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Summary: Another Great Post-Apocalyptic Story
Review: This book stars a character who reminded me a little of Hesse's "Steppenwolf", living in a post-apocalyptic world in which infertility is universal. People are going mad, realizing their human history will not carry on, and total anarchy reigns in many regions. Much of the real story is about when our hero discovers a woman who has miraculously borne a child and must fight to protect her from the government. Very diverting.
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Summary: She is no mere crime writer. This is a WRITER.
Review: This is a great book. P. D. James has clearly displayed that she can suceed at anything she turns her hand to. i even found myself enjoying this novel even more than some of the Dalgliesh books.There is one word that can describe this book. That word is............Lovely...........mainly because it is. The plot is, perhaps somewhat simple, but that just makes for an easier read. and it does start fairly slowly. But it is lovely. Aside from being a futuristic novel, it is also a very tender lovestory. One of the things that make this book great is the fact that it is a nice old fashioned story. Some of the ideas Ms James had are now, clearly not correct, but could well have been. everything she has written is the product of a very logical mind and, if things had gone differently, none of them are beyond the bounds of our imaginations. Some of the things she writes even seem comical compared to now. Which, whilst probably not intentional, does add flavour to the story. There is also good, adventure, intirgue, action, etc. Well done, I would reccomend this to one and all as proof of Ms James title as one of the best writer's the world has ever seen. I shall savour every one of her novels, because i only expect there to be two, possibly three, more, because, let's face it people, she won't be around for ever, enjoy her while you can!!!!
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Summary: Society in the year 2021.
Review: This might supplement the comments offered in the many interesting reviews provided by other internet users. It might also warn admirers of eminent crime writer P D James that they may not find what they expect in this 1992 novel. It seems to be Dame Phyllis's attempt at trying her hand at depicting a world as it might be in thirty years from the time of writing. George Orwell's "1984", and Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" come to mind as possible prototypes. In two parts, the novel provides firstly a grim and cheerless picture of society such as it is in 2021. Theo Faron, a middle-aged academic, is usually the narrator. The second part provides some action, a version of the "escape from the menace" formula found in the novels mentioned above. The prose, as usual with this writer, is invariably slow-paced. I listened to the book in its audio format. The audio version, by Julian Glover, which occupies almost ten hours, alleviated the boredom that I believe would have prevented me turning the pages to complete a reading of it.
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Summary: Oh Dear
Review: This was a real slog to get through. The idea was good enough, but the plot was snail's pace - every scene is described in detail, just a drive up the road takes three pages as we get a detailed description of each tree. For me, none of these descriptions added anything. Many analagies are used - the starlit sky was like a black cloth with pinholes and a bright light behind. I know what a starlit night is like, y'know? In 'Money' Martin Amis says ' the drinks were lined up behind the bar like the manhattan skyline'. Now that's an analgy that adds something. Or Will Self 'as the talk turned to mutual, though absent, friends their stock rose and fell on the Nikkie index of conversation'. That's what I'm talking about!
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Summary: realistic and thought-provoking picture of the future
Review: This was a very well written book. I found myself attached to the main characters, and it certainly presented a realistic view of what could happen. I enjoyed it very much!
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Summary: Not Good enough.
Review: Very disappointing. Written in a marvellous way but with no content and too much description. This could have been OKish short story but it dragged as a novel. PD James clearly has no idea about sci-fi writing.
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Summary: Welcome to Britain: 2021.
Review: Welcome to Britain: 2021. Crime writer James' foray into the science fiction genre is as chilling a vision of the near future as Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale or Orwell's 1984. Although it ultimately descends into a fairly routine adventure story with religious overtones, the initial depiction of an infertile world where no child has been born for a quarter of a century is powerful enough to sustain any reader's attention. Although a decade old, The Children of Men is still frighteningly plausible. The Year of Omega (when Earth's last child was born) may have been 1995, but if the reader projects the novel's dateline a decade forward, the story loses none of its potency. Admittedly, James occasionally lets herself down - surprisingly she falls into the common sci-fi trap of giving unconvincing names to her protagonists; are Theodore Faron and Xan Lyppiatt really such likely names for two Britons supposedly born in the early nineteen seventies? Nevertheless, James' Britain, where mass euthanasia for the old is both commonplace and state-sponsored and where the Isle of Man has been transformed into a hellish penal colony is convincingly detailed. A good, if sometimes harrowing, read.
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Summary: Well, the first page was good...
Review: Yes, the first page was good. It was crisp with a fresh idea. In fact, I remember the physical page being quite light when I turned it, though at the time I didn't realize how unique this experience would be. The rest of the pages were weighed down in the armor of needless, roll-your-eyes descriptions of minute articles to the left or to the right or above or below (this is a simulation) of the actual plot. Oh yes, the plot. I found myself scratching my head more than once thinking "Now, would ANYONE ever do that?" I found the characters cold and unbelievable. I found the constant departures from the original idea irritating. I was very disappointed with this book (I can't believe I got through it). But the first page was good.
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