was in Innanigan passierte, seine Gefangenschaft, seine Flucht und wir er es schaffte mit den anderen Stämmen Freundschaft zu schließen. Der Autor liefert ein faszinierendes Bild von den unterschiedlichen Kulturen, die sich in manchen Dingen sehr ähnlich sind und man fragt sich, was genau ist damals passiert, dass die Völker so weit auseinander geraten sind.
Nach diesem Teil fängt die richtige Handlung des Buches an, indem wir mitten im Handlungsgeschehen drinnen sind und von einem Ereignis ins andere geraten. Denn es warten einige Gefahren auf die Pelbar und wagemutige Aktionen.
Außerdem finden Jestak und seine Freunde auf ihren langen Reisen alte Ruinen aus einer längst vergessenen Zeit, die nur erahnen lässt wie die Welt vor dem "großen Feuer" aussah.
Zum Schluss lässt sich sagen, dass Paul O, Williams in seinem ersten Band einen interessanten Auftakt zur Reihe liefert. Es ist ein phantasievoller abenteuerlicher Roman, der sich stark um die verschiedene Kulturen dreht, ihre Streitigkeiten, Unterschiede und Zusammenleben. Im Hintergrund steht das Rätsel vom "großen Feuer" und dem Ursprung der Völker. Hin und wieder gelangt man an schwierige Stellen, weil sich viele Dialoge und Diskussionen im Buch finden und die Szenen damit in die Länge gezogen werden.
Die Reihe werde ich weiter verfolgen, da mich die unterschiedlichen Bilder der Stämme und Charaktere faszinieren und der Schreibstil es mir einfach angetan hat.
March 22, 2021
I read this tale (and three sequels) during a happy and rather uncomplicated period in life. While I don't remember the details of the story, other than its setting in a far-distant, post-apocalyptic future, and the first stirrings toward unity of various splintered tribes, it reminded me of certain Edgar Rice Burroughs novels I'd enjoyed previously (this one for example), and it made for great escapism—again, not that I needed to escape anything. Reading it again now would be an interesting experience.
UPDATE:
I did decide to read The Breaking of Northwall again, and don't regret the time spent.
Aside from the general subject mentioned above, I recognized nothing from my prior exposure to the story aside from a place name, Innanigan (a city on the distant East Coast (probably in modern-day New Jersey)) and an epithet, "harzas," that's one of several used by trash-talking invaders from the north. (Those rascals no doubt return for a rematch in the sequels, because the word isn't used heavily enough in this volume to have made a lasting impression.)
In this projected future era, no names or expressions from our present time have survived. North America is sparsely populated by tribes that speak in different dialects, although communication among them is possible if they make an effort to speak slowly. Some are aware of ruins and understand there was at some point a "time of fire" that must have destroyed an earlier civilization. Others just presume life has always been this way—meaning, for example, the Sentani and the Shumai have always roamed the central grasslands, fighting enthusiastically when their paths crossed, and the Pelbar have always remained within their walled cities along a river that readers will recognize as the Mississippi. These three groups receive most of the attention in this volume, but an usually adventurous Pelbar named Jestak, the main character, has previously traveled north as far as the Bitter Sea (the Great Lakes), east to cities on the Atlantic Coast, and even out upon the ocean to an island, and so he has learned they are not alone. He's particularly inspired by the observation that all these far-flung, mostly hostile peoples clearly have the same root language, and he concludes that their distant ancestors must have been united.
The first part of the narrative involves an unusual amount of back reference to prior events, including Jestak's journeys. That begins on page 2, and it felt a little odd to me, as the story could definitely have included those adventures in real time. That, of course, would have made it much longer. I wonder if Paul O. Williams began writing it this way with the intention of squeezing everything into a single novel, and wrote sequels only when he realized that was not going to work.
At any rate, on his return home, Jestak's broad perspective made him unwelcome in his tribe's capital city, Pelbarigan, and he's forced to relocate to a somewhat more receptive upriver city called Northwall (possibly near our St. Louis?). En route he encounters Sentani, who're disposed to kill him until he convinces them of a personal alliance with some of their people (whom he had met on his earlier trip). Having gotten past their suspicions, he gradually builds an alliance between their tribe and, at least, the Northwall faction of the Pelbar. Later, he accomplishes the same feat with the more warlike Shumai. But there are nastier and yet more aggressive tribes encroaching from the west and the north. And infighting among the Pelbar does not help the cause. Clearly, at some point the author saw that there would have to be sequels. The long-range goal, however, is to begin reconstructing the legendary civilization of ancient times.
It's not a bad story. I confess to being a bit overwhelmed by the number of minor characters, and some of the bad guys are caricatures, but it provided relaxing reading while I was on a recent journey of my own.
UPDATE:
I did decide to read The Breaking of Northwall again, and don't regret the time spent.
Aside from the general subject mentioned above, I recognized nothing from my prior exposure to the story aside from a place name, Innanigan (a city on the distant East Coast (probably in modern-day New Jersey)) and an epithet, "harzas," that's one of several used by trash-talking invaders from the north. (Those rascals no doubt return for a rematch in the sequels, because the word isn't used heavily enough in this volume to have made a lasting impression.)
In this projected future era, no names or expressions from our present time have survived. North America is sparsely populated by tribes that speak in different dialects, although communication among them is possible if they make an effort to speak slowly. Some are aware of ruins and understand there was at some point a "time of fire" that must have destroyed an earlier civilization. Others just presume life has always been this way—meaning, for example, the Sentani and the Shumai have always roamed the central grasslands, fighting enthusiastically when their paths crossed, and the Pelbar have always remained within their walled cities along a river that readers will recognize as the Mississippi. These three groups receive most of the attention in this volume, but an usually adventurous Pelbar named Jestak, the main character, has previously traveled north as far as the Bitter Sea (the Great Lakes), east to cities on the Atlantic Coast, and even out upon the ocean to an island, and so he has learned they are not alone. He's particularly inspired by the observation that all these far-flung, mostly hostile peoples clearly have the same root language, and he concludes that their distant ancestors must have been united.
The first part of the narrative involves an unusual amount of back reference to prior events, including Jestak's journeys. That begins on page 2, and it felt a little odd to me, as the story could definitely have included those adventures in real time. That, of course, would have made it much longer. I wonder if Paul O. Williams began writing it this way with the intention of squeezing everything into a single novel, and wrote sequels only when he realized that was not going to work.
At any rate, on his return home, Jestak's broad perspective made him unwelcome in his tribe's capital city, Pelbarigan, and he's forced to relocate to a somewhat more receptive upriver city called Northwall (possibly near our St. Louis?). En route he encounters Sentani, who're disposed to kill him until he convinces them of a personal alliance with some of their people (whom he had met on his earlier trip). Having gotten past their suspicions, he gradually builds an alliance between their tribe and, at least, the Northwall faction of the Pelbar. Later, he accomplishes the same feat with the more warlike Shumai. But there are nastier and yet more aggressive tribes encroaching from the west and the north. And infighting among the Pelbar does not help the cause. Clearly, at some point the author saw that there would have to be sequels. The long-range goal, however, is to begin reconstructing the legendary civilization of ancient times.
It's not a bad story. I confess to being a bit overwhelmed by the number of minor characters, and some of the bad guys are caricatures, but it provided relaxing reading while I was on a recent journey of my own.
June 18, 2022
Read as part of my ongoing shelf audit. Verdict: From library book sale we come, and to library book sale we return.
The more I talked about this book to my girlfriend after finishing it, the more I realized that it had swindled me into assuming that, because it was 'old', it had inherent value. Which is weird because this is something I find perennially frustrating in the way people treat the mainstream literary canon, but when I get into my personal hobby horse of SFF genre history, I apparently have some blinders on.
Here is the crux of my problem with this book: it is a post-apocalyptic narrative which doesn't actually care about the apocalypse. The characters aren't particularly interested, which to a certain extent makes sense since this is 1000 years post-event, but also, are there no legends and no archaeologists? There are ruins, but these seem to be far fewer than they should be, and characters either avoid them or only interact with them by accident, and then for a very short period of time. There's no knowledge about the ancient world but also no curiosity, other than Jestak's insistence that everyone must have been part of one shared culture before the apocalypse. The narrative, too, doesn't really engage with this unique setting; post-apocalyptic fiction can invoke emotions by showing a place or thing that the reader recognizes but the characters don't, but that hardly ever comes up, and indeed the author treats much of the Great Plains as if they are completely empty, without mentioning even subtle ruins or landmarks.
There is no sense of place in general (I genuinely can't tell you if Northwall is all tunnels like an anthive or if parts are open to the sky), but I was especially struck by this in the portion of the book which takes place in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains because... I grew up hiking there, and yet there was absolutely nothing which was evocative or familiar in the way the landscape was depicted/described. What's the point of setting a story in a place your readers may have been, if you're not going to bother to invoke that place? Like man, throw me a bone here. I'll take, I don't know, a reference to diagonal uplift layers or something. You don't have to mention Long's Peak but aspen trees wouldn't have been a stretch.
Moreover, the more I think about it this apocalypse doesn't make sense. Per cover copy, it was an 'atomic holocaust', but there are still cities on the Eastern Seaboard. Somehow horses are limited to the Rockies and the parts of the plains closest to them - what the hell happened to Kentucky? There's an archipelago in the Atlantic which at first I thought might be the Bahamas, but it's volcanic and yet doesn't match any of the extant volcanic archipelagoes, which is a timeline problem.
This book would have been better off as second-world fantasy, because it's not really connected to the real world in any way that matters. Maybe that gets fixed later in the series, but this is not an intriguing enough start for me to make an effort to track down the rest. Two stars because the prose was readable enough to propel me through it quickly, once I sat down to focus on it.
(And all that doesn't even MENTION the fact that a good 30% of this book is different people fawning over how great Jestak is. That part is just obnoxious.)
The more I talked about this book to my girlfriend after finishing it, the more I realized that it had swindled me into assuming that, because it was 'old', it had inherent value. Which is weird because this is something I find perennially frustrating in the way people treat the mainstream literary canon, but when I get into my personal hobby horse of SFF genre history, I apparently have some blinders on.
Here is the crux of my problem with this book: it is a post-apocalyptic narrative which doesn't actually care about the apocalypse. The characters aren't particularly interested, which to a certain extent makes sense since this is 1000 years post-event, but also, are there no legends and no archaeologists? There are ruins, but these seem to be far fewer than they should be, and characters either avoid them or only interact with them by accident, and then for a very short period of time. There's no knowledge about the ancient world but also no curiosity, other than Jestak's insistence that everyone must have been part of one shared culture before the apocalypse. The narrative, too, doesn't really engage with this unique setting; post-apocalyptic fiction can invoke emotions by showing a place or thing that the reader recognizes but the characters don't, but that hardly ever comes up, and indeed the author treats much of the Great Plains as if they are completely empty, without mentioning even subtle ruins or landmarks.
There is no sense of place in general (I genuinely can't tell you if Northwall is all tunnels like an anthive or if parts are open to the sky), but I was especially struck by this in the portion of the book which takes place in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains because... I grew up hiking there, and yet there was absolutely nothing which was evocative or familiar in the way the landscape was depicted/described. What's the point of setting a story in a place your readers may have been, if you're not going to bother to invoke that place? Like man, throw me a bone here. I'll take, I don't know, a reference to diagonal uplift layers or something. You don't have to mention Long's Peak but aspen trees wouldn't have been a stretch.
Moreover, the more I think about it this apocalypse doesn't make sense. Per cover copy, it was an 'atomic holocaust', but there are still cities on the Eastern Seaboard. Somehow horses are limited to the Rockies and the parts of the plains closest to them - what the hell happened to Kentucky? There's an archipelago in the Atlantic which at first I thought might be the Bahamas, but it's volcanic and yet doesn't match any of the extant volcanic archipelagoes, which is a timeline problem.
This book would have been better off as second-world fantasy, because it's not really connected to the real world in any way that matters. Maybe that gets fixed later in the series, but this is not an intriguing enough start for me to make an effort to track down the rest. Two stars because the prose was readable enough to propel me through it quickly, once I sat down to focus on it.
(And all that doesn't even MENTION the fact that a good 30% of this book is different people fawning over how great Jestak is. That part is just obnoxious.)
February 19, 2021
One of the all-time great series.
The story takes place in a land that feels medieval but you slowly come to realize is a *very* post-apocalyptic America (as in it happened multiple generations ago, I want to say 900 years, to the point where it’s now passed into legend). The overarching tale is about the reconnections of the Pelbar people who live in fortress-like towers along the Mississippi River with the “savage” people who live out in the wild as they rebuild civilization. The towers are called Northwall and The Shell.
They exemplify the notion that history doesn’t repeat but it rhymes, so you have the citified folk making treaties with the wild communities, and there is a society of slavers as well as a rigid dictatorship and everything in between. I recall that the Pelbar society is matriarchal, so the leaders, artisans and engineers are chiefly women, which was quite different back in 1981 and suits the current era quite well.
The Breaking of Northwall
The Ends of the Circle
The Dome in the Forest
The Fall of the Shell
The Ambush of Shadows
The Song of the Axe — my favorite of this series
The Sword of Forbearance
The story takes place in a land that feels medieval but you slowly come to realize is a *very* post-apocalyptic America (as in it happened multiple generations ago, I want to say 900 years, to the point where it’s now passed into legend). The overarching tale is about the reconnections of the Pelbar people who live in fortress-like towers along the Mississippi River with the “savage” people who live out in the wild as they rebuild civilization. The towers are called Northwall and The Shell.
They exemplify the notion that history doesn’t repeat but it rhymes, so you have the citified folk making treaties with the wild communities, and there is a society of slavers as well as a rigid dictatorship and everything in between. I recall that the Pelbar society is matriarchal, so the leaders, artisans and engineers are chiefly women, which was quite different back in 1981 and suits the current era quite well.
The Breaking of Northwall
The Ends of the Circle
The Dome in the Forest
The Fall of the Shell
The Ambush of Shadows
The Song of the Axe — my favorite of this series
The Sword of Forbearance
December 28, 2008
I hav e trouble finding books that meet my definition of apocalyptic fiction. This series is about the people who are creating a new society from the fragments that sprung up long after the "Great Fire". Inthis book the great fire and the "Time Before" are only one man's theory. He is the man that is attempting to bring all of the tribes together. I expect that the sequels will be the society coming together politically, developing treaties, and the like. All the whilethe main characters finding more proof of the great fire and the time before.
While it was an okay story, it is NOT what I'm looking for when I read this genre. I'm looking for stories set with whatever disaster befell society bing in the very recent history.
While it was an okay story, it is NOT what I'm looking for when I read this genre. I'm looking for stories set with whatever disaster befell society bing in the very recent history.
February 1, 2022
Really dug this book and the world building that it developed over the course of the story. Of course, the world building hits the reader straight off to start with (which I love) and over time draws us towards the development and journeys of the lovely character, Jestak.
I must say that Paul O. Williams did a spectacular job in describing a world that is familiar to our own, one that inhabits the curiosities of our origins and the never ending thread of the past, as well as how we got here and where we will go. I will leave this spoiler free as I recommend that you get a copy of this book, however and wherever you can, you will not regret it.
I must say that Paul O. Williams did a spectacular job in describing a world that is familiar to our own, one that inhabits the curiosities of our origins and the never ending thread of the past, as well as how we got here and where we will go. I will leave this spoiler free as I recommend that you get a copy of this book, however and wherever you can, you will not regret it.
September 13, 2019
It amazes me that I'd never heard of this series before, as it is literature that suits my tastes. Post apocalyptic neo-barbarians, and a theme of basic human goodness. I will certainly continue on with the next book in the run.
July 28, 2008
This is the first in a series that I believe ran to six books. I really enjoyed this opening. Great characters, culture, and action.
November 9, 2010
Paul O. Williams, The Breaking of Northwall (University of Nebraska Press, 1980)
Ever since I heard that the University of Nebraska was going to be reprinting an obscure seven-book paperback-original science fiction saga from the eighties (originally published by Ballantine), I've been intrigued by the concept. This is especially true give that it's University of Nebraska press, who normally do history books and Native American studies. What is it about the Pelbar Cycle that drove them to re-release it? (It's not even like the author's from Nebraska; Williams was from Illinois.) After reading the first book in the series, I still don't quite know the answer to this question. Which is not in any way to say the book is bad.
Jestak is one of the Pelbar, a peaceable, matriarchal tribe who live along the Heart River. As the book opens, he comes back to town after a long, long time away. The leaders of the Pelbar had sent him east to learn with the coastal cities for a year, but he'd been gone for three. Obviously, the leaders want an accounting of his whereabouts, and after he refuses to give it to them, they banish him to Northwall, the large fortress that guards the northern edge of Pelbar territory. Once he gets there, the leader of Northwall, a more levelheaded woman indeed, asks to actually hear the story. This takes up roughly the first quarter of the book, setting up a good deal of what is to come; thanks to his captivity (he'd been kidnapped by another tribe while walking east), he'd come to gain allies and friends among some of the rival tribes. The alliances Jestak formed help the warring tribes along the river to see that perhaps they can work together. Just in time, for there are two major threats facing them. One is to the east, where a new, savage tribe has sprung up (the one that kidnapped Jestak). The other, to the west, have run out of slaves in their area and are now pressing east to find more, edging into land controlled by Jestak's new allies.
Even the book's most gushing reviews often point out that this is a hard book to get into. I didn't think it was that bad; I had a much harder time getting into Snow Crash, for example (that one took me almost seventy-five pages to latch onto, where I had this one inside thirty). Once I was there, I saw what Williams was trying to do, but I couldn't tell whether he just wasn't successful at it or whether my bias against work that consciously tries to impress a message upon the reader was acting up. That said, I was astounded by Williams' claim in the introduction to the U of N edition that much of the message-flinging in the book was unconscious. I still don't fully believe that claim. Still, it's not as painfully message-based as, say, The Girl Who Owned a City, and there is a good deal of action to go along with the philosophizing, so I'll keep going with this series and see where it leads me. *** ½
Ever since I heard that the University of Nebraska was going to be reprinting an obscure seven-book paperback-original science fiction saga from the eighties (originally published by Ballantine), I've been intrigued by the concept. This is especially true give that it's University of Nebraska press, who normally do history books and Native American studies. What is it about the Pelbar Cycle that drove them to re-release it? (It's not even like the author's from Nebraska; Williams was from Illinois.) After reading the first book in the series, I still don't quite know the answer to this question. Which is not in any way to say the book is bad.
Jestak is one of the Pelbar, a peaceable, matriarchal tribe who live along the Heart River. As the book opens, he comes back to town after a long, long time away. The leaders of the Pelbar had sent him east to learn with the coastal cities for a year, but he'd been gone for three. Obviously, the leaders want an accounting of his whereabouts, and after he refuses to give it to them, they banish him to Northwall, the large fortress that guards the northern edge of Pelbar territory. Once he gets there, the leader of Northwall, a more levelheaded woman indeed, asks to actually hear the story. This takes up roughly the first quarter of the book, setting up a good deal of what is to come; thanks to his captivity (he'd been kidnapped by another tribe while walking east), he'd come to gain allies and friends among some of the rival tribes. The alliances Jestak formed help the warring tribes along the river to see that perhaps they can work together. Just in time, for there are two major threats facing them. One is to the east, where a new, savage tribe has sprung up (the one that kidnapped Jestak). The other, to the west, have run out of slaves in their area and are now pressing east to find more, edging into land controlled by Jestak's new allies.
Even the book's most gushing reviews often point out that this is a hard book to get into. I didn't think it was that bad; I had a much harder time getting into Snow Crash, for example (that one took me almost seventy-five pages to latch onto, where I had this one inside thirty). Once I was there, I saw what Williams was trying to do, but I couldn't tell whether he just wasn't successful at it or whether my bias against work that consciously tries to impress a message upon the reader was acting up. That said, I was astounded by Williams' claim in the introduction to the U of N edition that much of the message-flinging in the book was unconscious. I still don't fully believe that claim. Still, it's not as painfully message-based as, say, The Girl Who Owned a City, and there is a good deal of action to go along with the philosophizing, so I'll keep going with this series and see where it leads me. *** ½
November 7, 2011
This book does its best to avoid the tired clichés and overused ideas of this otherwise overdone setting. About a thousand years after a nuclear holocaust, the tiny populations remaining in North America are growing large enough that contact is more and more frequent. All of these societies have their own characteristics based on the region of America they originally came from, and in one case at least, the writings of a visionary leader. All aren't much beyond late medieval levels of technology. Into this comes one man, Jestak. His odd ability to survive against impossible odds, and his ability to make others feel indebted to him, allow him to forge a chain of personal relationships with individuals from societies otherwise hostile to his own. Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with his elders. The book covers the events of Jestak's life over a number years, and how those events tie-together to change the socio-political nature of life in what was the Mississppi River valley at one point in time. I highly recommend this post-America novel.
August 7, 2014
This cycle of stories is one of those hidden gems that needs to gain more recognition, I think. The treatment of male vs female within a society is one of the best features, showing how these two basic aspect of humanity can work together; and how all too often it doesn't.
This series is well worth reading every 10 years or so, just to see how well the social commentary stacks up against our current reality.
Also well worth reading for the fun of puns. I do wish Americans would be more inventive in their word games. There are so many creative insults and compliments that can show off the wonderful language we all speak. Frivolous? Just like a stand up comic is frivolous, he or she more often than not is making excellent points about our social structure and interpersonal relationships.
It is entirely possible to write interesting and hard-hitting commentary without using swear words...
This series is well worth reading every 10 years or so, just to see how well the social commentary stacks up against our current reality.
Also well worth reading for the fun of puns. I do wish Americans would be more inventive in their word games. There are so many creative insults and compliments that can show off the wonderful language we all speak. Frivolous? Just like a stand up comic is frivolous, he or she more often than not is making excellent points about our social structure and interpersonal relationships.
It is entirely possible to write interesting and hard-hitting commentary without using swear words...
January 9, 2022
Sometimes you just can't go back . . .
This is the first book of a seven book series, "The Pelbar Cycle", that I'd read in the mid-80's. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories . . . and this fits the bill, but . . . meh. I'll leave the rest of the books to that teenager's memory
This is the first book of a seven book series, "The Pelbar Cycle", that I'd read in the mid-80's. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories . . . and this fits the bill, but . . . meh. I'll leave the rest of the books to that teenager's memory
October 21, 2014
I have to admit, when I read this story in my 20's, I enjoyed it a whole lot more. Still an interesting read, just not as good as I had remembered it to be.
February 20, 2018
Thought I would give this a try, but I couldn't get more than a few pages into it. Lots of long, tedious expository dialogue. Confusing. Not worth the effort.
August 8, 2023
Schwierig zu bewerten, gebe ihm 2.5 Sterne aufgerundet.
Wenn es gut ist z.B. bei den Stammesbeziehungen und wie sie sich gegenseitig beeinflussen ist es gut. Aber das ist höchstens ein Drittel vom Buch.
Der Rest kränkelt daran, dass Jestak ein uninteresanter Hauptcharakter ist. Er ist perfekt, macht keine Fehler und seine Storyline ist, dass er der super (wenn auch durch andere ungewollt) Diplomat ist, so gut wie jeder (im Buch) mag ihn. Überhaupt würde ohne Jestak nichts passieren. Warum die Shumai (Speerkämpfer), die von den Sentani (Bogenschützen) dauernd getötet werden, in Tausend Jahren! sich nicht mal gedacht haben, hey wir müssen mal rausfinden wie das mit den Bögen funktioniert oder die Taktik ändern, bis Jestak um die Ecke kommt, ist ein absolutes Rätsel.
Dann sind da auch noch der anfangs sehr gewöhnungsbedürftige Schreibstil und die teils merkwürdigen, altmodischen Formulierungen. Was sind Hundsfotte?
Nebenbei schleicht dann noch der Geist der Achziger durch das Buch, was mich ab und an dazu gebracht hat mit den Augen zu rollen. Jestak sieht eine nackte Frau für ein paar Minuten, nachdem er sie gerettet hat, verknallt sich und riskiert dann seinen Leib und das Leben vieler Anderer, sie erneut zu retten. Sehr erwachsen, überhaupt könnte man Jestaks Geschichte als eine Coming of Age Story lesen, wenn der Mann nicht Ende zwanzig wäre.
Dann wird eine Frau eingeführt mit schönen Satz: Isol war eine Schlampe, aber sie liebte ihre Kinder. Nicht einmal folgt darauf eine Ausage über ihr lasterliches Verhalten. Im Gegenteil, was man dann von ihr liest, ist eine Frau die sich um die Erziehung ihrer Kinder kümmert und ihren Ehemann normal behandelt. Es war einfach nur seltsam.
Oh und wer darauf wartet, dass die für die Pelbar angewendete Regierungsform des Matriarchats lächerlich gemacht wird, das passiert so um Seite 310. Was wiederum merkwürdig ist, da die letzten Tausend Jahre die Regierung die Pelbar sehr gut geschützt hat, aber who cares, right? Abenteuer ausserhalb der Mauern! Man(n) muss sich von der Mutter trennen, wie ein Kind das seinen eigenen Weg findet. (Nicht mein Gedankengang, bedankt euch dafür beim Autor.)
Alles in allem schräg! Wenn ihr es lesen wollt, dann würde ich sagen, leiht es euch aus der Bib aus.
Wenn es gut ist z.B. bei den Stammesbeziehungen und wie sie sich gegenseitig beeinflussen ist es gut. Aber das ist höchstens ein Drittel vom Buch.
Der Rest kränkelt daran, dass Jestak ein uninteresanter Hauptcharakter ist. Er ist perfekt, macht keine Fehler und seine Storyline ist, dass er der super (wenn auch durch andere ungewollt) Diplomat ist, so gut wie jeder (im Buch) mag ihn. Überhaupt würde ohne Jestak nichts passieren. Warum die Shumai (Speerkämpfer), die von den Sentani (Bogenschützen) dauernd getötet werden, in Tausend Jahren! sich nicht mal gedacht haben, hey wir müssen mal rausfinden wie das mit den Bögen funktioniert oder die Taktik ändern, bis Jestak um die Ecke kommt, ist ein absolutes Rätsel.
Dann sind da auch noch der anfangs sehr gewöhnungsbedürftige Schreibstil und die teils merkwürdigen, altmodischen Formulierungen. Was sind Hundsfotte?
Nebenbei schleicht dann noch der Geist der Achziger durch das Buch, was mich ab und an dazu gebracht hat mit den Augen zu rollen. Jestak sieht eine nackte Frau für ein paar Minuten, nachdem er sie gerettet hat, verknallt sich und riskiert dann seinen Leib und das Leben vieler Anderer, sie erneut zu retten. Sehr erwachsen, überhaupt könnte man Jestaks Geschichte als eine Coming of Age Story lesen, wenn der Mann nicht Ende zwanzig wäre.
Dann wird eine Frau eingeführt mit schönen Satz: Isol war eine Schlampe, aber sie liebte ihre Kinder. Nicht einmal folgt darauf eine Ausage über ihr lasterliches Verhalten. Im Gegenteil, was man dann von ihr liest, ist eine Frau die sich um die Erziehung ihrer Kinder kümmert und ihren Ehemann normal behandelt. Es war einfach nur seltsam.
Oh und wer darauf wartet, dass die für die Pelbar angewendete Regierungsform des Matriarchats lächerlich gemacht wird, das passiert so um Seite 310. Was wiederum merkwürdig ist, da die letzten Tausend Jahre die Regierung die Pelbar sehr gut geschützt hat, aber who cares, right? Abenteuer ausserhalb der Mauern! Man(n) muss sich von der Mutter trennen, wie ein Kind das seinen eigenen Weg findet. (Nicht mein Gedankengang, bedankt euch dafür beim Autor.)
Alles in allem schräg! Wenn ihr es lesen wollt, dann würde ich sagen, leiht es euch aus der Bib aus.
January 14, 2023
Williams, Paul O. The Breaking of Northwall.1980. E-book ed., Bison 2014. Pelbar Cycle 1
Paul O. Williams is best known for his Haiku, essays in the Christian Science Monitor, and one seven-book series of post-apocalyptic science fiction. The Breaking of Northwall, the first volume of the Pelbar Cycle, is set a thousand years after a nuclear disaster. North America is now inhabited by tribes that do not share a common language. Some are village dwellers, while others are nomadic horsemen. Slavery and warfare are routine. The bow and arrow are the latest in weaponry. We follow Jestak, a young man exiled from his peaceful metalworking village of Pelbar. His travels teach him skills from multiple cultures. He becomes a change agent wherever he goes. Jestak is a likable hero, and the many cultures he visits are well-differentiated. The North American economy stretches credulity. We seem to have metalworking without mining, for example. I am not sure what accounts for the ability of horses to survive and thrive after the nukes. But these are quibbles. The Breaking of Northwall is an engrossing adventure with no pretensions as future history. 4 stars.
Paul O. Williams is best known for his Haiku, essays in the Christian Science Monitor, and one seven-book series of post-apocalyptic science fiction. The Breaking of Northwall, the first volume of the Pelbar Cycle, is set a thousand years after a nuclear disaster. North America is now inhabited by tribes that do not share a common language. Some are village dwellers, while others are nomadic horsemen. Slavery and warfare are routine. The bow and arrow are the latest in weaponry. We follow Jestak, a young man exiled from his peaceful metalworking village of Pelbar. His travels teach him skills from multiple cultures. He becomes a change agent wherever he goes. Jestak is a likable hero, and the many cultures he visits are well-differentiated. The North American economy stretches credulity. We seem to have metalworking without mining, for example. I am not sure what accounts for the ability of horses to survive and thrive after the nukes. But these are quibbles. The Breaking of Northwall is an engrossing adventure with no pretensions as future history. 4 stars.
November 15, 2022
This adventure novel set in a far-postapocalyptic America just didn't have anything to hold my interest. The characters didn't grasp my sympathies, and the plot seems so far like a standard juxtaposition of over-civilized people v. noble "savages". In addition, the postapocalyptic setting doesn't seem to be explored yet: so far, I wouldn't recognize it except for the map. So, I gave it up about fifty pages in.
June 20, 2025
This must be one of the worst/most amateurishly written books i have ever come across.
Soulless infodumps, stilted dialogues where characters explain to each other the world they should actually know or retell histories as of course normal people do in casual talks (not!), childish characterisations and so on. This seems written by a 6th grade child. Who published this? Who read this and rated more then 2 stars? I suspect other children...
Soulless infodumps, stilted dialogues where characters explain to each other the world they should actually know or retell histories as of course normal people do in casual talks (not!), childish characterisations and so on. This seems written by a 6th grade child. Who published this? Who read this and rated more then 2 stars? I suspect other children...
August 3, 2025
It's interesting to see what an author comes up with when they aren't too concerned with writing a genre book in a traditional way. It's like how most mutations are neutral or deleterious, but sometimes you get something good. This book is pretty clunky, but it has some good qualities. It reminded me a lot of Redwall? I mean a lot.
July 28, 2024
Standard post-apocalyptic pre-industrial civilization fare. I found this book used with letters from the author to the former owner tucked in between the pages. A touching science fiction artifact for my collection.
March 23, 2020
Ludicrously awful writing.
July 1, 2020
Dated, but good. An interesting world and some interesting people.
August 31, 2020
A much more rational post-apocalypse.
December 13, 2022
Only read 30% and had to stop. It was annoying how everyone loved and praised everything about the main character.
November 20, 2024
Quit. Too much exposition for me.
August 23, 2025
Completely underrated series. I read these as a teen and they hold up amazingly well! They’re certainly better than 98% of the science fiction/fantasy coming out these days.
July 5, 2025
This is a very good post-apocalyptic story with a pastoral tone similar to Clifford D. Simak. The setting in North America, and most of society has reverted to a tribal and nomadic existence. There are isolated cities, and the East Coast is more advanced but largely pre-industrial. The plot focuses on the exploits of Jestak, a young man from small and insular city. After a trip to the East, he comes to realize that the various tribes and societies were once part of a unified society before the great fire. He is determined to bring peace to the various factions. The bulk of the novel is quite engaging as Jestak recounts his earlier exploits before he joins a campaign to help rescue slaves from a society in the West. I would have rated this higher, but the ending feels rather rushed and chaotic. Still, looking forward to the remaining six books in the series. Note: I have completed the entire series. The books get much better than this book.
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