The Postman
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'THE POSTMAN will keep you engrossed until you've finished the last page' - CHICAGO TRIBUNE' 'A moving experience...a powerful cautionary tale.' Whitley Strieber
Whitley Strieber
`A moving experience . . . a powerful cautionary tale'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the book which the film The Postman [DVD] [1998]is based upon apparently but I would say that it is very loosely based upon the book.
There is essentially a play on words within the title, the book is narrated in the third person, has a good pace and poses many philosophical questions in the opening chapters, it weaves the back story of apocalypse into the storyline of the travels of a contemporary of the post-apocalyptic world well but Brin has really gone all out to include as many futuristic themes as possible into a single story.
This is the reason why the book differs so much from the more straight forward story featured in the film of world wary wanderer vs. philistine nobody turned dictator.
To a point there are parallels, there is a wanderer who does stumble upon a deceased post man in a van and does decide loot the post van and take the postmans coat, the idea that villagers will invite outsiders to father children where sterility has afflicted husbands features but does not develop as a love interest as in the film, although from this point the book departs majorly from the plot of the film.
Brin's account of the end of times is different from that of most other post-apocalypse authors in that it is more a matter of society withering on the branch than war. Complicity and decadence breed an assurity which is quickly confounded when a confluence of unrelated crisis, outbreaks of disease, anti-technology riots (similar to the "simplification" featured in A Canticle for Leibowitz (Bantam Spectra Book)) and this is all told well through reflections on things like scarcity (shortages in tooth powder, anesthesia or medicine), the rise of survivalism (when a tipping point is reached beyond which people lose any hope that the authorities will recover the former order and prosperity). Its also a humanised account since the protagonist of the tale is a survivor of former times and not recalling or researching a distant past (as in Leibowitz) and he considers the cheapness of human life and the cruelty and capriciousness which has become the norm in contrast to his own efforts, with others, to try and volunteer in a socially conscientious manner as things began to collapse.
A recurrent and interesting theme is what provides survivors with hope, obviously the idea that a postal service while reconnect people is one hope but there are also some great reflections on technology and sentient machines which are totally abscent from the film.
It is a little disappointing then, when towards the end of the book, it turns into a bit of an action novel, with a guerilla struggle between settlements and then the introduction of characters into the storyline which made me think of either the incredible hulk or super mutants from the Fallout series of post-apocalypse role playing games. However I dont think this despoils the novel altogether. Not at all, although it does feel a little like genre hopping or something which could have made for a seperate sequel.
I really recommend this book, its not better than A Canticle for Leibowitz (Bantam Spectra Book) but its a good read in its own right.
There is essentially a play on words within the title, the book is narrated in the third person, has a good pace and poses many philosophical questions in the opening chapters, it weaves the back story of apocalypse into the storyline of the travels of a contemporary of the post-apocalyptic world well but Brin has really gone all out to include as many futuristic themes as possible into a single story.
This is the reason why the book differs so much from the more straight forward story featured in the film of world wary wanderer vs. philistine nobody turned dictator.
To a point there are parallels, there is a wanderer who does stumble upon a deceased post man in a van and does decide loot the post van and take the postmans coat, the idea that villagers will invite outsiders to father children where sterility has afflicted husbands features but does not develop as a love interest as in the film, although from this point the book departs majorly from the plot of the film.
Brin's account of the end of times is different from that of most other post-apocalypse authors in that it is more a matter of society withering on the branch than war. Complicity and decadence breed an assurity which is quickly confounded when a confluence of unrelated crisis, outbreaks of disease, anti-technology riots (similar to the "simplification" featured in A Canticle for Leibowitz (Bantam Spectra Book)) and this is all told well through reflections on things like scarcity (shortages in tooth powder, anesthesia or medicine), the rise of survivalism (when a tipping point is reached beyond which people lose any hope that the authorities will recover the former order and prosperity). Its also a humanised account since the protagonist of the tale is a survivor of former times and not recalling or researching a distant past (as in Leibowitz) and he considers the cheapness of human life and the cruelty and capriciousness which has become the norm in contrast to his own efforts, with others, to try and volunteer in a socially conscientious manner as things began to collapse.
A recurrent and interesting theme is what provides survivors with hope, obviously the idea that a postal service while reconnect people is one hope but there are also some great reflections on technology and sentient machines which are totally abscent from the film.
It is a little disappointing then, when towards the end of the book, it turns into a bit of an action novel, with a guerilla struggle between settlements and then the introduction of characters into the storyline which made me think of either the incredible hulk or super mutants from the Fallout series of post-apocalypse role playing games. However I dont think this despoils the novel altogether. Not at all, although it does feel a little like genre hopping or something which could have made for a seperate sequel.
I really recommend this book, its not better than A Canticle for Leibowitz (Bantam Spectra Book) but its a good read in its own right.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, this is one book that should not be passed up. I highly recommend the book for anyone who has questions about the movie.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The novel started out so very well. Why the author had to delve into intelligent machines and superhumans is beyond me. However, their introduction and effect on the story line did not spoil it enough to cause me to throw the book away. The hypothesis the author uses for one person to start to bring society together post apocalypse is brilliant. This kept me reading to the end. If the fantasy had not been introduced I would have put it up there with Earth Abides. A good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
clever future sci-fi
If you enjoy books that paint a plausible future with rich characters and storylines then enough said. This was a superb book. Read more
Published 15 months ago by JrF
Good adventure
A fascinating page turner of a book with lots of great ideas but not terribly well written to my mind. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Jo Bennie
Much better than these reviews
Id like to start by saying just how surpriesd I am by all of these "a little dissapointed.." reviews im reading. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. J. Forsyth
Postapocalypse, again.
The Postman is a postapocalyptic novel written at the height of the Cold War. Its hero is a lone traveller who yearns for the return of civilisation, for someone, somewhere, to... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Federhirn
Time to go postal
I very rarely read sci-fi but this great novel about a post-apocalyptic america doesn't really read like one. A great story, exciting & well written. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Bama70
Passable post-apocalyptic novel
First time I have read David Brin; he's a good but not great writer. The sex scenes are coy, the action/fighting scenes drag - he's better with the debates and the interior... Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by Jezza
Fails To Deliver...
Ridiculous and unconvincing tale of a post-apocalyptic everyman's personal mission for survival. By wearing the clothes of a long dead postie our itinerant minstrel and story... Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2008 by H. Morris
3.5 wasn't available
I think this is a good book, not top scoring as some would rank it, but if you like the whole apocolypse theme then this is a pretty good spin on it.
Published on 30 Nov 2007 by Mr Reviewer
Well Thought Post Apocalypse
I saw the Kevin Costner film before reading the book, and unlike seemingly everyone else I enjoyed the movie. Read more
Published on 2 Aug 2005 by Matt Graubner
Pedestrian post apocalpyse fable
Ok , so its better than the film, but still a derivative and largely unengaging work. Set a few years into the future, our hero sets himself up as a postman travelling between... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2001 by WJ Davidson
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