July 3rd, 2008 - Book review: Alas, Babylon
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank is another post-apocalypse novel, only this time written in the early 60s about a nuclear war in the late 50s. Far more realistic than The Rising! For example, by the time the group is working on their survival, they spend the entire day (adults and children alike) working on feeding themselves, and they still go to bed hungry.
On the other hand, not quite as gripping a tale. I skipped many long passages of military-related prose. The characters weren’t nearly as interesting nor attractive to me. Perhaps because none of them were much like me, and all the women were fairly typical male portrayals of 1950s women (ie, quite sexist). It’s also quite racist, however the Black family is the most prepared for catastrophe and without their food supplies and knowledge of the land, the main characters never would have survived. The the main character somewhat understands this, but doesn’t make that much of it beyond one or two brief mentions. Quite obviously a book from the early 60s.
Despite that, a good apocalypse novel that I’d recommend.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:29 pm EDT
>I love post-apocalyptic books.
I did not know that! Or not remember, which is nearly the same thing.
You know that I do, too, right?
Have you touched Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road”, yet? Bleak, but great.