Greybeard is a science fiction
novel by author Brian Aldiss, published in 1964. Brian Aldiss was named a Grand
Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2000 and inducted by the
Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004. He has received two Hugo Awards, one
Nebula Award, and one John W. Campbell Memorial Award.
Mr. Aldiss described his novel as
a “sombre story of a group of people in their fifties who face the fact that
there is no younger generation coming to replace them; instead nature is
rushing back to obliterate the disaster they have brought on themselves.”
Dust Jacket Summary
Set decades after the Earth's population has been sterilized as a result of nuclear bomb tests conducted in Earth's orbit, the book shows a world emptying of humans, with only an ageing, childless population left. First, toy companies go under. Then record companies. Then cities cease to function. Now Earth’s population lives in spread-out, isolated villages, with its youngest members in their fifties. The story is mainly told through the eyes of Algernon "Algy" Timberlane (Greybeard) and his wife, Martha.
Set decades after the Earth's population has been sterilized as a result of nuclear bomb tests conducted in Earth's orbit, the book shows a world emptying of humans, with only an ageing, childless population left. First, toy companies go under. Then record companies. Then cities cease to function. Now Earth’s population lives in spread-out, isolated villages, with its youngest members in their fifties. The story is mainly told through the eyes of Algernon "Algy" Timberlane (Greybeard) and his wife, Martha.
What I liked
Oh, how I love post-apocalyptic stories. Mr. Aldiss does a very nice job of capturing the correct tone of a civilization crashing to its demise. Governments fall, law and order is stripped away, and one man fiefdoms rise to take their place. This is a great playground for an author to explore as the possibilities are unlimited. The story does a great at making the characters feel isolated and generally attempts to communicate the sensation of danger around every corner.
Oh, how I love post-apocalyptic stories. Mr. Aldiss does a very nice job of capturing the correct tone of a civilization crashing to its demise. Governments fall, law and order is stripped away, and one man fiefdoms rise to take their place. This is a great playground for an author to explore as the possibilities are unlimited. The story does a great at making the characters feel isolated and generally attempts to communicate the sensation of danger around every corner.
I really like the two main
characters, Algy (Greybeard) and Martha Timberlane. Both are developed well enough that the
reader becomes invested in their plight.
Mr. Aldiss alternates chapters between the present and the back story of
Greybeard and Martha so that you get a real sense of what motives them to
survive in a bleak world.
What I didn’t like
The main concept is never fully explored. Mr. Aldiss does a decent job of introducing the idea of a sterilized society, giving the back story of the “accident” but he never really pushes the concept forward and sticks to the standard plot of a decaying civilization.
The main concept is never fully explored. Mr. Aldiss does a decent job of introducing the idea of a sterilized society, giving the back story of the “accident” but he never really pushes the concept forward and sticks to the standard plot of a decaying civilization.
Mr. Aldiss stated that he was
going for a high level misery in his novel.
At times he does achieve a decent amount of misery but generally the
story feels like a day cruise down post-apocalyptic Thames River. While some times there is danger, the party
is never really threatened in a manner where the reader feels their lives are
in extreme peril.
Last word
A different and refreshing approach to an end of world story that is never fully realized but based on the strengths of the main characters make this a worthwhile read.
A different and refreshing approach to an end of world story that is never fully realized but based on the strengths of the main characters make this a worthwhile read.
My Rating
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