Rob M. (caladan) reviewed on 9/10/2014 + 54 more book reviews

A classic book by George Rippey Stewart, an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. Earth Abides is a post-apocalyptic novel written in 1949. It won the first International Fantasy Award in 1951. Mr Stewart also wrote another great book, Pickett's Charge in 1959 (a detailed history of the final attack at Gettysburg, it was called "essential for an understanding of the Battle of Gettysburg".), among others. He is a history professor with excellent writing skills and winner of many awards. I also recommend his Ordeal by Hunger about the Donner Party. His scholarly works on the poetic meter of ballads (published under the name George R. Stewart, Jr.), beginning with his 1922 Ph.D. dissertation at Columbia, remain important in their field. Read his Wikipedia entry. His professional history is interesting proving often that he could write as a professional and an author.
This story draws you in with it's frequent explorations of the impact of an apocalyptic pandemic and how the world's ecosystem adjusts. The characters are very well done, the story credible and the action just enough to keep you entranced by Ish's adventures. A few revelations open your eyes like "Wow, didn't see that coming". It can get kind of deep as you become lost in Ish's fog of his thinking,but it is a great story about mankind's recovery from this disaster and how that might happen. Sleepy's review above describes the story very well.
I highly recommend this book!

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