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landonfx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
spitzig's review against another edition
3.0
Ok. Only borderline SF. SF, in the sense that nukes are scientific, and mainstream fiction usually doesn't significantly affect history.
The characters were pretty well done, though very traditional male/female roles. It was written and took place in the 50's, though.
It's probably considered post-apocalyptic, but it's the smallest apocalypse I've seen. Things just aren't that bad. Most apocalypses have at least 90% of people die. Nowhere near that here. Maybe they didn't have as many nukes back then.
The characters were pretty well done, though very traditional male/female roles. It was written and took place in the 50's, though.
It's probably considered post-apocalyptic, but it's the smallest apocalypse I've seen. Things just aren't that bad. Most apocalypses have at least 90% of people die. Nowhere near that here. Maybe they didn't have as many nukes back then.
Spoiler
I thought the end was funny, asking "Who won?" and the soldier responded with a sort of "Of course, we won." While with the degree of devastation, I doubt the US or the USSR lost any territory to the other. The narrator said something about "no one winning", but it seemed weakly stated.ereidsma's review against another edition
4.0
An entertaining story about survival after nuclear holocaust. It reminded me of how fragile we are.
adequate_squatch's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very interesting what-if book. What if Russia had just nuked us in the 80's?
I read this book too long ago to remember a lot of the specifics, but I do remember being frustrated at how isolated the story was. You have no idea what's going on in the rest of the country, just what is going on in this one community of people. I guess, though, that it's supposed to give you that closed-off feeling that the characters would have.
I read this book too long ago to remember a lot of the specifics, but I do remember being frustrated at how isolated the story was. You have no idea what's going on in the rest of the country, just what is going on in this one community of people. I guess, though, that it's supposed to give you that closed-off feeling that the characters would have.
imsam's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
pale_horse76's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
civil6512's review against another edition
3.0
I heard about Alas, Babylon some years ago, when I first started reading other post-apocalyptic stories (such as [b:Level 7|820073|Level 7|Mordecai Roshwald|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347381876s/820073.jpg|805927], [b:The Earth Abides|93269|Earth Abides|George R. Stewart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320505234s/93269.jpg|1650913], [b:On the Beach|38180|On the Beach|Nevil Shute|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327943327s/38180.jpg|963772], [b:Emergence|2300|Emergence|David R. Palmer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297103839s/2300.jpg|1145451]... -see my apocalyptic / post-apocalyptic shelf for the full list).
Every time I browsed through lists of the genre, Alas, Babylon was high in the ranks, but for some reason or another, I never got to read it until now. Maybe because I had such high expectations, maybe because the book hasn't aged that well, the thing is that I loved some parts of it and really hated some others.
The story opens up going to the point: the US and the Soviet Union are on the verge of nuclear conflict, and Randy Bragg, the main character, receives a secret message from his brother, ending with the infamous quote that names the book, to start preparing for the worse. The worse, inevitably, happens, and we witness how the peaceful and quiet town of Fort Repose, Florida, while spared by the nuclear blasts, starts suffering from the lack of law and order, supplies, and everything else we take from granted in our lives.
I liked the introduction and how the author builds up the tension before the beginning of the war, and I felt quite plausible the hypothetical scenario that leads up to it -spoiler linking with current times:. I also enjoyed the descend into chaos, the lack of news or communications, and a number of many other small details.
However, I disliked plenty of things. Being written in 1959, Alas, Babylon's portrayal of women and black people is very different from our current views. Some people in Goodreads are arguing that the character is not the author, that he's describing Florida at the time, and that he's even trying to make a point about stopping segregation. I disagree, and to me the book is racist and sexist, with women and black people characters lacking any depth or evolution.
There are other examples about lack of proper character development: Randy Bragg evolves into a hero almost in the blink of an eye, always doing the right thing; his father in-law also undergoes an amazing transformation (), and other characters appear as they are needed, regardless of them being there all the time.
There are several convenient Deus Ex Machina (), and in the end, one has the feeling of reading Robinson Crusoe.
Every time I browsed through lists of the genre, Alas, Babylon was high in the ranks, but for some reason or another, I never got to read it until now. Maybe because I had such high expectations, maybe because the book hasn't aged that well, the thing is that I loved some parts of it and really hated some others.
The story opens up going to the point: the US and the Soviet Union are on the verge of nuclear conflict, and Randy Bragg, the main character, receives a secret message from his brother, ending with the infamous quote that names the book, to start preparing for the worse. The worse, inevitably, happens, and we witness how the peaceful and quiet town of Fort Repose, Florida, while spared by the nuclear blasts, starts suffering from the lack of law and order, supplies, and everything else we take from granted in our lives.
I liked the introduction and how the author builds up the tension before the beginning of the war, and I felt quite plausible the hypothetical scenario that leads up to it -spoiler linking with current times:
Spoiler
the accidental attack in a Syrian harbor that triggers the war, with the US, Syria, Turkey, and the Soviet Union is painfully close to the current situation, if we replace the Soviet Union with RussiaHowever, I disliked plenty of things. Being written in 1959, Alas, Babylon's portrayal of women and black people is very different from our current views. Some people in Goodreads are arguing that the character is not the author, that he's describing Florida at the time, and that he's even trying to make a point about stopping segregation. I disagree, and to me the book is racist and sexist, with women and black people characters lacking any depth or evolution.
There are other examples about lack of proper character development: Randy Bragg evolves into a hero almost in the blink of an eye, always doing the right thing; his father in-law also undergoes an amazing transformation (
Spoiler
from calling black people "dinges", to simply working with one of them, without any further mention of that incident. The next time he participates in the story is to give away his room, as a wedding gift, and that's all.There are several convenient Deus Ex Machina (
Spoiler
such as finding salt when all salt was gone, or learning about the fate of Randy's brother when that was keeping her widow from taking another husband, or having some person hoarding enough gas and a vehicle for them to catch the highwaymen -who only killed Malachay, by the way, and nobody seemed to care. He had just died when they tried to operate, and the doctor was already thinking ahead about the next operationlattelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting perspective on a nuclear war novel, especially for when it was written. Personally, I haven't read too many novels such as this, but given that the time period is so different than today, it was interesting seeing how not having electricity affected the characters. It makes me think about how these generations would handle something like that--no cell phones, computers, television...it's a scary thought, but it's all in perspective.
jmoses's review against another edition
3.0
Not an awful read. For the most part I enjoyed it, but towards the end it felt like it dragged on. Characters felt a little one dimensional, but nothing that *really* detracted from the work. An interesting look at what might happen in "small town usa" post nuclear bombardment.