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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gardening Bipedal Decay, March 26, 2004
When something dominates the landscape long enough, it falls into the intricate patterns that ultimately lead to its downfall. Complacency, the feeling of superiority and supreme authority, overpopulation and spreading the herd paper thin; these are all symptoms of that coming demise. It can be seen in every creature colonizing on any continent, from the largest of animals to the smallest insects. And nothing reflects that teetering on the brink of perpetual extinction more than mankind. In The Genocides, this point is painstakingly brought to the surface, showcasing exactly how mankind would react to sweeping changes and how easily the proverbial "fall from grace" could be fashioned. First come the seeds of destruction in the shape of mysterious plants, growing at levels that astound even the most studious minds while being followed by the atypical reactions hinged on dismissal that one would expect from "civilized thinkers." As the plants start claiming ground and choking out the human blight, the reaction remain as we would expect them to be, unwavering in their arrogance, and the people see themselves as dominate. They don't see this as an invasion because plants couldn't be invaders, after all, and they opt instead to fight it with poisons that seem to keep the problem in check and methods that keep it out of sight. Slowly, however, people come to realize that this is all a mirage and that extinction is looming just beyond that next horizon. And there, in a town painted to the backdrop of crumbling cities and mammoth greenery, Thomas Disch begins painting a vivid portrait of what humanity truly entails. There were many elements of the story that sprang from those pages and that were captivating as I eagerly devoured page after page. I personally liked the way the characters sprang to life, their ideas and ideals mingling with their backgrounds, and I liked the way all sorts of normally-mundane items started marching back into lives that had forgotten them. Food, grueling efforts to keep portions of land, needs for medicine, the elements; these were all there and they were all there in kind. Little tastes that we'd become numb to began taking effect, with people dropping like so many flies as the going grew tougher and tougher, and Disch painted it well. And, out of that, he painted something that I liked even better. One of the best things about Disch's work was that he wasn't trying to become a mouthpiece for the redeeming factors housed in mankind. He didn't gloss over the fact that brutality is a key component to survival when structure becomes disheveled, and he doesn't try to bore his readers with passion plays that encompass only a portion of that "light vs. dark" spectrum. Instead, he explores the way the individuals feel and how they manage to survive on both a mental and a physical plateau when the world falls apart. And sometimes this means doing little things to keep the past alive or finding someone to latch onto that you really don't care about. And sometimes it means doings deeds that are even worse, eternally answering not only the question of what people are willing to do to stay alive but also the question of where sausage will come from when pigs are gone but still savored in the deep spiciness of memory. This is WELL worth working into your hectic reading lives.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Taste of Things to Come..., November 2, 2002
In 'The Genocides', the remains of humanity struggle against the onward growth of an alien monoculture known simply as 'the Plants', which has destroyed civilisation and left only pockets of survivors. The novel starts well, in an almost Faulknerian community of farmers, lead by the dominating and deluded fundamentalist patriarch, Anderson, who are trying to maintain their cornfields and animals against this relentless growth, along with alien attempts at 'pest control' (essentially the slaughter of all living beings remaining on Earth). The plot concentrates on what happens to the dynamics of this community when it is decimated by one of these genocidal attacks, and then forced to welcome a charismatic and educated urban survivor, Jeremiah Orville. His revenge on Anderson for killing his partner, is slow and cunning and pits the old patriarch's children against each other and against him, as the devastated group is forced to seek shelter underground in the roots of the Plants themselves. 'The Gencocides' was Disch's first novel and suffers from a common fault of first novels, and of 1960s sf, in having a great concept but being really rather aimless for long stretches (see also Brian Aldiss' 'Hothouse' as another example of this). The characters switch between being a more realistic band of survivors than, for example, those in Stewart's 'Earth Abides' - with some intriguing and challenging interpersonal conflict - to melodramatic and over-cooked. The long passages underground are claustrophobic and tense to begin with, full of dark and squelchy atmosphere, but soon become dull as Disch, rather like the characters themselves, loses the plot. The novel is redeemed somewhat by a fine, cinematic and depressingly gloomy ending, but, like 'Hothouse', you can't help but think it would have been better as a novella. Sf in general improved as early 1960s superficiality gave way to anger and disappointment with Disch's own extremely grim and disturbing 'Camp Concentration', and the work of Spinrad ('Bug Jack Barron'), Moorcock ('The Cornelius Quartlet'), Ballard ('The Atrocity Exhibition', 'Hi-rise' etc.) and Brunner ('Stand on Zanzibar', 'The Sheep Look Up' etc.). 'The Genocides' is still worth reading as a book that stands on the cusp of this revolution, as the older more complacent sf was faced with this tide of energetic bitterness and loathing.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food for thought, or for food for someone at least......., August 11, 2003
With all the aplocalyptic books out there to enjoy, this is the freshest approach yet, and probably one of the older books. One day the world is covered in little green plants sprouting up everywhere. One month later the little plants are already over 100 feet tall. Things fall apart too fast to stop them, and as they encroach on society, society collapses. Those who are left survive only by sheer determination and hard work, having not only to deal with the immense plants blocking out the sunlight, but with strange spheres that patrol amongst them and disintegrate anything that moves. Disch takes us into this little society, and we follow this group of well formed characters onward through further declines, delving into an underground world of strange fruits and un-ending roots systems; where human nature takes over and even the smallest of societies finally breaks down under the weight of desperation. The ending will may not shock you, but it will leave you thinking "what if?" Very well written, outstanding characterization, this is one of Disch's better adventures.
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