 "An armageddon classic" | 2009-09-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: A10HUD3X4V3OM4 |
I've read this book, I don't know, 20 times? What keeps drawing me back: How it's not just about a nuclear attack. It's about class, race, education, culture, sex and gender, greed, fear, pride, ego, denial. It's about being competent, prepared, creative, brave, and hopeful.
Yes, there are some whopper flaws that I choose to interpret as indicative of the time in which Mr. Frank wrote the book, specifically relating to his almost-caricaturist portrayal of his neighbors, the Henrys. On the other hand, the Henrys play a large and positive role in the novel, in a time and in a genre in which featuring a black family was unusual. Another whopper, not so easily chalked up to period, is the happy circumstance that Fort Repose is in a relatively safe zone, despite being virtually surrounded by nuclear-hit military bases and cities.
It's a tidy little social microcosm novel, with a thought-provoking lesson on being prepared to fend for oneself. |
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| "Original 1950's Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction" | 2009-09-07 |
| - Reviewed By johnneardc |
Randy Bragg is living an unspectacular late 1950's existence in well-named Fort Repose, Florida. Things begin to change when he is contacted by his brother Mark, an Air Force Colonel. Mark uses their long-standing code for trouble, a phrase from the Book of Revelations. Mark explains that war is imminent, and leaves his family with Randy for safekeeping. His predictions prove accurate. The brief nuclear exchange that follows swallows Mark and a large proportion of the country's population. It leaves Fort Repose in the middle of a radiation-free zone, safe but cut off from the outside.
Much of what follows has since become standard in "after the big war" stories. Randy and his community cope with the absence of civilization. As electricity fails, they use candles for light and fire for cooking. As canned food supplies dwindle, they rediscover fishing, hunting and planting. They learn to repair, then make simple tools like bows and arrows that are now needed to survive. Many authors have covered this ground, but Pat Frank was one of the first. And he does it well.
What sets this story apart is the focus on people. We see contrast between the town's banker, who cannot adjust to a world without money, and other Fort Repose citizens who form a working barter economy. Some former neighbors steal from each other, while others become closer--cooperating to catch fish, find a new source of salt, and even have community social gatherings. Randy emerges as a leader, organizing use of community resources, access to medical care, and defense against marauding outlaws.
The book also explores subtle currents in the relationships between its characters. Randy's sister-in-law Helen, for example, has to deal with the attachment she forms to Randy. Although this attachment is more domestic than romantic, it complicates Randy's growing romance with his neighbor, Lib McGovern. These explorations of personal and community relationships set the book apart from more traditional post-war science fiction of this time, such as Earth Abides. Readers who enjoy this human element will recognize similar themes in the darker On the Beach by Nevil Shute. There are also elements of post-disaster community-building in John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids. Pat Frank's book has a strong dose of both.
This book his highly recommended to fans of post-apocalyptic science fiction, students of 1950's opinions about surviving nuclear war, and readers who simply enjoy a good story with interesting characters. |
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 "Great story!" | 2009-08-24 |
| - Reviewed By User: A12P2Y334U2K52 |
| This is one of those you'll go back and read several times, because the story is so good. |
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| "An interesting, important even - book" | 2009-08-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: AG2YXYIQ8TLTA |
I really want to do this book justice as I write about it, but I don't know that I can. I first read this book nearly 20 years ago for my high school English class. I've always been a reader all of my life but this was one of the first books that I really enjoyed, understood - and, more importantly, took something away from. I also don't generally re-read books, but I read this one every few years.
I think there are a few things you need to know before you read it. It was written in the 1950s, at the height of all of the nuclear issues. The language is a bit off at times, there are a few things that make me cringe (the women being portrayed as as they are, the kid being given a gun, etc)... but... those were the times.
I also think you need to remember that this is Fiction, although parts of it or so well written that you almost feel like it shouldn't be. It's very... believable. You are left feeling like there surely is a place called Fort Repose in another world that survived a nuclear attack. You don't know more than the characters do, which lead to even more credibility.
I really wish I could give all of the reasons you should read this book. Just read it. It's one of the good ones! |
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 "Emotionally vapid tale from the 1950s thinks about surviving nuclear war" | 2009-07-22 |
| - Reviewed By quickhappy-canada |
If you're interested in a period-piece, a measure of 1950s Americana, I think this novel might be an excellent place to browse. Rationality, family values, and law-and-order, point to the survival of "civilization" even after a horrifying nuclear exchange. However, if it's a good novel you're looking for, this one is better left on the shelves.
The characters are quite-nearly flat and depthless. That a nuclear war has devastated most of humanity is only of slight concern. Emotionally they seem only mildly affected by the harrowing fact of war. They reflect little on what the war means to humanity or to their own lives, except in so far as they need salt, meat, and liquor.
Having read the glowing reviews on Amazon, and being on a tear of post-apocalypse novels, I was quite keen to read this early addition to the genre. Having now read the book, I am keen to save other readers the lagging, vapid tedium of a tale about a small American town blase to the war that has just passed.
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| "A post-apocolyptic classic" | 2009-06-28 |
| - Reviewed By honeybucketman |
| For a novel written in 1959 surprisingly it didn't feel dated. It almost reads as historical fiction. Any fan of post-apocalyptic fiction should read this. |
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