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Summary: A very outstanding novel.
Review: Until I read this book by Mr. Brin I had never been one of his biggest fans. I am now a convert. The premise behind The Postman is one of the most unique that I have ever seen, and while reading I often found myself unable to think of anything else but what was happening in the story. In my mind this is the hallmark of a great writter. Even if you are not a traditional science fiction fan, you will find this engrossing and witty story very enjoyable.
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Summary: One of the best Brin books I have read.
Review: I loved the book. I think I have read it a total of eight times, and it is still interesting. It has a more realistic attitude to it than Startide Rising and the Uplift war, which were both great books, but neither captured my attention like the Postman. I would stayed up for hours just reading the book, and not get bored. A great book. -Ben Presley
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Summary: "I am a member of a civilization."
Review: Read _The Postman_ when you're fed up with society. This book made me proud to live in this tragic and wonderful era of history. "I am a member of a civilization"- that simple phrase, never stated in the book, will echo in your head and ring true inside your ears after you finish. This is likely to stay my favourite book of all time- it's the only one I've EVER given a ten so far. Instead of going to the lousy looking movie, I think I'll just stay home and re-read the book. I may just buy a second copy soon.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended - deserves a miniseries not a movie
Review: This book has its limits in its origins so it may seem disjointed, but not an impossible read. It is classic science fiction because it gives new points of view and it makes you think. It even tried to explore how feminist ideas might survive the apocalypse and that such a society may not necessarily repeat mistakes of the past.
If you are looking for a new book and haven't read this one buy it
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Summary: Shell out the $5.20 - You won't be disappointed!
Review: Superb. A compelling story about hope. I read it all in one day - couldn't put it down
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Summary: The book was non-stop reading....READ IT!
Review: I grew up in Oregon and have been to most of the places that he wrote about. Lived in Cottage Grove and Eugene later in life and grew up in Florence. Brin's research was PERFECT. I have personally taken the "Trail" from Culp Creek to Oakridge. GOOD JOB DAVID....
Rosi Bentley
Rating:
Summary: Most unusual of Brin's work
Review: I found the Postman to be a pleasant surprise. I bought the book because I enjoyed Brin's Sundiver series and his ability to generate interesting story lines. The description on the cover led me to believe that this was going to be a campy, possibly downright silly outing.
True to form, Brin finds a way to generate a fresh look at a story line that has been visited before. As I read on, I was surprised to find that he had quite intrigued me. The subtle supporting details resulted in a more believable interpretation of the post-apocalyptic tale of survival than any I had previously read. The scheme initally spun by the title character slowly takes on a life of its own until he, himself, becomes the servant instead of the master.
Brin solidifies his reputation as a story teller with this effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Brin's most frustrating book
Review: I found this to be Brin's most frustrating book.
The Postman's America went out with whimper, not with a bang. The exact cause is unimportant, and I'm not even sure it's revealed. (Nuclear weapons were used, but they seemed to be a last gasp as nations collapsed.)
The true cause of the collapse was the vermin who nibble on the edges of our soul; they caused America to lose faith in herself. When the inevitable rough spot happened people just resigned themselves to the "inevitable." America collapsed into isolated feudal societies; most of these pocket fiefdoms were ruled by "survivalists" who had pushed the country over the edge with their own egocentricism.
Many years later our protagonist arrives in Oregon. He is no hero; instead of fighting to improve his own town he was hoping to find a mythical land of easy living. He's attacked and barely escapes with his life. To survive he takes a postman's uniform which dates to the collapse. He also takes the postman's leather bag.
At the next town he approaches cautiously, but a few other survivors of the earlier America insist on seeing him as a symbol of a reborn America. Long delayed letters in the leather bag reinforce his status. Like Moses, he has found his promised land only to be turned away. While many townsfolk know that a reborn America is just a fantasy, others would never tolerate his presence as a constant reminder of how they fooled themselves. He relunctantly moves on to the next town.
To make a long story short, America has not been reborn... except in one small area where a reborn United States is personified in an unwilling postman. Young boys are eager to join the new postal service. Families are reunited for the first time in years as townsfolk look beyond their own town borders. The protagonist feels like a fraud and misses the miracle of rebirth surrounding him.
Needless to say this rejuvenation is not welcomed by everyone. A survivalist nation-state in southern Oregon and northern California wants to expand its slave base, but it can no longer pick off towns one by one through sheer intimidation.
This is a wonderful setup. Will the common citizens newly rearmed with a faith in society defeat the heavily armed barbarians who have a social pecking order so rigid that barnyard fowl seem democratic? Which matters more, steel forged to the human will, or the human will tempered to the hardness of steel?
We never learn. The climatic battle is not between two men from different worlds, but between two men with special military augmentation to their bodies who just happened to be on opposing sides. The change could not have been more abrupt if we went to Psychotic Theaters and saw the first two-thirds of a classic Hitchcock thriller followed by the final third of Friday the Thirteenth, part VI.
The movie treatment of the book has not been released yet, but I would not be surprised if the superhuman feats of the final fight are emphasized and the morality plays on the importance of self-reliance in the service of the community lost. And that's the ultimate shame. In many ways our country is forming isolated fiefdoms of special interests; instead of asking what's best for the nation our first demand is "what's in it for me?" The Postman is a good cautionary story, but the augmented marines seize the story and leave its broken body trampled in the mud.
The first two-thirds of the book are a solid ten. The deux ex machina conclusion would have been interesting in another novel, but not this one.
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Summary: The Postman is in the best tradition of science fiction!
Review: In the tradition of stories like Alas, Babylon, Brin weaves a tale of hope in the aftermath of a modern world war. With some of the finest dramatic skill I have ever read, Brin takes us on a journey with his main character to find a means of survival and redemption not just for an individual, but for a people.
Also in the best tradition of science fiction, Brin demonstrates the effect technology has on human societies in a most poignant way...by removing it. In a time of pragmatism, the last idealist must have enough hope for everyone.
The Postman is a story which is so well written that you don't have to be a science fiction buff to quickly claim it as one of your favorites!
Rating:
Summary: Best Incentive for Literacy I've ever seen!
Review: Brin creates this universe of the Postman in such a unique viewpoint. I've never seen such an environment described in such believable terms before. I've read it 4 times now, and I hope to again have the time to read it. It gets better and better each time you read it - and it changes the way you feel about life in the process.
The best way I can describe it is that every time you read it - you can notice a new aspect of the ongoing story with each reading.
David Brin is writing genius with books like Earth, Startide Rising, and with the Postman. I hope he continues to bring us to where no other science fiction author dares to take us..
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