From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

The Old Man and the Wasteland (The Wasteland Saga, #1)

Nick Cole

Start date: September 15, 2017

Finish date: October 1, 2017

Discussion: AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

Discussion leader: Gertie

Why we're reading this: Read this month to discuss in October. Here is the link to the discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topi …more
[close] Read this month to discuss in October. Here is the link to the discussion: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

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AW BOOK CLUB (spoilers)

* What is a good book for AW discussion? (Nominations pool)
By Gertie · 65 posts · 218 views

last updated Oct 18, 2025 05:31PM

* AW Book Club: what we've read
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last updated Dec 10, 2019 09:01AM

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What Members Thought

Oct 12, 2017 Gertie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalypse, aw-authors, bookclubnominees

I encourage anyone starting this book and finding it a little "slow" to keep going... quickly things turn to more interesting events well worth hanging in there for. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 14, 2012 Joshua rated it really liked it

A post-apocalypse book set in about 2070, 40 years after the bombs fell and basically obliterated society. It's a story of an old man who tries to shake his "curse" by setting out on one last salvage run, leaving his village near Yuma and heading for the wastes of Phoenix and Tucson.
This was a great book. Very believable main character. A few technical glitches like the distances he travels during his wandering around the desert, but otherwise a fantastic short book. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2012 Mark Rayner rated it liked it

This is a quick read, and worth your time, even if it is a tad derivative. I thought the author captured the desperation and resignation of aging in a post-apocalyptic world quite well, and the story rocks along at a nice pace.

This is nit-picky, but I really would have appreciated a few synonyms for the word "salvage". ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2013 Tom rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this short ode to "Old Man and the Sea" set in post-apocalyptic Arizona. This "Old Man" sets out from his village hoping to recapture some admiration of his fellow villagers on one last solo-scavenge hunt. Bad things and encounters with bad people ensue before poetically wrapping up. A good read. ...more

1 like · Like · see review