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I really don't know what to say about this terrific book. It's the fourth book I've read by Robert Charles Wilson and the best by far. (I really didn't think he could top Spin.)
Let's be clear that this book is not about Julian Comstock. It is about the narrator, a young man named Adam Hazzard. Along with his best friend, Julian, we are taken on a tour of what must be every aspect of post-apocalyptic America. In this case, the apocalypse is brought about by the collapse of oil, pollution, plague ...more
Let's be clear that this book is not about Julian Comstock. It is about the narrator, a young man named Adam Hazzard. Along with his best friend, Julian, we are taken on a tour of what must be every aspect of post-apocalyptic America. In this case, the apocalypse is brought about by the collapse of oil, pollution, plague ...more
This is the funniest and most charming dystopic novel I've ever read. The setting in some ways seemed to be extrapolated from the events of Kunstler's World Made By Hand, though this book took itself far less seriously. It still raises some great questions about religion and war and the possible future toward which we are heading, but it does so in subtler ways.
Wilson's genius was in choosing Adam Hazzard as the narrator of Julian Comstock's story. Adam's innocence (bordering on obtuseness) with ...more
Wilson's genius was in choosing Adam Hazzard as the narrator of Julian Comstock's story. Adam's innocence (bordering on obtuseness) with ...more
I'd been reading this since I visited my girlfriend in January. Finally I'm doing a bit of Mount TBR busting, and I picked this up and just steamed through what I had left of it. The fact that that was an effort, combined with how long I just left it mouldering on my to read pile, probably influences my rating.
I don't think I've read any of Robert Charles Wilson's work before, though I do have another of his novels on my shelf somewhere. I'm not sure I would read more if it weren't for that. I g ...more
I don't think I've read any of Robert Charles Wilson's work before, though I do have another of his novels on my shelf somewhere. I'm not sure I would read more if it weren't for that. I g ...more
Luddite sf, mixing sandburg's america, focus-on-the-family, hemingway's Men At War, DeTocqville's America, horatio alger, and global warming.
The novel's reach exceeds its grasp, slightly. Balances all these disparate themes successfully, but not with the level of finesse done, for example, with Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale.
It made me yearn for a world selectively devoid of the digital maze we have locked ourselves in to.
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A brilliant concept depicting a not-so-distant US after some post apocalyptic event - it reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale in that the Church of Christianity has gained the ultimate power in ruling over all individuals and government. And like The Handmade's Tale, it is completely realistic, and very possible outcome.
For the first half I was loving this, but for some reason I can't quite pin I grew more disillusioned as I progressed with this book. Perhaps part of it is the detachment I felt f ...more
For the first half I was loving this, but for some reason I can't quite pin I grew more disillusioned as I progressed with this book. Perhaps part of it is the detachment I felt f ...more
I liked the premise and was certainly entertained by the story and the little nuggets of science fiction. I liked the way he worked in the history of the US and how it devolved. It did not move very fast but that was ok. The Ending was good, not entirely predictable but not entirely satisfying either.
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I had originally rated this book only four stars, but it has been a few weeks now and this book is staying fresh in my memory. Looking back through the books I've read this year, I'd have to say this is my favorite SF book of 2009 (though depending on your definition, you may not label this science fiction at all).
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March group read.
Sep 21, 2009
Carolyn
marked it as browse-to-read-someday
Apr 02, 2012
Rushi
marked it as to-read
Oct 14, 2012
Ubik
marked it as wilson
Mar 22, 2016
Figgy
marked it as to-read
