9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A rare anarcho-classic!, June 12, 1997
By A Customer
Abbey's best work will always be his essays, but this novel is one of those "forgotten" dystopian classics that deserves much more attention. Forget Orwell's "1984." It's too European. Forget Levin's "This Perfect Day." It's too fantastic. Abbey has written the best post-apocalypse American novel to date. And his politics, as always, ring true. Up the rebels! An anarcho-classic
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Is this the thesis Abbey wanted to write?, April 15, 2009
Edward Abbey graduated from the University of New Mexico with a MS in philosophy. His 1959 thesis was titled "Anarchism and the Morality of Violence."
Clearly, many of his books are a reflection of these earlier musings. Good News is his sci-fi expression of anarchism.
In Good News, society has collapsed, particularly in areas that were inhabited by high densities of humans, such as Phoenix, that required extraordinary infusions of energy, particularly west of the 100th meridian. Without energy, there was no water delivery, storage, and irrigation. No modern agriculture. No city infrastructure maintenance. No mega-transportation system.
No centralized government.
Jack Burns is on a mission to be reunited with his son, who he hasn't seen or contacted for over two decades. He travels with his friend, Sam, a Native American with unique powers. He falls into a crowd of anarchists who are fighting against a quasi-military government ruled by "the Chief". The Chief accepts execution and torture as necessary to maintain order. The anarchists want to destroy all records of government.
Abbey has written, "Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners." This philosophy is expressed in Ayn Rand style in Good News.
According to Abbey, this potential future is very dark, and humanity collapses as the strong bully the weak. The back cover of this book states "With this boldly satirical imaginary world, Edward Abbey asks us to look around and take stock of what we value before it is too late." I would not categorize this book as "satirical." I would say that this book was Abbey's continued experimentation into ways to express his dissatisfaction with the status quo in the west. After all, "Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top."
And Abbey liked his stew.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Forget '1984', March 13, 2001
This is not only one of Abbey's best novels but a great novel in its own right. As both a city and a country dweller I can not only relate but confirm much of his notion that cities are not nearly as healthy for a man's soul as the country is. In addition this is a great story about social decay and what it takes to over come the challanges that arise from such a situation. We have grown soft and forgetful of what our forefathers went through to create a country like ours and this book gives a realistic and easy to swallow insight into their frames of mind and their state of heart. This is the wild west and the futurama all mixed together with an iron fisted military group to boot. I still can't believe this was never made into a movie.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
