A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

Another in the post-apocalypse series that I am reading...

This is an odd book. Plot and characters take a back seat to the idea - in a sense this is a polemical - the author has something he wants to say and uses the book to say it.

Imagine a future where nuclear war has knocked civilization back to a dark age where knowledge is being preserved by monasteries, much as it was in the original dark ages. Except the knowledge is incomplete and often misunderstood. The novel is divided into three smaller books that are hundreds of years apart and share no characters, tracing the re-emergence of civilization and the way history repeats itself.

Because of this blocky treatment where character and plot are subservient I don't think this is a very successful book.

The Postman by David Brin

Another "end of the world" novel. In this one, nuclear war has reduced humankind to isolated bands of farmers and hunters, very low-tech. The protagonist, while struggling to escape bandits who have stolen all his survival gear, stumbles across the long-dead body of a US Postman. He takes the uniform and cap, and is afterward mistaken for an actual postman, a symbol of the fictional "restored" US government. He goes along with the misunderstanding, taking advantage of it, establishing regular mail service and post offices in the scattered settlements of what was once Oregon. Of course things have to turn bad, and his deception has to be discovered, etc.

To my taste, the novel is a little too much science fiction. It would have worked just as well without some of the elements introduced later in the book. But it is science fiction, so I cannot really complain. It is not as good an apocalyptic novel as "Earth Abides" or "Day of the Triffids", but it's still worth a read.

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

Classic book about the collapse of civilization. The protagonist recovers from a snakebite to find that, while he has been sick, almost everyone else has died as the result of a plaque. The novel, as evidenced by the title, focuses on the ecological changes that occur after the sudden collapse of humankind, as well as the struggles of the few remaining survivors to cope and perpetuate the species.

I first read this 30 years ago - it was first published in 1949. I loved it then, and still remembered many parts of it three decades later. I especially liked the protagonist's cross-country trip to see what was left of America. A great read.

Bound by Antonya Nelson

An interesting novel with some interesting characters that are written well. There is an aging serial adulterer on his third wife and looking for his fourth, an AWOL young Army man suffering from PTSD, a teenage loner who has been orphaned, and a peculiarly ambivalent woman who is about to become the guardian for an orphaned teen she has never met. Tie it all together with the background noise of an aging serial killer. And dogs - yes, dogs are used as a recurring motif, including puppies.

It's a good read though. It's not at first obvious how the disparate characters will be drawn together, which is generally a good thing since it keeps the reader guessing. Nelson is an excellent writer.

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

Winner of the National Book Award, this is an intelligent novel, well constructed, with an intricate plot and great characters. It is not clear at times where the author is going and how he intends to get there, but in the end it all comes together and works very well.

The book, and the characters in it, are inspired by a tightrope walker who illegally strings a cable between the twin towers of the World Trade Center and walks across. The author is making a statement about 9/11. but to me he connection is tenuous. That was the weakest part of the book - the final section that moved forward to the current time. But it's still a great read, filled with interesting characters and an engrossing look back into the 1970s.

The Day of the Trifids by John Wyndham

I have started reading a series of books on the theme It's the End of the World! What fun! An entertaining diversion from the literary novels I usually read.

This is a fun book. A little subdued by modern standards (first published in 1951), it has a lot in common with the work of H. G. Wells. Everybody knows the story: Everyone on earth goes blind after viewing the breakup of a comet in the night skies. Was it really a comet, or something man-made? Only a few lucky individuals escape with their sight intact.

The collapse of human society gives the mysterious plants called the triffids an advantage. Where did the triffids come from? No one knows, but they are carnivorous, ambulatory, and sentient. Creepy stuff. The novel draws on the fright about global destruction in the fifties. But it is still relevant today, and a lot of fun to read.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson

The last of the thrillers by Larsson, once again continuing the characters of Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. It ties up the loose ends of the second novel in the series and comes to a satisfying conclusion, which is good, since there will be no more novels after Larsson's death.

For me this was the least satisfying of the novels because of the subject matter. The theme this time is out-of-control spies, corrupt police, and unethical doctors. There is a lot of tension in this novel, even more than in the others, so I had a constant feeling of anxiety while reading it. Larsson does an excellent job generating that anxiety, which thriller readers thrive on. But I'm not a big fan of thrillers - I was glad when it was all over.

There are a few loose ends. Makes me wonder if Larsson had planned another novel. What about Lisbeth's sister? Will Blomkist actually settle down and marry someone? But we'll never know.

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The second of the novels by Larsson about the characters Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander. In this one, Lisbeth is accused of three murders and goes into hiding. She finally has a showdown with the mysterious Zala. Plenty of plot twists and surprising revelations, along with Larsson's excellent pacing and use of thriller techniques.

There are lots of plot elements left hanging at the end of this - obviously a sequel was planned from the beginning. Once again a confusing array of characters - keep a list if you want to make sense of the novel.

Larsson also changes the "theme". The first novel was about a dysfunctional family hiding secrets and violence against women. This one is about media abuse and corrupt and inept police. It's also about a third longer than a typical US thriller and much more detailed.