Helpful Score: 1
As I started reading this book, I thought, Well, the writings good but it must be terribly unoriginal, because everything in it seems incredibly familiar! Around page 75, I figured out that the reason it seemed so familiar was that Id actually read it before.
Sigh.
But, I really like post-apocalyptic fiction, so I kept reading it.
It is good, especially for those who are fans of the genre.
However Woods theory on why apocalypse came about, in this book, is a geomagnetic polar shift. You can read some stuff about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal
However, the only people who generally seen to think that such a phenomenon will cause total disaster are the alien-conspiracy-Greys-Atlantis-psychic-power types. (Yeah, I like the theory that the reason that we have no evidence of truly advanced ancient civilizations is that when a magnetic shift occurs, all "artificial" materials DISAPPEAR, leaving only "natural" substances such as rock behind. AAAGGGH! Basic physics, anyone? Anyway.) Moreover, the changes dont (from all past evidence) seem to happen quickly. So Im not giving it a lot of points as far as likelihood of civilization collapsing.
The book is also named after the very interesting figure of Michael Faraday, the brilliant self-taught scientist, well-known for his research into electromagnetism.
However, Faraday is not once even mentioned within the text of the book. Too bad.
So, we have a story of a pilot from one of the domed cities that are the last holdouts of civilization. Flying his antique helicopter on a mission to try to find a source to scavenge fuel from (and also trying to secure his position in the city with an unfriendly Councilman, and wanting to resolve serious issues in his marriage), he runs into trouble, loses his copter, and falls afoul of wild gangs of feral children. Saved by a young woman with a natural talent for chemistry, his mission is now merely to get back to his home alive a task that seems near-impossible
(Of slight interest(?), Wood was married to fellow sf-author Norman Spinrad for 15 years.)
Sigh.
But, I really like post-apocalyptic fiction, so I kept reading it.
It is good, especially for those who are fans of the genre.
However Woods theory on why apocalypse came about, in this book, is a geomagnetic polar shift. You can read some stuff about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_reversal
However, the only people who generally seen to think that such a phenomenon will cause total disaster are the alien-conspiracy-Greys-Atlantis-psychic-power types. (Yeah, I like the theory that the reason that we have no evidence of truly advanced ancient civilizations is that when a magnetic shift occurs, all "artificial" materials DISAPPEAR, leaving only "natural" substances such as rock behind. AAAGGGH! Basic physics, anyone? Anyway.) Moreover, the changes dont (from all past evidence) seem to happen quickly. So Im not giving it a lot of points as far as likelihood of civilization collapsing.
The book is also named after the very interesting figure of Michael Faraday, the brilliant self-taught scientist, well-known for his research into electromagnetism.
However, Faraday is not once even mentioned within the text of the book. Too bad.
So, we have a story of a pilot from one of the domed cities that are the last holdouts of civilization. Flying his antique helicopter on a mission to try to find a source to scavenge fuel from (and also trying to secure his position in the city with an unfriendly Councilman, and wanting to resolve serious issues in his marriage), he runs into trouble, loses his copter, and falls afoul of wild gangs of feral children. Saved by a young woman with a natural talent for chemistry, his mission is now merely to get back to his home alive a task that seems near-impossible
(Of slight interest(?), Wood was married to fellow sf-author Norman Spinrad for 15 years.)
