Through Darkest America (Isaac Asimov Presents)

Rating:
Summary: Through Darkest America
Review: Anyone who's read any book by Neil Barrett, Jr. knows that optimism is not the man's forte. He revels in darkness and cynicism. Perhaps it was a result of reading one too many syrupy tales of humanity's joyous rebirth from the ashes of apocalypse, but in "Throught Darkest America" he sets out to carefully eliminate all vestiges of hope. The resulting book is brutal, the back cover declaration "not for the squeamish" is an almost ridiculous understatement. But for those willing to tough it out, it's also memorable for its unique way of attacking the subject.

Howie, twelve year old at the start, lives in a frontier world centuries after "The War", where twentieth century technology has vanished. The whole country is now organized similar to a nineteenth century frontier town, with the government taking levies to support a war somewhere in the West. With all animals exterminated, food now comes from 'stock', human-like but apparently unthinking creatures raised on farms. Barrett reinforces this world building by writing the entire book in old fashioned American dialect reminiscient of Mark Twain.

Among its strengths is character development. Barrett expertly captures the awkward guilt of youthful sexual discovery in a conservative religious culture. Of course, Howie's peaceful existence eventually gets shattered, his family torn apart, and he sets off on a voyage towards the war zone, encountering life-changing treachery along the way. Much remains unexplained, with plot threads left dangling, but the point of the story, perhaps, is that in real life much is always left unexplained. In "Through Darkest America", it is the journey that matters, not the destination.

Rating:
Summary: From Beginning to... Dud
Review: This novel began to flesh out a "real world" of a post-apocalyptic nature, but so much is left dangling that I have to wonder if a series of novels was intended. Even if one feels a little pity for the protaganist in the beginning, in the end there was no genuine justification for the reasons and the methods he used to get even with the murderers. The ending was more of a punchline to one long and horrific joke -if you read the first few chapters and the last few pages, thats all that is really necessary for understanding the world Barrett created.

Rating:
Summary: From Beginning to... Dud
Review: This novel began to flesh out a "real world" of a post-apocalyptic nature, but so much is left dangling that I have to wonder if a series of novels was intended. Even if one feels a little pity for the protaganist in the beginning, in the end there was no genuine justification for the reasons and the methods he used to get even with the murderers. The ending was more of a punchline to one long and horrific joke -if you read the first few chapters and the last few pages, thats all that is really necessary for understanding the world Barrett created.

Rating:
Summary: Good post-Apocalypse with a twist
Review: You know what the twist will be, but that doesn't diminish it much. Easy to read and a page-turner.

Rating:
Summary: Good post-Apocalypse with a twist
Review: You know what the twist will be, but that doesn't diminish it much. Easy to read and a page-turner.