I set out on a `mission' with an objective to finish Alas, Babylon before the New Year. I started last night (December 28) and finished at exactly 12 o'clock today. The hours I spent reading this piece of literature were long, but I am happy to be writing this entry, knowing that the book is now behind me.
What can I truly say about Alas, Babylon? Reflecting back on the book, I realize that it really did not appeal to me. I'm not saying this because I did not care for it, but because novels about the military can lose and confuse me at times. When I read Pat Frank's book, I knew only a few of the combative terms used, and that was due to a project I did last year.
Still, I cannot reflect negatively on some parts of the three-hundred-sixteen-page literary work Mr. Frank has composed. His attempt to entice readers with love, mystery, and justice did not go in vain. Pat was able to accommodate many different point-of-views into one, well functioning plot. Slowly, elements combined to keep the story in motion.
Through a seemingly predicable plot, there were actions that caught me by surprise. I wasn't prepared for Edgar Quisenberry, the bank president, to commit suicide. The author's way of leading up to that event made it seem so sudden, so unforeseen.
Unfortunately, like a dying light bulb, the story's plot flickered, leaving you bored and in the dark. I cannot honestly say that every single page was slow, but the author showed a lack of ability to keep up with a fast rhythm. One event that illustrates my point is the part where Randy and other men are in the grocery truck about to kill the highwaymen. This part, where the reader would expect fast and witty action, was instead written with a quick `bang-bang-it's-all-over' sequence.
So what can be left to say about this 1959 book from author Pat Frank? Even as I hold Alas, Babylon in my hand, I cannot help but remember a slow beginning, a somewhat bearable plot, and a most predictable ending.
December 29, 2008

Engaging struggles of survival

On the face if it, Nuclear war seems to be a backdrop for bigger things to happen in the small town in Florida. But when I thought about it, Nuclear War was just a small detail in the gist of the plot: it separated the town and cast to allow them to act out what story they had in isolation. There in isolation, the plot truly began to unfold into a story which reflects the human quality of justice and righteousness.

Before the Bomb hits, there is an interesting internal struggle within the characters as to whether or not the rumors would materialize. There's a shopping list of goods that need to be bought; everything from medicine, dry goods, meats, tools, gasoline and so forth. It's an interesting glimpse into the mind of a survivalist which make you ponder, "What else would he need? More salt? A rifle? Mason jars?" From the early start, the reader is engaged in the plot and remains so when the plot morphs from internal to external struggle.

It's a classic post-apocalyptic read on par with Earth Abides and also a human survival story.
December 19, 2008

loved it

I am of the age that the cold war is just another history fact. But this book brings that time to life. It forces you to think of how you would react if place in that situation. Would you be one who would pick up the pieces and rebuild a life or would you be one to give up. Its a great story about the time but also people and how we react to life changing events.
December 16, 2008

Always a good read

Alas Babylon is a classic Advanced Placement Literature choice for my students. It deals with life after a nuclear attack and the reader is confronted with modern man in a primitive state. My students like it because it is a "page turner" and captures their interest while forcing them to think deeply. This topic is always timely and is a good companion to other "end-of-the-world" texts.
December 12, 2008

A classic tale that still holds up today

When I saw Alas, Babylon in the bookstore, I recognized it as a classic title but knew next to nothing about it. So, I picked up a copy to read on vacation. My verdict? Very good book -- not a very good vacation read!

This is one of the first post-nuclear apocalypse tales, published in the thick of the Cold War in 1959. Although world events have made the political backdrop of this novel obsolete, Frank tells a tale that still resonates.

Frank's writing feels surprisingly contemporary, even if the society it depicts is an American South that no longer really exists. (The treatment of people of color in this book is absolutely painful sometimes, but Frank is clearly not happy about it.)

The broad strokes of this story may feel familiar to us now, because we've been exposed to other post-apocalyptic tales in which people are suddenly stripped of technology, medicine and the comforts of modern civilization. In fact, if you watched the television series Jericho, you'll see a huge amount of similarity in Alas, Babylon, minus the soap opera elements found on the TV show.

I recommend this book simply because it's well-written and thoughtful. I just don't recommend it as vacation reading... it somehow didn't mesh with tropical surroundings, froofy drinks and sunny beaches!
November 01, 2008

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Lucifer's Hammer
by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle

Earth Abides
by George R. Stewart

On the Beach
by Nevil Shute

A Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse
by Stephen King, Cory Doctorow, George R. R. Martin, Octavia E. Butler, Jonathan Lethem, Orson Scott Card, Gene Wolfe, Jack McDevitt, Tobias S. Buckell
by John Joseph Adams