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A review by civil6512
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
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 (