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3.0 stars. George R. Stewart's post-apocalyptic science fiction classic. I came into this story with incredibly high expectations and I think that may have tainted my experience with the book. It was well written with some very beautiful and haunting moments, but in the end it just didn't hold my interest enough to rate it higher. Good, but not great.
Winner: International Science Fiction Award for Best Novel (1951)
Voted to Locus "All Time Best" Science Fiction Novels. ...more
Winner: International Science Fiction Award for Best Novel (1951)
Voted to Locus "All Time Best" Science Fiction Novels. ...more
Only a few survivors are left after most of humanity suffers an apocalyptic fate. The societies the remaining humans create are fascinating, but what sticks in my mind to this day is the rapid loss of knowledge. When just surviving takes up all one's energy, each successive generation is taught less and less about the greater world. Only a few generations later, humanity has lost science, history, and literacy. To this day the book catches at my heart.
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Published in 1949, just fear of "atomic war" began to heat up, Earth Abides instead considers apocalypse-by-viral outbreak. Almost all human life perishes very quickly. Before they disappear, scientists speculate on three possible causes - intentional attack, research center leak, spread from wild animals suddenly in proximity to expanding human communities. Sound familiar?
I find it fascinating that he anticipates all this without nuclear war.
The book has fairly decent writing though dated soci ...more
I find it fascinating that he anticipates all this without nuclear war.
The book has fairly decent writing though dated soci ...more
A quiet, unimposing book about the end of the world as we know it. That was very much what I liked about it.
A little off-topic maybe, but, the scene when Ish goes into the department store and the manikins are commented on: this vividly brought to mind a scene from the movie "Omega Man." I wonder if the screenwriter combined tidbits from this book with Matheson's when writing the screenplay. ...more
A little off-topic maybe, but, the scene when Ish goes into the department store and the manikins are commented on: this vividly brought to mind a scene from the movie "Omega Man." I wonder if the screenwriter combined tidbits from this book with Matheson's when writing the screenplay. ...more
Aug 31, 2008
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