Rating: 
Summary: A thoughtful trek into an unknown future . . .
Review: In facing the plausable unknown of whole-earth catastrophe, Brin has unveiled simple innate needs of humankind. Maybe too simplistic, but excess detail would only spoil the view.
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Summary: A rare look at the American Spirit in flight.
Review: Rarely are we granted the privelage of reading a book that personifies so much of what we love about the world around us. The Postman, as a story, succeeds where others have failed in that it seizes upon the fundemental ideals that makes us smile when we behold the red, white and blue of "Old Glory." The ideals of liberty, justice, honor and innocence are held up for us to recognize clearly for what they are in its pages. For reasons that are never clear, we seem to forget and loose the spirit of what is granted to us all by being simply born in America. For all the griping about political graft, scandals and taxes, it is not until times of adversity when the precious jewells of everyday life, such as receiving a simple letter, or sleeping in a warm house, are denied us that we see the truth. That we are enjoying a golden age of freedom and liberty that is rare even in the world today. They say that amputees often reach to scratch at limbs which have been dust for years. When we are healthy and hale we rarely notice the ease with which we move until a limb is lost or broken. Gordon Krantz experienced this same sense of removal and yearning and unconciously attempted to bring some semblence of that lost dream back to life in the lie that was the Restored United States. Although the analogies speak for themselves, I feel that we should all stop, take stock of what we see around us now, and search for some way that we may stregthen our ideals and limbs. The United States isn't a country, a person, or even a flag, it is everyone of us that believes in a just society of freedoms and fairness of an age of optimism and hope. As an American I am proud of the spirit that has manifested itself in the pages of this book. Regardless of what age, color, creed or religion you follow, we all share a commonality unbroken by geographic or idealogical boundaries, we are citizens of the land of the free and the home of the brave.
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Summary: Mythology reborn.
Review: The Postman is the Iliad of modern day America. The plot is tight and lean, and one of the most cinematic books I've read (a perfect candidate for a film). The characters are mythological archetypes molded by the (foolish) gods of technology. The Postman explores many aspects of symbols and their social impact, through for example, the mythology of the postman and the ideals of the United States. The book evokes a sense of majesty and magnificence to the technological wonderland that precedes the period of post-nuclear holocaust that the book is set in. It is also remarkably restrained in its usage of the science fiction element. Brin wisely let's us see the technology through the imagined social ramification rather than making it the linch pin of the novel, (there's a scene where the climax involves the sound of space invaders) a mistake I think that many sf writers make. The setting of the book is so well constructed that many disparate theme's are encompassed quite naturally - post nuclear holocaust, genetic engineering, the basis of government and the myth of the nation and the call for moral responsibility. At no point does he let the plot unwind into the realm of the fantastically ridiculous. At the end of the book, you'll be cheering for those inspirational ideals which drive the characters in the book but more importantly, should be a reflection of our pre-holocaust society.
Rating: 
Summary: The Postman doesn't carry
Review: There's a piece of advice passed among fiction writers: "Show, don't tell." A post-apocalyptic United States is a wonderful setting for exploring the myriad possible deteriorations of human, specifically American, society. A wandering minstrel, who conjures up for awed and wistful audiences the images and profound emotion of Shakespeare's great plays and some of the founding fathers' great speeches, seems to be a rich character for exposing the prejudices, fears, naivete, and nostalgia of the human character suffering under survival stress and attempting to make sense of a lost civilization. Unfortunately, Brin tells far more than he shows. Gordon, as he travels what's left of the American West in an attempt to find what he recognizes as hope and civilization, baldly and often sentimentally interprets the scene for us. His dialog, internal and external, tends toward the mundane, the obvious. The people he meets on his journey are, on the whole, predictable and uninteresting, caricatures of what could have been complex people with complex motives. The dialog given them is painfully trite. Why is this the case? Why does Brin, who is capable of subtlety and indirection in his revelation of character, succumb to pulp technique? One major problem with The Postman is that it is nigh on impossible to believe that the average American has such warm and fuzzy feelings for the "postman". How many young readers of this book have seen a postal service worker bringing round letters and packages? If the young reader lives in an apartment complex or attends school, s/he probably hasn't. If the not-so-young reader is a working adult, s/he probably hasn't seen such since childhood. The person most capable of feeling such devotion to a postman is someone who has seen the original postal network formed in the United States and appreciates the fact that the postal service was functioning long before the telephone. Brin is gambling on the reader's confusing a "service" with an individual -- the postman -- and uses the emotional pull of the individual, who in many cases is rarely seen, to make a connection between Gordon's self-proclaimed role and the various townspeople he meets. The reader is left watching the story from afar, with no real emotional stake in it. And because the idea is so hard to swallow, Brin seems to feel it necessary to tell us what is going on in the book, not to allow the skillful writing that he is capable of draw us in and compell us, like the various townspeople (who should have been equally hard to sell), to believe in a truly far-fetched ideal of faithfulness, trust, and hope. Gordon wanders through the book with his heart on his sleeve, in conflict with his desires and conscience only in passing moments, and the people he meets try very hard to pass themselves off as exactly who they are -- there is no sense of discovery for the reader, who has everything laid out before him. It's as if Brin succumbed to the well-loved idea that if one says something often enough, it will be true; his intent appears to be to force us to accept what he has on offer not because it is compelling, but because he keeps saying it. A fundamental aspect of this connection between villages and towns -- that communication means power -- is never adequately addressed. It is ironic that Gordon uses the power of memory and sentimentality surrounding his "position", essentially the power of the press, to establish and maintain his persona, but that no one appears in the book to truly exploit that newly-recovered capacity for propaganda and influence. Perhaps in his next novel Brin will trust himself, and his readers, more than he did in this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Great story -- where's the sequel?
Review: There are only two things wrong with this book, and if you quit reading this review now, you'll probably miss one of them. The first "wrong" is the fact that the story leaves so much of this "future" unexplored. I'm going to go back and read this one again, just to see what I missed. The second "wrong" is that someone is actually making a movie of this book and it stars Kevin Costner. Oh no! "Waterworld goes Postal"?!?
Other than that, this book is a great story and worth your time! Thanks David! Get to work on the sequel (or if there's one out there, email me!)
Rating:
Summary: Positive review of The Postman
Review: This is a rare positive postapacolyptic plot with intriguing insight into the what makes the human animal a social being. It's premise is simple but the results are as complex as our society. It is thoughts such as these that give us hope for the future of humankind.
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Summary: One of the Best Novellas that Grew Up
Review: IF I remember right, this story was first released as a Short Story or Novella in a SF mag years ago. It was one of the best short stories I have ever read. Later David expanded it to a Novel - and created an even better story. At the time, I remember telling my friends this would make the ultimate End-of-the-world Movie ever. Well - Somebody finally thought of that. Can't wait for the Movie.
Rating:
Summary: Very intriging, could not put it down.
Review: I just finished reading the Postman. It was one of the best books I have ever read. I could not put it down and finished it in only two days. The main character just captures the reader pulling him into the story. All the character and situations are completely belivable. No MADMAX wastelands or Mutant blood sookers. All and All a very good book for SF nuts and general reader's alike. I hope the do the book justice in the movie.
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Summary: The best that Science Fiction has to offer
Review: All too often, when friends discover I enjoy science fiction, there is the qustion of why. I point to The Postman as an example of what a gifted writer can do with the genre. If you heard that this is a tale of post-apocalyptic America, your first thought would be Road Warrior and you could not be more wrong. Its simple plot gives way to complex themes. Mr. Brin examines the relations that keep society together, the relations between men and women and the need for one man to be a part of something lager. In the end, it is hope, fragile as it is, that binds us together. If you do not like science fiction, if you do but are longing for something with a little depth, please read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great thwo-thirds, disappointing ending
Review: Brin's novel of a postwar America, and a man who becomes a symbol of hope to a group of Oregon survivors, is a compelling, thoughtful tale. UNTIl, in its last third it becomes a macho, mano a mano action tale. I LOVED the first two-thrids, but was disappointed by the ending. Still worth a look for the engrossing first two-thrids. I'll bet the film will be nowhere near as well-done.
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