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2.83 AVERAGE
2.83 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Meh, it was "just okay."
After London is made up of two distinct parts. First is "The Relapse into Barbarism", which describes the decline of civilization, but more importantly the recovery of nature, after an unspecified disaster. This section draws heavily on Jefferies background as a nature writer, and is essentially a detailed thought experiment on what would happen to the English countryside without many men around. For a potentially dry topic, it is surprisingly readable - largely because Jefferies describes the reaction of each aspect or species plausibly, then moves on without bogging down in details. Normally, this kind of material would exist mainly as backdrop for the characters. Here, one gets the feeling that the second half of the book was written mainly as an excuse for this imagination of the environment.
The second part of the book "Wild England", is a more standard adventure story about a sullen and disaffected young noble and his search for a place in the world (one that will impress his beloved). The story is simple, and still relies heavily on descriptions of the environment as the hero travels around. But it is again well thought through, and the hero's emotions are as plausible and realistic as the scenery around him.
The book is a pleasant read, if not exciting. I would have considered giving it a higher mark, but for the fact that the story effectively stops mid-stream. We can imagine what happens next; it's not essential that we're told. But because there's no gradual letdown, it feels very abrupt - enough so that on reading an e-copy a couple of decades after the print version, I went looking on the internet to see whether I had somehow been shortchanged.
So, a fun, interesting read, but a little disappointing at the end.
The second part of the book "Wild England", is a more standard adventure story about a sullen and disaffected young noble and his search for a place in the world (one that will impress his beloved). The story is simple, and still relies heavily on descriptions of the environment as the hero travels around. But it is again well thought through, and the hero's emotions are as plausible and realistic as the scenery around him.
The book is a pleasant read, if not exciting. I would have considered giving it a higher mark, but for the fact that the story effectively stops mid-stream. We can imagine what happens next; it's not essential that we're told. But because there's no gradual letdown, it feels very abrupt - enough so that on reading an e-copy a couple of decades after the print version, I went looking on the internet to see whether I had somehow been shortchanged.
So, a fun, interesting read, but a little disappointing at the end.
Drones on. But there’s some interesting parts that sound similar and I could see why TS references it in The Waste Land.
Published in 1885, this is an early, post-apocalyptic novel. A long essay begins the novel, describing the world in great detail, from biology to politics. A sudden and unspecified catastrophe has depopulated England, the countryside reverts to nature, and the few survivors revert to a quasi-medieval way of life.
The second part of the book is largely a straightforward adventure set in the wild landscape and society. Felix Aquila, the eldest of the three sons of a powerful Baron, sets out on a quest to prove himself worthy of the love of Aurora Thyma. Along the way he encounters various tribes of people, eventually rising to a leadership position among one set of natives. Three of the latter chapters give a disturbing and surreal description of the site of the fallen city of London.
The society that Jefferies depicts after the fall of London is an unpleasant one, with oppressive petty tyrants at war with each other, and insecurity and injustice for the poor. The book has lots of loose ends, which unfortunately Jefferies never tied up. Nevertheless, the book gives a satisfying conclusion, and is an important novel in the history of science fiction.
The second part of the book is largely a straightforward adventure set in the wild landscape and society. Felix Aquila, the eldest of the three sons of a powerful Baron, sets out on a quest to prove himself worthy of the love of Aurora Thyma. Along the way he encounters various tribes of people, eventually rising to a leadership position among one set of natives. Three of the latter chapters give a disturbing and surreal description of the site of the fallen city of London.
The society that Jefferies depicts after the fall of London is an unpleasant one, with oppressive petty tyrants at war with each other, and insecurity and injustice for the poor. The book has lots of loose ends, which unfortunately Jefferies never tied up. Nevertheless, the book gives a satisfying conclusion, and is an important novel in the history of science fiction.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
HATED THIS!!!!! DO NOT READ!!!!!
This is one of those books that has some super interesting concepts being explored throughout and is important to literary history, especially that of genre fiction and speculative fiction, but isn't actually the most well written novel overall. Read for the ideas and the themes, not for the writing, plot, or characters.
This book was a surprise to me. I'd never heard of it before, or even heard of the author. If not for Standard Ebooks, I may have never learned of this book. I really enjoyed it though. It's not high octane action, and there are turning points in the story where I wanted the author to go a different direction, but it was a really interesting, well done novel. Really glad I read this.
This is such an odd book. I really enjoyed it though. A very old stab at the post apocalyptic novel, it revolves around what’s become of the UK after some civilization ending event. Society has reverted back to largely feudal traditions and the main character is a very angsty nerd. Not even joking. He’s not a good knight, but he knows how to make contraptions no one can fathom and no one will give him the time of day. So he resolves to make his own way in the world.