Book Reviews


This is the summary tab for the various reviews that I have posted at this site.

The columns will be explained at the top: abbreviation below.

Review Link is as much of the real name as I thought I could fit with the link to the review.  Most reviews have a link to at least one place you can buy it online.

The author is obvious, although with either multiple authors, or authors with long names, they may be truncated.

Type is the time setting relative to the “event”, and also the general tone of the book.

Disasters are the main cause of the crises. 

+/- is whether I recommend the book.  It is the quick glimpse, because people seem to like the thumbs up and down routine.  I try not to make it completely based on personal preferences, but obviously they play a part.

Our numerical ratings are intended to be descriptive, not generally qualitative.  A low number is not necessarily bad, nor a high one good:  1 is low, 4 is in the middle, and 7 is high.

Real is short for Realism.  Realism early on was called grittiness.  It is a general calibration as to how close the events of the book could be viewed from our current reality.  The actual plausibility of the disaster is not factored in unless it causes ongoing problems with the novel.  This avoids endless discussions about whether a Solar Flare, or a viral Pandemic are more “realistic” without letting the Vampire and highly speculative Science Fiction novels off the hook.

Read is for readability.  It is literally how painless the book is to read.  Some people want very straightforward plot driven tales, other like lots of character development, and arcane symbolism and analogy.   A comic book, or an action driven page turner will tend toward the higher end of the scale.  A long introspective novel about somewhat unclear events with a confused timeline would be relatively low on the scale.


Review Link
Author
Type
Disaster
+/-
Real
Read
L.C.Fiore
DY
TR
Y
7
L4
Vanessa Veselka
AP
EC, TR
Y+
6
L5
Kij Johnson
AP,CH
EQ
Y
1
7
J.G. Ballard
AP
Sc
N
2
L2
Larry Kollar
AP
Wd or S
Y
5
6
SunHi Mistwalker
AP
Ec
Y
6
7
Ian Sales
AP
N
N
5
5
Scott Williams
AP
F
Y
7
6
David Waldron
AP
F
~
6
4
Margaret Atwood
AP,PA
B
Y+
4
L5
Chris Marker
PA
N
Y+
2
7
Steven Greenberg
N
EQ
Y
7
5
Michel Houellebecq
NF, AP
NF
Y
-
-
Carlos Fuentes
AP
Vm, Ec
Y+
2
L6
César Aira
AP
Wd
Y+
2
L6
Scott Fotheringham
AP
B, Ec
~
6
L5
Gudrun Pausewang
AP, YA
N
Y
7
6
Evan Mundy
PA
Wd
N
3
5
René Barjavel
AP
N,E
N
2
5
Collection
AP,PA
Various
N
2
7
Bogdan Suceavă
AP
NP, Sc
Y
2
L3
Dmitry Bykov
AP
W, NP
N
1
L2
Elliot Evan Mills
AP
W
~
2
5
Brian Wood
PA
GW,  G
N
6
7
Sam McPheeter
AP
NP
N
5
6
David J. Rodgers
PA
NP
Y
5
5
Alex Bobl
PA
PO
~
3
5
A.P. Menzie
Dy
-
N
4
5
John S. Wilson
AP
EC
y+
7
6
Ralph Peters
AP
N, EC
N
3
2
Cynthi Kraack
C
N, I
N
4
3
Julie Myerson
AP
I
Y+
4
L3
Nicholas Antinozzi
AP
EC
N-
2
3
Will Weaver
AP, YA
V
Y
6
6
Anne Mendel
PA
V
Y
4
6
Alex Adams
AP
P
Y
4
5
Brian Slattery
PA
GW, EC
~
1
L2
Ted Lacksonen
AP
EC
~
5
3
Jane Gallion
PA
N?
~
5
4
Newton Thornburg
AP
EC
Y
7
5
Russell Hill
AP
EC
Y
5
6
Stephen Goldin
AP, SF
EC, PO
Y
5
6
Antonio Porta
PA
EC
Y
5
L3
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jeff Brackett
AP
N, E
N
5
6
William Forstchen
AP
E
Y
6
4
Bruce Hemming
AP
E
N
6
2
Ron Foster
AP
E or F
Y
6
5
Ray Gorham
AP
E
Y
5
7
David Alexander
AP
E
N-
2
3
Gary Shteyngart
AP
E, EC
Y
3
L1
David Waldron
AP
F
~
7
3
Des Michaels
AP
E or F
N
7
5
Larry Burkett
AP
F
N-
2
2
Whitley Strieber
PA
N, E
Y+
6
6
 
 
 
 
 
 
Barth Anderson
AP, SF
P, EC
Y+
7
5
Kathrine Hanna
PA
P
Y+
7
6
AP
P, Z
Y
3
6
AP
P
Y
4
6
Gretchen Hummel
C
P
N
2
5
PA
P
N
1
4
Sam Winston
PA
P
N
3
4
Terry Nation
AP
P
Y
6
6
George Stewart
AP
P
C
5
6
John Christopher
AP, YA
P
C
4
6
AP
PO
Y
5
7
Joe Nobody
AP
EC, NP
N
7
6
AP
N, NP, EC
Y
4
5
Vivi Andrew
PA, R
P
Y
5
7
C
PO, GW
Y
7
5
AP
W, EC
Y
1
L2
Andrez Bergen
PO
EC, GW
Y
2
2
Jim Crace
C
P, GW
N
3
5
David Crawford
AP
E
Y
7
4
C
P
N
2
5
AP, SF
NP
Y+
5
4
AP
NN, NP
N-
3
2
AP
N
C
5
6
AP
NN, NP
N-
3
3
AP
EC
~
4
4
N. Stephenson
NoA
-
 
5
5
Sigrid Nunez
AP
P
Y
3
L4
Robert Edric
AP
GW,EC
Y+
6
L3
John Grit
AP
D
Y
7
7
Cape,  Buckner
AP
PO, EC
~
6
6
PA
PO, NP
Y
7
7
Ervin Sim
PO, SF
G
~
3
3
Guy Salvidge
AP
GW, EC
Y
6
6
Stephen Hunter
NoA
-
 
6
7
Will McIntosh
AP, SF
B, PO, EC, GW
~
5
6
Kurt Cobb
NoA
-
 
5
5
Ardath Mayhar
AP
N
Y
5
5
C, SF, YA
PO, GW, B
Y
4
6
Honey Brown
AP
P
Y+
7
7
AP
EC, D
Y+
6
L7
C, SF
PO, GW, B
Y
4
7
C, SF
GW, PO, NP
Y
4
6
PA
GW
Y
5
6
Crmc McCarthy
PA
PD
C
6
6
Nathan Poell
AP, PA
W
Y
5
5
Stephen Pressfield
NoA
-
 
7
6
Chris Sullins
AP, M
EC, NP
~
7
4
Jean Hegland
AP
EC
C
7
L5
AP
PO, GW
~
5
4
Jack Womack
AP
EC
~
5
L4
AP
GW
Y
5
5
Richard Michaels
AP
N
N
7
2
Alex Scarrow
AP
PO, NP
Y
7
7
Terry DeHart
AP
N,E
~
6
4
Carla Buckley
AP
P
Y
7
6
Louis L’Amour
NoA
-
 
6
5
Neil Strauss
NoA
-
 
-
6
AP, M
EC
C
7
4
AP, YA
M, V
Y
6
5
AP, YA
M, V
Y
7
6
AP, YA
M, V
C
7
6
AP
N
C
7
5
Philip Revene
C
EC
~
5
5
PA, SF
W
~
4
3
AP
PD
C
5
5
Reviewed Earlier
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thomas Park
AP
EC, NP
~
5
4
AP
GW
Y
5
5
Michael S. Turnlund
AP
EC, NP
N
5
3
Nova
AP
EC
Y
6
5
PA
GW
~
3
4
AP
P
Y
7
6
B.T. Post
AP
EC, GW, NP
~
6
5
Michelle Widgen
AP
PO, GW
Y+
7
L4
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Partial Reviews
 
 
 
 
 
 
Doris Lessing
AP
EC
~
5
L4
Wm R. Forstchen.
AP
E
Y
6
4

 

 

Abbreviations:

 

Type:

AP: Apocalypse-in-progress

PA: Post-Apocalyptic – the disaster occurs before most or all the action

C:  Collapsed.  Society collapsed some time ago, and adjustments have already been made

Dy:  Dystopian- things are crummy, but in this particular definition, there has been no “collapse”.

 

YA: Considered Young Adult

CH: Considered suitable for youngsters

SF: Science Fiction. I am looking more for tone, or voice, rather than literal definition here.

NoA:  Not Apocalyptic, nor particularly dystopian either.  These are usually novels out of genre.

NF:  Non-fiction- I only have one, because it is essays about a fiction writer.

 

Disaster

B= Biotechnology

E= EMP Electro Magnetic Pulse

EC= Economic Collapse (other than peak oil)

EQ= Earth Quake

F= Solar Flare

FL= Flooding

G= God or supernatural forces (anywhere from good to ambiguous in nature)

GW= Global Warming

I= Ice Age (popular in the pre-global warming days)

M= Meteor or Comet strike

N= Nuclear (usually war, but accidents do happen)

NN= Nanotechnology

NP= Nefarious plotters trying to bring the world down

P= Pandemic Disease, was originally “D”

PO= Peak Oil

PD= Plant Disease

S= Demonic  Forces (supernatural clearly evil).  The “S” is for Satan of course

Sc= Sociological collapse – collapse from within

T= Technology fail

TR= Terrorists

V= Volcano (usually with secondary weather effects)

Vm- Vampires.  Volcanos got there first so they got the “V”

W= War

Wd= Weird Science

Z= Zombies

1 comment:

russell1200 said...

Comments here are for notes to corrections, broken links, etcetera. After corrections are made comments will be deleted.