Rating: 
Summary: A Post Apocalyptic Struggle
Review: I have never before read a David Brin novel, others here say this is not his best, but I found this novel a very good read. This book begins approximately sixteen years after an NBC war (for those who don't know, that stands for nuclear, biological, chemical) that was called the doomwar by those who lived through it. That war nearly destroyed the United States as a civilized society, but soon after that war survivalists plundered and destroyed most of what little civilization remained. Gordon, the primary character, traveled from one small isolated village to another for sixteen years after the Doomwar and at one point was robbed of most of his meager possessions. Soon he found a United States Postman's uniform and badge, and from there he impersonated a postman from a long dead government, a scam that had unusual consequences to say the least and created a very interesting story, with danger all around. This novel is fast paced and always the human nature side of the story is not neglected, and womens' view of things is well discussed, and as David Brin seems to say in this novel, how can us guys really know what a women thinks, down deep, all the time? This book is rich in descriptive detail without overdoing it. I found this book very easy to read, the words seemed to flow off the pages, well written.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Enough for at least 1 read.
Review: I don't usually like to give my review of books because we have different ideas and experience we bring into a novel. While I wouldn't read this book agian, you may enjoy it. Who knows, it's all dependent on the reader and what he/she likes. I only give you my true and honest opinion. Okay, here it is. I like the premise of the whole story, it's definitely a different angle than most authors approach. Yet, this book is a hit or miss. It's not the kind of book that after reading, you say, "WOW." and ponder afterwards. All I said was, "Hmmm, could have been better." Which is true. It's not Brin's best writing. This book does show the triumph of the human spirit and the desperate need for something: Hope; the one thing that can unite an entire nation. This book could have had the makings of a great novel, but it's written as though a 15-year-old wrote it instead of an accomplished writer that is David Brin. It's too short and some concepts and its dialogue too simple and not very thought provoking. It would have been nice if Mr. Brin had expanded on the theme and premise of the story line and added more of his own beliefs and ideals. It would have at least made if more interesting. In a nutshell, If you just want to read a book to read a book, The Postman is your choice.
Rating:
Summary: Has an inherent plausability lacking in the movie
Review: Some people's only exposure to this work has been through the movie of the same name starring Kevin Costner, and I've heard them call the premise such things as absurd, silly, or worse. How then, am I to reconcile this with the inherent believability and truth I found in it? Basically, the movie was doomed from the start. When considered on its own, the premise of this novel, that one man in the discarded uniform of a dead postman can change what once was a nation, seems implausible. What Brin does is take that premise and make it believable through a story and overarching world that makes myths like these natural. Its not the plot twists so much as the words of Brin that make this story believable. According to Brin, World War III was not the "big one" people have been expecting, instead lasting only a week or so and leaving many survivors. What killed people afterwards wasn't the nuclear or biological weapons so much as the fear and paranoia preventing the nation from reuniting again. Worst of all was the plague of "survivalism", of deciding that your strength and guns allowed you to do whatever you wanted because you "needed" it to survive. Gradually, society begins to spiral downward into more and more isolated villages, uniting only when a common enemy such as the Holnist survivalists come along. Enter Gordon Krantz. An ex-student from St. Paul, he's been wandering west over the years in hope of finding civilization somewhere, anywhere. After being robbed, he takes the only warmth he can find, a uniform pilfered off of a dead postman. What starts out as a harmless little myth ends up spiralling out of control, as people grab onto the only remembrance they can find of the old United States. But who will take responsibility...?
Rating: 
Summary: A great story about leadership and resposibility!
Review: This is the most thought provoking end of the world novel since Lucifer's Hammer. David Brin takes up the question of what roles government, and leadership take in our society. He points to a need for people to take responsibility. The main character in the novel finds out, quite accidentally, that all that is needed for people to recover from the most terrible tragedies is a sense of direction and leadership. This book gives one of the most candid views on how people respond to our government, and helps to remind us what kind of effort it has taken to build this country. In the novel, the main character finds an old postal uniform with some ten year old letters, and finds out that something as simple as someone delivering mail can bring people hope. He then finds that this helps people remember that they were once part of something greater than themselves. This book manages to be inspiring without droping down to the level of a cheesy disney movie. The only reason this book doens't get five stars from me is that I felt the end cheated in a way that made it lose some its focus. But this hardly overshadows the brilliant bulk of this book.
Rating:
Summary: DONT LET THE MOVIE FOOL YOU!
Review: If you saw this movie and think the book would be just as pathetic, dont even think about it. Brin writes an interesting story of life after a revolution, a nuclear war and the destruction of our American Culture and the travels through Oregon of Gordon, the man who would become the postman. It is a very good book to read and I do recommend it even if 'end of the world apocalyptic' novels aren't your style, youll find this a good book to finish.
Rating: 
Summary: So-so apocalypse fiction
Review: I love end-of-the-world fiction. My picks for the best of the genre include "The Stand," "On the Beach," "The Day of the Triffids" and "Lucifer's Hammer." Unfortunately, "The Postman" just isn't up to the standards set by these works. For one thing, the narrative ark takes some twists and turns into some unusal, but not at all together satisfying directions. For another, several key moments in the plot are based on non-too-plausible scenes of the hero overhearing conversations of his adversaries. Some of the action scenes are not terribly believable, and the ending of the book reads like a cliched Western. Nevertheless, Brin does pack his novel with a number of interersting ideas and notions that at least make it worth reading for those with an interest in this particular genre.
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Summary: Post-Apocalyptic America Can't Be Wrong
Review: There just aren't enough epic novels of post-apocalyptic survival. I have enjoyed every one that I've read, and I keep trying to find more to read and enjoy. Now, that is not to say that all of them were good. Many of them were completely ridiculous and repellant. David Brin's "The Postman," however, manages to be not only enjoyable, but also good. On his way across the fractured, war-wracked Northwest, world-weary Gordon is shot at, robbed, and generally kicked around. That's the nature of life in post-WWIII Oregon. As the story begins, Gordon has been working as an itinerant entertainer, reciting Shakespear for a bowl of soup and a place to sleep. When he stumbles across an old US Postal Serviceman's uniform, though, he decides to try a new scam. The idea of the United States' continued existence, however, is something of a free radical, inspiring anger and defiance against local warlords. Gordon becomes an important, if unwilling, figurehead in the locals' struggle for autonomy and a return to real civilized life. Brin's book is a good read. The story's characters are few, but generally interesting and believable. Several of his sub-plots are iffy, especially his third act treatment of male-female relations. The book was written in the 80's, and his prediction of world events in the 1990s is also so wrong as to detract somewhat from the story (at least in my reading.) Still, it's satisfying, overall, and has both a sense of humor and a moral, not to mention laser satellites and artificial intelligences. For sci-fi fans, this is a fine choice.
Rating:
Summary: a forgotten gem
Review: One of the greatest relatively short SF books I've ever read. This was my first encounter with Brin, and I was very impressed. It is possible to read The Postman as a straight adventure, a philosophical allegory, or a satire of modern America--so many different messages, I think, are hidden here. Brin sheds light on that strange world of survivalist/neo-fascist militias, and creates completely believable, ordinary characters. It is the perfect liberal humanist response to A Canticle for Leibowitz! If you were one of those happy few who disagreed with the critics about the film adaptation, you'll love this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best post-Collapse stories available
Review: This is a classic end-of-the-world novel. The plot develops with rigourous precision and inexorable realism; there's nothing Brin depicts that would be unreasonable should a global A-B-C war actually engulf the world to-morrow. Scary in its plausibility, and heartening because of its hopefulness, this is a wonderful book. Warning: I'd call this a 'PG-13' book, primarily because of some of the violence.
Rating:
Summary: I loved the book for different reasons than most of these!
Review: Mr Brin is obviously a very gifted writer. I listen/read lots of modern authors, and it is a pleasure to find an author who just plain writes well! That being said, I saw the book on a different level than any of the other reviews I perused. The whole post-apocalyptic setting in my mind, was simply a background against which to analyze the heart of humankind. The post-apocalyptic world made it easy for Brin to cut through a lot of the fluff that clouds our thinking and get to real issues of life, justice, ethics, and finally idealism. Along the way he explores several social models: benevolent socialism, leader worship, feudalism, and separatism. Brin also weaves an interesting subtheme about what it means to be a man, or to be a hero. This book is way more than "a good read" or "highly entertaining" - it will make you think and examine your values. - the sign of a truly good work.
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