Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, Paperback: 352 pages, Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (July 5, 2005), ISBN-10: 0060741872
"The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world."
Rating: 5 of 5 STARs
Source: Some list of the best science fiction books of all time that I can't locate now!
At some point I had a list of must-read books and this one was in the Sci-Fi section. (As was Dune which, by the way, IS most definitely a must-read.) A couple of weeks ago a friend was saying that our book club should read Absalom, Absalom and I said, "Isn't that science fiction? We'll never get them to read it!" And she - a librarian - laughed at me and said, "No, you're thinking of Alas, Babylon." And I was. (Both have Biblical references in the title - you can follow my logic!) So that got the book on my mind again and I dug around until I found a copy I had picked up a long while ago amongst a tall stack of books in a dusty corner of my house. (ALL the corners of my house are dusty, actually.)
And I couldn't put it down. Really.
I had my doubts. First written in 1959 about nuclear war, I thought it would be outdated. I mean, we know so much more now, right? And the Cold War is over, isn't it? This was a great, great read. I loved the hero. I loved the writing. I loved the story. I also really loved the way it ended on a note of hope. Read it. I know, I know... You don't read science fiction, right? Well, trust me. Just try it.
And so, about those lovely little book lists. I couldn't locate the list where I first saw Alas, Babylon. I know I have it printed out around here somewhere. (It's probably somewhere in another dusty corner of my house!) So, I searched around on the Internet and found some Sci-Fi lists but couldn't find one with Alas, Babylon on it. I did find this list, though. How many have you read from it? Here are mine with favorites asterisked:
Ender's Game**
Dune**
1984
Fahrenheit 451
Brave New World
The Martian Chronicles
A Wrinkle in Time**
Frankenstein
The Handmaid's Tale
Doomsday Book
Out of the Silent Planet**
A Princess of Mars
The Lathe of Heaven
Flatland**
The Time Traveler's Wife
Ok, this catches me up on book reviews. Off to do another load of laundry... And sweep out some dusty corners! :-)
"The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world."
Rating: 5 of 5 STARs
Source: Some list of the best science fiction books of all time that I can't locate now!
At some point I had a list of must-read books and this one was in the Sci-Fi section. (As was Dune which, by the way, IS most definitely a must-read.) A couple of weeks ago a friend was saying that our book club should read Absalom, Absalom and I said, "Isn't that science fiction? We'll never get them to read it!" And she - a librarian - laughed at me and said, "No, you're thinking of Alas, Babylon." And I was. (Both have Biblical references in the title - you can follow my logic!) So that got the book on my mind again and I dug around until I found a copy I had picked up a long while ago amongst a tall stack of books in a dusty corner of my house. (ALL the corners of my house are dusty, actually.)
And I couldn't put it down. Really.
I had my doubts. First written in 1959 about nuclear war, I thought it would be outdated. I mean, we know so much more now, right? And the Cold War is over, isn't it? This was a great, great read. I loved the hero. I loved the writing. I loved the story. I also really loved the way it ended on a note of hope. Read it. I know, I know... You don't read science fiction, right? Well, trust me. Just try it.
And so, about those lovely little book lists. I couldn't locate the list where I first saw Alas, Babylon. I know I have it printed out around here somewhere. (It's probably somewhere in another dusty corner of my house!) So, I searched around on the Internet and found some Sci-Fi lists but couldn't find one with Alas, Babylon on it. I did find this list, though. How many have you read from it? Here are mine with favorites asterisked:
Ender's Game**
Dune**
1984
Fahrenheit 451
Brave New World
The Martian Chronicles
A Wrinkle in Time**
Frankenstein
The Handmaid's Tale
Doomsday Book
Out of the Silent Planet**
A Princess of Mars
The Lathe of Heaven
Flatland**
The Time Traveler's Wife
Ok, this catches me up on book reviews. Off to do another load of laundry... And sweep out some dusty corners! :-)
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4 comments:
My wife read this one in high school and recommended it to me a few years ago. What a terrific book! It just had great characters and seemed so *real*. Love it!
Thanks for the review; I added it to my TBR list. I've only read a handful of sci-fi, but I've found them so challenging and so full of incredible spiritual truths. Have you tried A Canticle for Leibowitz?
Glad you're going to try it. And no, hadn't heard of it, but I'll definitely take a look! Thanks for stopping by. B.
Dune is one of my all-time favorite books. I'll always remember BJ Buracker's reaction when he came into the lunchroom at SPCA and saw me re-reading it for the billionth time. LOL!
A SciFi book I think is definitely as good is "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein. Heinlein definitely had some unusual ideas about the nature of marriage (as seen in this book and others), but the storytelling and characters are magnificent. You would probably enjoy it.
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