fascinating and memorable read

books:


	• Earth Abides George R. Stewart Del Rey, 2006 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 258 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

What A Great Read!

I remember first reading this book in High School almost 30 years ago - the story of Isherwood Williams and his struggle to survive in a world where 99% of the people have perished in a biological holocaust. Well written, it keeps the readers attention pretty much throughout. While the book suffers a tiny bit of "out-dated-ness" (no mention of cell phones, or the internet) it is still an excellent and well-thought-out read about the demise of our techno-centric civilization. I especially like the way the book takes you through the passing of years, and eventually decades - to a future that makes you step back and say "Yeah, I can see that happening..." Enjoy the book, it's a great read!

for more information click here

Disappointed

I was looking for a good "end of the world" type novel, and after the amazing reviews, chose this one. Disappointed hardly describes it. This is one that as a quick reader (usually finishing a novel in less than two days) it took me over a week of forcing myself to keep picking this back up. This was so anti-climatic it was boring.

The most interesting thing about the story wasn't even told! One day, Ish wakes up to the aftermath of a world stripped of most humanity. Personally, I would have liked to read about the actual acts of the end of days, not the leftover start over.

So Ish decides to drive all over the U.S. just observing, meeting some people along the way. Again, pretty dull. It is described well, and the writer is a good writer, but he doesn't seem to have anything to tell. He could have had more conflict, more interesting character, but it lacked this. In fact, until the end of the book, I didn't even know how old Ish was in the beginning. For a book that focuses on this main character, and pretty much the first quarter of the book is all about Ish, there is very little backstory and knowledge of him. Unacceptable.

Instead the focus is on everything going on, well not going on, around Ish. The lack of people. The mess. The fires and fallen trees. Where has electricity and where doesn't. The looting.

The most interesting thing he actually wrote about was the rise and fall of other species. I would have LOVED to read more about THAT! However, his telling of the ants, which was brilliant, was summed up in a few paragraphs while he took ages to tell the most boring parts.

It also was unbelievable to me. Granted, this was written in the forties. But I hardly think for as long as time passed, even in simpler times, that people would live as they did without making more adjustments until they absolutley had to. I suppose some people might be that way, and I guess we'll never know until it happens.

Honestly, I would have been more interested in reading about the other survivors than Ish, who was a procrastinator and thought very little of those closest to him.

I would not recommend this book. Yes, it does stick with you. But not in a good way.

for more information click here

Very interesting read

Starts off great, slows down too much in the middle but finishes well. If you are looking for a Robinson Crusoe post-apocalyptic type read this is not for you. Nothing like "The Stand". All the characters are at best low end of average and manage to accomplish very little over the 42 year span of the book. Somehow, I liked that about the book. The writer gets a little too esoteric though. Still, one of the better reads I have had this year. Written in 1949 and I got a hoot out of picking the small things that dated the book. Everybody smoking is an example.

for more information click here

fascinating and memorable read

I read this book 35 years ago while in junior high. It captivated me. I pondered (as only an adolescent can) what I would do if I were Ish. What would I do if I came home from a trip into the mountains and found the world dead of a plague. How would I respond? What would I do? How would I survive? How would I cope?

I read it again when I was in high school and the same musing returned. I found it in my box of "things" several years later when I was 23, after I was married. I sat down that afternoon and read the entire book. Again it affected me - but in a different, more mature way. After I had children, I gave it to my daughter to read when she was 16. She found it to be a very fascinating read on the sociological impact on man of a devastating plague which leaves only a few scattered survivors. I have lent my copy to several people over the years and everyone who reads it finds the book to create emotion and ponder what they would do in such a situation.

The mystery and appeal of the book lies in the writer placing the reader into the conscience of the main character named Isherwood "Ish" Williams. There are several undertones within the book - one of which is the role of the reluctant leader, the second the "sacramental" image of the hammer. It also shows the tendancy of man to desire religion.

This book review, I hope, motivates someone to read a book that they may not have read by simply looking at the cover. You will be mesmerized by this well written classic... I guarantee! (I have been mesmerized by it 5 times now in the past 35 years)

for more information click here

Earth Abides

Anyone who has read Alas, Babylon or Lucifer's Hammer needs to read this also. The premise is a panepedimic wipes out almost the entire population of the earth. Earth abides, but Man is almost extint. The turning point comes when the main character realizes that civilization as he knew it is over. He then turns his energies into teaching the Tribe to be self sufficient.

A very good read, very on point and topical for today's world.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

A disease of unparalleled destructive force has sprung up almost simultaneously in every corner of the globe, all but destroying the human race. One survivor, strangely immune to the effects of the epidemic, ventures forward to experience a world without man. What he ultimately discovers will prove far more astonishing than anything he'd either dreaded or hoped for.

From the Paperback edition.

for more information click here

hot

not?

What's your opinion?

Write a review and share your thoughts!

recommendations

100+ best Science Fiction books part 3
Dystopia: Zombies, Viruses and The Bomb
Books for Teens and Young Adults
Future Imperfect
My 2008 Books

earth

The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth ...
The Pillars of the Earth (Deluxe Edition) (Oprah's Book Club)
Unaccustomed Earth
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, ...
World Without End

search for books
earth abides, abides, earth

Impressum / about us