Total Oblivion, More or Less
Spectra, 320 pages, $15.00 (trade paperback)
ISBN: 978-0-553-59254-2
Post-Apocalyptic novels can be profound, meaningful, terrifying, depressing, awesome, even inspiring...but they are seldom fun. Two that spring to mind are Edgar Pangborn’s Davy and David R. Palmer’s Emergence, and even those weren’t strolls through the park.
Get ready for Total Oblivion, More or Less.
Sixteen-year-old Macy had a normal life in suburban St. Paul, a dysfunctional family that drove her crazy, and the usual concerns of a midwestern teenager. Then her cell phone stopped working, the cable TV failed, and the Scythian horsemen rode into town to murder and pillage.
The Scythians are just the beginning. Various barbarian tribes from ancient history turn up all across North America, and half the country is ruled by “the Empire.” Cities are ravaged, populations murdered, plagues spread. With time gone wacky and the world gone insane around them, Macy and her family find themselves in a refugee camp. They decide to board the good ship Prairie Chicken on its pilgrimage down the Mississippi in search of safety and sanity.
There follows a surreal journey through an ever-more-bizarre landscape as Macy’s family dissolves around her. Over the next year, Macy’s coming-of-age leaves her stronger, wiser, and a lot more accepting of her new world.
As a particularly fun post-apocalyptic story, Total Oblivion, More or Less is a success. As a parable of ordinary people confronted with changes beyond their understanding, it is superb. Reading this book will give you an insight into the experience of all your non-SF-reading friends and neighbors as they confront the onrushing future.