Introversion

So I've been working on the goal of reading at least one or two major book a month (been going strong for several months now), and in support of this my sister gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card for Christmas. For January I've decided that I want to get some good ol' fashioned post apocalyptic fiction in, and in addition to another book I've already picked I'm debating between two that both seem very good.

The first is the classic Day of the Triffids, and the second is The Road.

I was curious if any of you had read either of them, and what your thoughts were about them. Any help would be appreciated!

Day of the Triffids was great as far as I remember - original and surprisingly it didn't seem that old-fashioned. It's pretty short so definitely give it a go.

Yeah, Day of the Triffids is great. Don't see the film, though -.-

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep, i've only just recently read this and it's not a particularly long book but was quite thought provoking and perhaps worth a look as an alternative

Well, the Foundation series is post-apocolyptic, but it's a different take on it. Instead of coming out of vaults to meet enormous rats and pigs, they escape to space. However, it takes place so far in the future that they hardly mention the nuclear holocaust at all. In fact, I believe there's only one scene that talks about it. Anyway, it's a good scif-fi by good ol' Asimov.

If you're a fan of Orson Scott Card, you might try Folk of the Fringe. Haven't read it, but I thought I'd throw it in.

wwarnick

wwarnick wrote:Well, the Foundation series is post-apocolyptic, but it's a different take on it. Instead of coming out of vaults to meet enormous rats and pigs, they escape to space. However, it takes place so far in the future that they hardly mention the nuclear holocaust at all. In fact, I believe there's only one scene that talks about it. Anyway, it's a good scif-fi by good ol' Asimov.

If you're a fan of Orson Scott Card, you might try Folk of the Fringe. Haven't read it, but I thought I'd throw it in.

wwarnick

Yeah, Foundation wasn't really a post-apopalyptic novel - sure, there had been an apocalypse, but the story of the novel was in no way related and it had little effect. I enjoyed the first one but lost interest afterwards... Asimov never excited me.

If you want some great sci-fi, check out David Brin's Uplift trilogies. They were excellent reading.

Pox wrote:

wwarnick wrote:Well, the Foundation series is post-apocolyptic, but it's a different take on it. Instead of coming out of vaults to meet enormous rats and pigs, they escape to space. However, it takes place so far in the future that they hardly mention the nuclear holocaust at all. In fact, I believe there's only one scene that talks about it. Anyway, it's a good scif-fi by good ol' Asimov.

If you're a fan of Orson Scott Card, you might try Folk of the Fringe. Haven't read it, but I thought I'd throw it in.

wwarnick

Yeah, Foundation wasn't really a post-apopalyptic novel - sure, there had been an apocalypse, but the story of the novel was in no way related and it had little effect. I enjoyed the first one but lost interest afterwards... Asimov never excited me.

That's a shame. :/ Foundation was an excellent book, and he's done so many other good ones too.

One of his slightly less famous works is called "The End Of Eternity" - and I would say that is my favourite Asimov, and I would recommend it to anyone who cares. A really, really nice book.

I ended up getting The Road, with the second book being The Children of Men (pretty good so far!).

shinygerbil wrote:Yeah, Foundation wasn't really a post-apopalyptic novel - sure, there had been an apocalypse, but the story of the novel was in no way related and it had little effect. I enjoyed the first one but lost interest afterwards... Asimov never excited me.

That's a shame. :/ Foundation was an excellent book, and he's done so many other good ones too.[/quote]

I did enjoy "I Robot"... but then again that wasn't much of a book, just a bunch of amusing anecdotes.

Feud wrote:I ended up getting The Road, with the second book being The Children of Men (pretty good so far!).

Children of Men is an excellent book. I would also recommend the film, which is rather good, though certainly it takes a different take on the basic premise. Even if you don't like the tampering with the plot, there is a 5-10 minute camera shot towards the end which is simply amazing.

xander

Hrm, P.D. James irritates me. Case in point, a scene in one of her crime fiction novels in which the protagonist comments on how bad modern crime fiction is. Subtle, that.

I liked the film Children of Men, though I don't recall noticing particular techniques. It worked better when it was showing rather than telling.

KingAl wrote:Hrm, P.D. James irritates me. Case in point, a scene in one of her crime fiction novels in which the protagonist comments on how bad modern crime fiction is. Subtle, that.

I liked the film Children of Men, though I don't recall noticing particular techniques. It worked better when it was showing rather than telling.

I don't really like most P.D. James. Children of Men was an exception. ;)

xander

I've not read the book, but the film is one of my favourites.

Children of Men was a decent film, worlds would collide and the cosmos would explode into nothing if I ever read it (or any other fictional book) though.

Pox wrote:Yeah, Foundation wasn't really a post-apopalyptic novel - sure, there had been an apocalypse, but the story of the novel was in no way related and it had little effect.

All but Foundation and Earth, which I found to be a fascinating book. It gives a more clear picture of what happened since humans left Earth. It basically fills the gap between now and Foundation (and links Foundation to another Asimov series). Unfortunately, it's the last in the series (aside from the prequels). Nevertheless, some of the best sci-fi.

wwarnick