Rating: 
Summary: Something different for fans of P.D. James
Review: Quite a departure from her mystery novels, The Children of Men still sparkles with the usual P.D. James charm and knack for storytelling. The world of Theo Faron and his unlikely companions will make you think twice about the security of our own lives. Though a little slow at times, the characters are intriguing and you never know what sort of mishap will befall them around the bend. A successful endeavor from one of Britain's most delightful authors
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping, chilling, thought-provoking --
Review: Someone mentioned that the book ended on an optomistic note. I think they should read it again. Did the ending really carry the hope that would save the world -- or would it signal the beginning of a new era that would be more nightmarish than even the slow, gentle, aging into death? I don't want to spoil the story for anyone who hasn't read it so I'll try to be vague here... but if you have read it, think about the inherent self-centeredness and warped world-view of those who conceived of this new "hope". And of those who would be who now would represent the "pool" for nurturing the future of humanity. Think about their characteristics. How much true compassion, how much warmth, how much interest in improving the mind was there? Will the churches, the colleges, the museums be used any more than if everyone had died out within a decade or two? I think the imagery of the shed was intentional -- we're supposed to be thinking antichrist. The images in this book will stay with me for a long time. I can't say I "enjoyed" such a grim story, but it did make me think -- and it did pull me into its reality, and that, I believe, is the mark of an excellent book.
Rating: 
Summary: I stored this book in the dustbin
Review: The concept of the book was facinating: no more children and how would mankind react on that, so I bought the book without knowing what else P.D James writes. I like SF and occasionally genres like Maeve Binchy or Rosamunde Pilcher, so don't call me a SF addict. I even believe I am a genuine reader, since I never skip pages or read the final pages before I really get there. The world described is thourough but some things are to easily stepped over (how can somebody in an dying civilisation go on holidays in Europe for several months when maintenance is restricted to roads only). And the few events in the books are rare and hard to find. I tried to finish this book two times, 3 years ago and just last week. Last week I threw it away, the book is really BORING, there is no way PD James makes me turn a page, I forced myself wondering 'when will it really get started'. At 2/3rd I put it away -- again. This time I put it in my dustbin.
Rating: 
Summary: No Emotion, Please. We're British.
Review: The premise of this novel is intriguing. Unfortunately, the intrigue ends there and is replaced with a drab portrayal of a depressing future. The greatest problem is I have with this book is the detachment with which the year 2021 is explored. Objective perspective may work well in a detective novel, but in The Children of Men, James' prose is affected by the same ennui that has overtaken her Twenty-First Century world. In the opening chapters, for instance, there is a scene where one woman brutally destroys the porcelain doll another woman has been treating as a baby. The initial moment of violence is shocking, but beyond that the scene lacks emotional impact: We see the people around her react by not reacting, simply continuing on with their lives. Unfortunately, the ultimate result of James' technique is that we don't care if England is living under a totalitarian regime because none of her citizens, her protagonist chief among them, seems to care either. Another problem comes from the fact that nothing exists in 2021 that didn't exist in 1992 when the book was written, and for the most part little that existed in the 1980s is present either: no computers, no cell phones, etc. If James took little risk in exploring the emotional depths of her characters, she took even less in exploring the potential for the use (or misuse) of hypothetical future technology. Cloning, an obvious solution for the book's dilemma, is never even mentioned. Why set the book in the future if everything about it is identical to the past? Sure, things won't come to pass exactly as you imagine, but 1995 came and went without global infertility and that's the element people enjoy most about the book. Finally, the novel fails to look at the situation in England, which we are told - but never shown - is despotic, by comparing it to the situation in any other European country. At the end of Book 1 Faron travels to France, Spain and Italy, but we're never told if or how things fare better or worse there. His travels serve only to provide a reason for the time gap between Books 1 and 2. James misses an opportunity to provide a context for or comment on the political situation in England, and all the reader can do is shrug his or her shoulders and keep reading (the ennui is contagious). Maybe there's a subtext I'm missing - maybe James is saying that people can numb themselves into accepting totalitarianism, or that nothing really changes, or that life's the same all over - but if she is she's doing it far too subtly for most of her readership (based on the majority of reviews here). I don't regret reading this book, but I can't find much in it to recommend to others.
Rating:
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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!
Rating:
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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