Helpful Score: 12
If you're into really fine apocalyptic, and post apocalyptic, work, forget this one. It's purely awful. What little time I actually did spend reading about Hickory Hollow was matched by my ardent wish the whole place would just blow up.
Helpful Score: 5
Really ! This book is set in the 1980's and I am supposed to believe that kids still rode ponies to school ! At this point in the book, which is early on, I knew it was going to be a disappointing read. Even if I could get over the whole 'hick' factor, the writing & narrative was awful. I love post apocalyptic stories, I couldnt even like this one. A few wks after I figure out its the end of the world, one of my first survival thoughts wouldnt be "lets grow cotton, so I can spin my own wool for clothes"?? ARGH
Helpful Score: 3
I was so excited to read this book having read others of hers and enjoying them. This book I found to be disappointing however.
I felt like I didn't have a good background of the characters and how they related to each other. It seemed like there were too many people wih too little background information.
While I don't doubt that many people live the way that the main characters live it seems like a lot of information is assumed that the reader will know and I don't find that to be the case. Also they seem to pull in other characters who have no trouble adjusting to the rustic and sudden way of life which seemed also unlikely.
Overall I felt like it was a waste of time reading and couldn't get into the book because I found so much of it bad and unbelievable.
I felt like I didn't have a good background of the characters and how they related to each other. It seemed like there were too many people wih too little background information.
While I don't doubt that many people live the way that the main characters live it seems like a lot of information is assumed that the reader will know and I don't find that to be the case. Also they seem to pull in other characters who have no trouble adjusting to the rustic and sudden way of life which seemed also unlikely.
Overall I felt like it was a waste of time reading and couldn't get into the book because I found so much of it bad and unbelievable.
Helpful Score: 2
I am a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, but was not impressed with this title. The plot was thin and predictable, the characters were not well-drawn, and some of the story details just didn't make sense. Nuclear bombs are dropped on the U.S., and everyone in a rural Texas area runs away to an unknown location, abandoning their homes and belongings, except for a few folks living off the grid, who don't learn of the event for over a week. Fallout never affects them, and the characters appear to make nonsensical decisions while trying to survive, such as giving away food, leaving stores of seed behind in abandoned barns, and completely forgetting about their missing neighbors' livestock as a food/breeding source. This is not Stewart's "Earth Abides" -- this is lukewarm amateur storytelling. Not recommended except for the most die-hard fans of apocalyptic fiction who want to read everything out there.
A straightforward tale of how a small group of decent people band together to help and protect each other after an apocalyptic event destroys the nation. It's a very practical, nuts-and-bolts kind of story that quietly illuminates the virtues and survival value of caring, compassion, community and hard work.
The only false note is that the evil-doers, a gang of good-for-nothing raiders and murderers, are all women. This seems very unlikely. But it doesn't detract significantly from the story.
While I wouldn't call this a guide to prepping and survivalism, I think it captures an authentic sense of what it would be like to have to cope in a world where the cornucopia of consumerist society suddenly vanishes, forcing people to master the skills necessary to supply all their needs themselves.
The only false note is that the evil-doers, a gang of good-for-nothing raiders and murderers, are all women. This seems very unlikely. But it doesn't detract significantly from the story.
While I wouldn't call this a guide to prepping and survivalism, I think it captures an authentic sense of what it would be like to have to cope in a world where the cornucopia of consumerist society suddenly vanishes, forcing people to master the skills necessary to supply all their needs themselves.
Hickory Hollow is a rural community where the people are self-sufficinet and hard working. When the World ocmes to an end the people hardly notice. The book details the survival and coming together of a small community of diverse people making a new future.
Much like "Earth Abides" this book is a kinder, gentler End of the World novel.
Interesting characters, interesting problems and inventive solutions in a world that has changed forever.
Much like "Earth Abides" this book is a kinder, gentler End of the World novel.
Interesting characters, interesting problems and inventive solutions in a world that has changed forever.
