The Postman by David Brin

First published in 1985

In a post-apocalyptic future, Gordon Krantz is something of a nomad, drifting from village to village, acting out one-man plays in exchange for food and shelter.  While evading bandits he stumbles upon an old postal truck.  Krantz takes the dead letter carrier's uniform and, helping himself to the mailbag, begins playing a new role:  that of a postman dispatched by the reconstituted government to reestablish delivery routes.  There is no new government but villagers fighting for survival and fending off tribes of marauders are desperate to believe him.  The question is whether Krantz will live up to the illusion he's invented.

I'm a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction in general, but I approached this novel with the thought that it might not live up to its hype. I was mistaken. Brin created a credible future world, and the concept of a survivor feeling compelled to deliver the mail (even if he stumbled onto the idea for reasons that were far from altruistic) is brilliant: mail delivery becomes not only a means of stitching together a torn nation, but a powerful symbol of national unity and pride. Gordon Krantz, the main character, is more than a bit torn himself, a man of less than heroic stature who, by the novel's end, has grown into not just a hero, but an icon of heroism. Krantz is a fully developed character (a rarity in sf), and his personal transformation is inspiring. The supporting characters are also solid and purposeful. The Postman is a strongly plotted, well written novel, in many ways better than another, more celebrated version of a post-apocalyptic future:  The Road.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

The Debriefing by Robert Littell

First published in 1979

Stone heads a secret intelligence organization operated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Its function is to infiltrate Russia if the need to do so ever arises. So far, it hasn't. But when Stone debriefs a Russian defector who has offered information about Russia's position at upcoming arms reduction negotiations, he questions the defector's authenticity. Stone infiltrates Russia and impersonates a KGB officer to find the truth, enlisting the help of a prostitute and a Stalin look-alike.

The Debriefing is tightly plotted, Littell's writing style is crisp, and although the characterization is one-dimensional, the story is fun. It isn't as good as his first book, The Defection of A. J. Lewinter, nor is it as enjoyable as my favorite (so far) of the Littell books, The Sisters, but this brief novel is one that fans of espionage fiction should enjoy.

RECOMMENDED

Shadow of the Wolf by Brent Ghelfi

Published by Henry Holt and Co. on July 8, 2008 (also published under the title Volk's Shadow)

In Volk's Game, Brent Ghelfi created an intriguing character: an emotionally damaged Russian patriot who is filled with contradictions: a ruthless killer who feels compassion for widows and wounded veterans; a thief who dispenses charity; a man who questions his capacity for love while sacrificing himself for the sake of love. The character of Volk develops further in Shadow of the Wolf.

The story takes place six months after the conclusion of Volk's Game, and I suspect a reader would be a bit confused diving into this book without reading the first one. The complex and occasionally confusing plot pits Volk against terrorists and politicians, brings him into contact with American and Russian spies, and takes him back to Chechnya, where he lost his leg and perhaps his soul. All of this (backed by plenty of violence) would be routine stuff in thriller world except that Volk continues a path of personal growth that began in Volk's Game: he begins to question the conflict with Chechnya and the role he played in it; he starts to wonder if the man he has become is the man he wants to be. Like the first novel, the story is a fun read, but the well drawn main character is what really makes it worthwhile.

RECOMMENDED

The Gift of Stones by Jim Crace

First published in 1988

The Gift of Stones tells a story that works on both a micro and a macro level.  It is the story of civilization making the transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age as seen from the perspective of a few individuals living in a small village of stoneworkers.  The villagers are skilled craftsmen; they live comparatively well, trading carefully-fashioning tools and arrowheads for food and other goods furnished by farmers and hunters.  They don't know that their way of living is coming to an end.

When a horseman shoots a boy with an arrow, causing the boy to lose his arm, he cannot work as a stoneworker and so becomes a storyteller.  His stories are inspired by what he has seen a day’s walk from the village, including a woman and daughter who live by the sea.  The woman whores herself and lives meagerly until the spring when geese arrive and provide a feast of eggs and goose meat.  The boy takes an interest in them that they don't entirely welcome.  When events force them to choose between moving or starving, however, the woman and daughter accompany the boy to the village.  Having no skills, their lives continues to be difficult despite the help the boy tries to provide.  As a storyteller, he represents the conscience of the village, but most of the villagers have little use for a conscience.

Late in the novel, a tragedy occurs that involves a bronze arrowhead.  The arrowhead heralds the coming of the Bronze Age and the end of village life -- the villagers recognize that bronze is superior to stone and that their skills will no longer serve them.  The storyteller is the only villager whose career cannot be supplanted by new discoveries or technologies:  he continues to act as a guide for those who are willing to listen.

The Gift of Stones is a parable, a lesson in the enduring role of the artist in a society that inevitably changes.  The novel can also be read as a comment on the natural bonding of societies (in this case, the village of craftsmen) and their intolerance of outsiders.   But The Gift of Stones is also a moving story of individuals confronting forces that they are powerless to affect.  Crace's elegant prose reminds us of what it is to be human, even in the context of the distant past. The story is simple but powerful and Crace tells it so gracefully that the novel is a joy to read.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Anvil of Stars by Greg Bear

 

First published in 1992

Anvil of Stars is a mildly disappointing sequel to the mildly disappointing The Forge of God.  With the help of friendly aliens, a group of survivors of the cataclysm described in the first novel begin a quest to hunt down the unfriendly aliens who caused that catastrophe.  Most of the novel describes the factions and in-fighting that develop in the ship-bound society of youngsters seeking vengeance (or justice, depending on your point of view), as well as the training they undergo. A lot of it was repetitive and dull.

More interesting was the joining of the Earth ship with the aliens from another ship on the same mission. The aliens were well-conceived. In both physical description and behavior, they seemed truly alien, and therefore credible--as opposed to television aliens who seem like humans with funny hair, or movie aliens who seem like lizards.

The other interesting aspect of the novel concerns the conflict that developed between those who want at all costs to wipe out the species that destroyed the Earth (even in the absence of conclusive evidence of their responsibility) and those who worry they might be destroying innocents--ancestors who did not make the decision to attack the Earth and who may disagree with it, or a different alien race that had nothing to do with the attack. That moral dilemma poses no easy solution, and Bear does a good job of portraying both viewpoints fairly. This would have been a better novel if more emphasis had been placed on that conflict and less on training sessions.  In the end, the dilemma is resolved in a satisfying manner. I would have enjoyed the novel more if it had arrived at that resolution much more quickly.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS