Earth Abides

Not read that (for that matter, not read any Aldiss in a while, though I keep meaning to get back to some of them); I'd have to compare the two to see whether the similarities were at all notable or not, as the description given in that link could fit a fair number of quite dissimilar stories....
 
j. d. worthington said:
Not read that (for that matter, not read any Aldiss in a while, though I keep meaning to get back to some of them); I'd have to compare the two to see whether the similarities were at all notable or not, as the description given in that link could fit a fair number of quite dissimilar stories....
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I don't know if you read the reviews of HARM,both by me and Werthead but well basically the character in the Aldiss book is imprisoned and during his incarceration he begins to imagine himself on another world. I didn't find it that brilliant to be honest.
 
Vibrant ,powerful and beautifully the best end of civilization novel ever written. (y)
 
Extollager said:
Has anyone read any of Stewart's other books -- Storm or Fire, maybe?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._Stewart

I've read only Earth Abides, but I have the sense that this could be a writer with much more to offer.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0803291388/?tag=brite-21

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0803291353/?tag=brite-21

Some people are still reading these books.
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I have old modern Library hardcover edition of Storm. It's the only copy of this book I've ever seen.
 
thesoothsayer said:
I guess a more accurate word would be inactions of Ish. The thing I have mentioned earlier was not teaching the children to read until it was too late. Other things that bug me was not trying to recover some basic technology that could provide a springboard for faster advancements or passing on skills that they had to the young (George's carpentry skill).

Basically, I felt he just passively sat back and kept worrying about the future rather than actually doing anything about it. As a researcher, I would think that he would've been more systematic and organised. He would probably have thought of a way to recover and pass down vital knowledge to the next generation.
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But if I remember correctly he did in the end teach archery to the grandchildren - and thus made sure they could still hunt when the guns' ammunition ran out.
 
In Earth Abides, Ish is struggling to find a philosophy that will help the next generation find their place in the new post-human world. So teaching them about past technology would miss the point. And Ish does not fail to teach the children to read so much as they (and the other adults) dismiss the importance of reading itself. It is no longer relevant to them in the new world. So that imagery of the Bay Bridge - broken but still standing - acts as an image of Ish himself. What he has left them may act as bridge to the past but only if it serves them well. If not, the water keeps flowing under the bridge, nature goes on, and people must keep searching for a way to accommodate themselves to the natural world.
 
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