The Year of the Flood

I started in the middle of Atwood’s Oryx and Crake series on the advice of a friend. This was a good jumping in place: right on the edge, deep in dystopia and on the brink of the death (or rebirth) of humanity. Now I’m waiting to get the first book from the library.

There’s been a lot of talk about dystopian and postapocalyptic literature following the election, as we wait for President Trump. Are we projecting our fears? Are we looking for hope? I haven’t seen a postapocalyptic novel yet that doesn’t include recognizable humans in some fashion. Do we want assurance that we’ll survive in some fashion.

I’m reminded of one possible (non-human) exception to our survival: the Monument-Makers from Jack McDevitt’s Engines of God. When humans finally find them, they appeared to have devolved after their civilization was destroyed multiple times.