Level 7
4.0 Stars
4-23-2021

- Item 1 on checklist: Do not die (Book #2 of my "Spring" into the Apocalypse reading list.)

A little bit Dr Strangelove, a little bit Fallout, and a little bit Threads, told in a succinct, simple, and effective style. Also the novel is ~100 pages long, which I think is a great length for a novel and something that many more writers should emulate. The author wrote this early enough (1958) that it precedes most nuclear-apocalypse fiction, and it seems like this book would have been ground breaking at the time (even if it is mostly forgotten today). It still holds up well, and while the basic ideas are now common the story still works and it doesn't cheaply use the dire events of the book. Put another way, I'd much rather read this than most of the 2021 Hugo nominees.