Reviews - Earth Abides | The StoryGraph

276 reviews for:

Published in 1949, just fear of "atomic war" began to heat up, Earth Abides instead considers apocalypse-by-viral outbreak. Almost all human life perishes very quickly. Before they disappear, scientists speculate on three possible causes - intentional attack, research center leak, spread from wild animals suddenly in proximity to expanding human communities. Sound familiar?
I find it fascinating that he anticipates all this without nuclear war.

The book has fairly decent writing though dated social relations (particularly around gender).

Stewart had other, more popular (novels, and Earth Abides has begun to gain notice. While dated in some ways, it has an interesting take on how what's left of human civilization degenerates -- and not through war and savagery, as in other such stories.

mabanero's review against another edition

2.0

Interesting only for the take on what someone from the 40s thought post-apocalyptic life would be like. Casual racism, sexism, and ablism. Main character is insufferably full of himself. Canned goods last 40 years. A reader/writer who writes about a book lover who is obviously an author standin. Interesting lack of religiosity.

kellylives's review against another edition

2.0

dark sad 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: Yes

It may be s classic but this book was bloated and slow.

sarabearian's review against another edition

I have read many different scenarios in the apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic genre and was looking forward to reading a book that inspired Stephen King to write one of my favorite books, The Stand. I recommend this one. Humankind has been all but eradicated by a plague that kills 99.9 % of the human population. What follows are the few survivors trying to understand their new living conditions and adapt to the world as it is now. Food is found in the grocery stores, clothing is picked up out of an abundant supply of retail stores, tools don’t need to be made just picked up at the hardware store and they slowly lose the vestiges of modern knowledge and become hunter gatherers.
This is a kinder gentler world that our survivors live in. Led by a former graduate student Isherwood Williams ("Ish" to his friends) a small community forms in the east bay area near UC Berkley. Made up of just regular people, the family has no surgeons or scientists just survivors that have some basic skills and are able to accept that civilization is lost. Ish tries to teach basic reading and math skills to the children of the community but finds that the new generations are not interested in academic skills that have little value in the new reality. Also a number of superstitions develop mostly evolving around Ish and a large hammer that he carries to tribal events and festivities. – Thom D.