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leeakolb's review against another edition
3.0
Probably better when first published.
I'd heard of this book due to my interest in post apocalyptic games. To me it had too many details where they were unnecessary, and not nearly enough where the should have been. It's an ok story, but if it were new I'd say it's ending was sequel bait.
I'd heard of this book due to my interest in post apocalyptic games. To me it had too many details where they were unnecessary, and not nearly enough where the should have been. It's an ok story, but if it were new I'd say it's ending was sequel bait.
markusgmg's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tregina's review against another edition
3.0
It's really interesting comparing this to modern post-apocalyptic literature, particularly in the depiction of the post-apocalyptic world and in the things it things it concerns itself with. It's idyllic in a way, an England returned to its natural state—for the most part there is nothing to 'clean up' where in most of what I consider to be post-apocalyptic literature the world itself is destroyed and the survivors are shown dealing with that. This book concerns itself largely with the loss of knowledge, particularly as it concerns politics and warfare, alongside the little things, like fifty years without tea.
The darkest part was also my favourite: the journey into the heart of ravaged London, still toxic and completely unrecognisable. I liked the book (aside from the inevitable sexism and other prejudices of the time) and there were some particularly lovely insights and descriptions, but it would have been more to my taste if there had been more of that.
The darkest part was also my favourite: the journey into the heart of ravaged London, still toxic and completely unrecognisable. I liked the book (aside from the inevitable sexism and other prejudices of the time) and there were some particularly lovely insights and descriptions, but it would have been more to my taste if there had been more of that.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/28029.html[return][return]This is often described as the first ever post-Holocaust book, published in 1885; some unspecified disaster has overcome civilisation, much of England is flooded and has become a huge lake, and society has reverted to feudalism.[return][return]We start off with a lengthy description of the social and zoological situation; we then turn to our hero, Felix Aquila, a young nobleman whose marvellous physical characteristics are dwelt on lovingly (unlike his supposed female love interest, of whom all we are told is that she is beautiful); he runs away from home, fights in a war, discovers the poisonous ruins of London; and is adopted as their king by the shepherd tribes of the south-east in their perennial war against the gipsies/Romany.[return][return]The book ends really abruptly with Felix tramping back to his home to reclaim his love. The descriptions of the landscape, vegetation and natural world are fantastic, but there's really very little plot. Still, a classic of proto-science fiction.
sardonic_writer's review against another edition
1.0
The history of the world was interesting, but I couldn't get invested in the second part of the book.
strzinski's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kpasteka's review against another edition
2.0
This is another read in my early history of SF adventure and is usually stated as being the first post-apocalyptic novel. The story is set in England a few generations after an unnamed disaster wiped out the population and the cities. The society that has grown up is the classic quasi-medieval feudal world found in so many fantasy stories. To me this novel is science fiction is the same way that [a:Anne McCaffrey's|7868581|McCaffrey, Anne|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] Pern series is science fiction- they are both fantasy stories built on a science fiction foundation.
I found the protagonist annoying and the plot lackluster (and don't get me started on the lack of conclusion). This is a case of a good idea suffering in a poor story but it's the core ideas presented that went on to inspire other writers of the era and so on down the decades until today where the post-apocalyptic society theme is firmly entrenched.
Overall, if you are a Science Fiction fan and wish to get the sense of the lasting themes of this novel read Part 1 of the novel and then Chapters 22-24 of Part 2. I don't think general readers would be interested in this story.
I found the protagonist annoying and the plot lackluster (and don't get me started on the lack of conclusion). This is a case of a good idea suffering in a poor story but it's the core ideas presented that went on to inspire other writers of the era and so on down the decades until today where the post-apocalyptic society theme is firmly entrenched.
Overall, if you are a Science Fiction fan and wish to get the sense of the lasting themes of this novel read Part 1 of the novel and then Chapters 22-24 of Part 2. I don't think general readers would be interested in this story.
tregina's review
3.0
It's really interesting comparing this to modern post-apocalyptic literature, particularly in the depiction of the post-apocalyptic world and in the things it things it concerns itself with. It's idyllic in a way, an England returned to its natural state—for the most part there is nothing to 'clean up' where in most of what I consider to be post-apocalyptic literature the world itself is destroyed and the survivors are shown dealing with that. This book concerns itself largely with the loss of knowledge, particularly as it concerns politics and warfare, alongside the little things, like fifty years without tea.
The darkest part was also my favourite: the journey into the heart of ravaged London, still toxic and completely unrecognisable. I liked the book (aside from the inevitable sexism and other prejudices of the time) and there were some particularly lovely insights and descriptions, but it would have been more to my taste if there had been more of that.
The darkest part was also my favourite: the journey into the heart of ravaged London, still toxic and completely unrecognisable. I liked the book (aside from the inevitable sexism and other prejudices of the time) and there were some particularly lovely insights and descriptions, but it would have been more to my taste if there had been more of that.
bzedan's review
5.0
Loved the story, which felt like a medieval fantasy at times, though it's set post-apocalypse of some kind. It's one of the "England is the cheese that stands alone" kind of stories. The upper class just leaves the country, leaving the less educated (in sciences and things) and those who can't afford to emigrate. Jefferies doesn't try to explain why. There is some weird narrator separation from the story, which takes place some hundred years after everybody cleared out and some undefined amount of time before the story is written. The protagonist is some historical character of note—though, again, Jefferies doesn't really go into it. I'm kind of a sucker for a) wilderness post-apocalyptic themes and 2) stories where a lot is left to hang, expository-wise ("Scanners Live in Vain" as an example).The end felt overly abrupt, though. Of the books I've read this month, bits of it have stuck the most (besides Borges, but I adore his work so much it doesn't factor in). This promises to be a book and idea that snuggles perfectly amidst the scraps of sf ideas and notions that have shacked up in my brain. I wonder if it'd have the same impression on someone from a totally different geographic locale.
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