Customer Reviews

The Long Loud Silence (SIGNED)

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For well over thirty years, my mother told me of a post-apocalyptic book where the Mississippi River became an uncrossable barrier between the contaminated Eastern US, and the pristine West. She finally procured an old, disintegrating paperback copy for me to read. Originally written in 1952, my edition was based on a re-write Tucker did in 1969, incorporating references of the Viet Nam war.

Most of the great post-apocalyptic novels have had films made of them so that new generations of readers could be redirected to the books and generate interest in the book and the author's other works. Examples that come to mind are Stephen King's `The Stand', the Philip Dick short story `Second Variety' (`Screamers'), H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come' (`The Shape of Things') and `The Time Machine', and Neville Chute's `On The Beach.'

Sadly, though, Wilson Tucker's account of an Army recruiter surviving an atomic/biological attack on the USA doesn't have that 21st Century video version pulling in the book fans. The book has gone out of print.

Cpl. Gary wakes from a birthday bender on the wrong side of the Mississippi River after the nuclear/biological attack. He thinks that because he is a member of the US Army, that his comrades on the Western side of the River will welcome him home with open arms. Before he gets a chance, he sees these same soldiers will shoot anyone from the East who dare to try to cross over.

The rest of the story is about how Gary tries to adjust to the changes that the apocalypse has brought ----hunger, loneliness, mistrust and survival. Gary evolves from a not-too-likeable fellow into a clever, practical, but solitary survivor.

Considering `The Long Loud Silence was written fifty years ago, Tucker employs some memorable scenes and images in the book that still haven't yet been lifted (or `borrowed') by subsequent writers. There's a scene where chase a little girl is pursued through the woods by desperate hunters, an idyllic time spent with friends on a Florida Beach, and other interactions with humans affected by the apocalyse. But I won't spoil it for you.

If some of the situations and images seem trite, dated or `done before', it is because so many other writers have shared those same images. Tucker was one of the first writers of this genre, and if you are a loyal Apocalypse fan like me, are lucky (or persistent) enough to find a copy of the book, it's well worth the read and the addition to your library.

Wilson A. Tucker is a not very prolific sci-fi author. He has written a dozen novels and two dozen short stories. Nevertheless he managed to produce, at least, three great books in the field: "The Long Loud Silence" (1952), "Time Masters" (1953) and "Year of the Quiet Sun" (1970).

This book was published when the Cold War was raging, as many of the lasts I've reviewed and show some of the cultural background of the time.

Here the reader is presented with a world situated after a crushing blitz war. Corporal Gary has celebrated his birthday with a monumental drunkenness. How many days has he been unconscious? He couldn't say. But he awakes in USA's eastern half, devastated by biological and nuclear weapons. The Mississippi river is the unsurpassable border dividing America in two. At the west margin some organized Government still survives and a country free from pestilence. The very few survivors in the east are isolated and not permitted to come across.

Gary is not a very nice character; he is prone to being selfish and ruthless. But he is a survivor whatsoever and his WWII experience enhances him to do this. He tries once and again to go west.

Will he succeed? Read the book and find the answer.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

One morning Corporal Russell Gary wakes up in a dingy hotel to an eerie silence. The United States, or, more accurately, the land east of the Mississippi River, has been attacked by atomic bombs and biological weapons. This devastated portion of the United States is now under quarantine. No one gets out, no one gets in.

Gary is now faced with a battle for survival. Trapped in a world returning to barbarism, he's determined to find a way of crossing the river and returning to the civilization that still exists on the other side. But the biological weapons have left Gary and the other survivors infected with plague germs. Anyone who tries to cross the river is killed by the soldiers guarding the bridges, for fear of spreading contamination. Gary is trapped between armed soldiers on one side and lawless violence on the other. Over the months, things go from bad to worse...

"The Long Loud Silence" was written in 1952, the same year the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. The novel is grim but not as bleak as some of the other books in the genre. In fact it's quite optimistic in some ways. The novel is set in the 1950s. Corporal Gary is a World War Two veteren. That experience gives him an advantage over the other survivors he is trapped with; he knows the tricks of survival. One expression Gary is fond of using is "hell of a note". Was the author afraid of using profanity? It's an expression I've never heard before. It sure gets used a lot, though.

The cover artwork shows a muscle-bound, macho-looking guy in a ripped shirt holding a gun. Behind him is a stylized mushroom cloud. The only thing I have in common with this character is that he has the same birthday as me. He was celebrating his birthday and recovering from the resulting hangover when the attack happened. That's how he got into his predicament. It just goes to show that getting drunk is a stupid thing to do. You can spend the rest of your life paying for it.

Although this is a good book, an even better one I can recommend is "The Death of Grass" by John Christopher. That too involves unseen atomic weapons and a struggle for survival.

For the general gist of the book read the other reviews. What is interesting about the book is that the central character is a borderline psychopath but this is clearly not consciously known by the writer. The character murders anyone who gets in his way. The opportunities he has to form social bonds with other survivors are dismissed and he is only interested in his own physical survival. In this sense he is no longer a human being. His relationship with women is on a purely physical level and he seems to have almost no emotions at all apart from a rage at the authorities in the West who are preventing him from escaping there. Anger would be appropriate at the absence of aid from the Western government to those in the East. But the reason the survivors are not allowed in is because they are (immune) carriers of a deadly plague which would kill thousands in the West. It's a sort of adolescent tale of the amoral armed individual doing his own thing, casually slaying all in his path. And witness how women sleep with him within hours of meeting him - what woman survivor would risk getting pregnant, and by a stranger? It's pure teenage fantasy.

However, it must be one of the first post-war post apocalyptic books so it deserves a place in the history of such things. In terms of cinema, the closest thing is 'Panic In Year Zero' which is set after a suprise nuclear bombing of America. I think part of the popularity of the book may have been the back-to-rugged-outdoor-living-just-me-an-ma-gun daydreams of conforming 1950s men who worked in clean shiney new offices and who had every convenience and comfort.

The character may be the way he is because of battle trauma from his experiences in WWII but it was very unpleasant spending the five hours it took to read the book with him. Recommended only if you are a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, although it is quite well written and clips along. Try the end of H.G.Wells' 'The War In the Air' for the earliest post-apocalyptic novel.

Wilson A. Tucker is not a very prolific sci-fi author. He has written a dozen novels and two dozen short stories.

Nevertheless he managed to produce, at least, three great books in the field: "The Long Loud Silence" (1952), "Time Masters" (1953) and "Year of the Quiet Sun" (1970).

This book was published when the Cold War was raging, as many of the lasts I've reviewed and show some of the cultural background of the time.

Here the reader is presented with a world situated after a crushing blitz war. Corporal Gary has celebrated his birthday with a monumental drunkenness. How many days has he been unconscious? He couldn't say. But he awakes in USA's eastern half, devastated by biological and nuclear weapons.

Mississippi river is the new unsurpassable border dividing America in two. At the west margin some organized Government still survives and a country free from pestilence. The very few survivors in the east are isolated and not permitted to come across.

Gary is not a very nice character; he is prone to being selfish and ruthless. But he is a survivor whatsoever and his WWII experience enhances him to do this. He tries once and again to go west.

Will he succeed? Read the book and find the answer.

This is a very good book with all the flavor of Fifties' sci-fi; genre buff will enjoy it very much!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

I read this book 20 years ago, or more, and at the time I thought it a good effort in the post-apocalyptic genre. I gave it away, or lost it, or whatever, but since then it's resurfaced over and over in my mind, and the feel and mood of the book have if anything grown stronger over the years. A gloomy, frightening book that ends with a sliver of hope. One of the few novels that have forced me to think about growing older.....

No other author has gone to trouble to rewrite his own work, not once but several times to make it more current. His purpose is clearly to introduce to new generations a frightening view of tomorrow. If you thought 1984 was dark, The Long Loud Silence is midnight in the graveyard. Superbly written and fast paced, it sweeps you along into a terrifying escape adventure. As one of the few who survived the ultimate bomb, Corporal Russell Gary is cut off from everything and everyone he knows and "No-man's Land" is the Mississippi River. Survivalists can use this for their Bible. Anyone that enjoys a good story can find it here.

Wilson A. Tucker (1914 - 2006) was a not very prolific sci-fi author. He has written a dozen novels and two dozen short stories. Nevertheless he managed to produce, at least, four great books in the field: "The Long Loud Silence" (1952), "Time Masters" (1953), "Wild Talent" (1954) and "Year of the Quiet Sun" (1970) Nebula Award nominated.

The present book was published when the Cold War was raging and as many books or movies of the period show some of the cultural background of the time.

Here the reader is presented with a world situated after a crushing blitz war. Corporal Gary has celebrated his birthday with a monumental drunkenness. How many days has he been unconscious? He couldn't say. But he awakes in USA's eastern half, devastated by biological and nuclear weapons.

The Mississippi river is the unsurpassable border dividing America in two. At the west margin some organized Government still survives and the country is free from pestilence. The very few survivors in the east are isolated and not permitted to come across.

Gary is not a very nice character; he is prone to being selfish and ruthless. But he is a survivor whatsoever and his WWII experience enhances him to do this. He tries once and again to go west.

Will he succeed? Read the book and find the answer.

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

If you're looking for a thrilling roller coaster ride this is the book for you. I love Sci-Fi novels that stand the test of time and this one delivers. Sure, its out dated but I think the reads can read it with a 1950's mentality. If you're an academic who likes to stare at your shoes laces in deep thought, you probably won't like it. Enough already said about the plot. Just get it and enjoy!

Wilson A. Tucker (1914-2006) was not a very prolific sci-fi author. He has written a dozen novels and two dozen short stories.

Nevertheless he managed to produce, at least, three great books in the field: "The Long Loud Silence" (1952), "Time Masters" (1953) and "Year of the Quiet Sun" (1970).

This book was published when the Cold War was raging, as many other sci-fi books I've reviewed and show some of the cultural background of the time.

Here the reader is presented with a world situated after a crushing blitz war. Corporal Gary has celebrated his birthday with a monumental drunkenness. How many days has he been unconscious? He couldn't say. But he awakes in USA's eastern half, devastated by biological and nuclear weapons.

Mississippi river is the new unsurpassable border dividing America in two. At the west margin some organized Government still survives and a country free from pestilence. The very few survivors in the east are isolated and not permitted to come across.

Gary is not a very nice character; he is prone to being selfish and ruthless. But he is a survivor whatsoever and his WWII experience enhances him to do this. He tries once and again to go west.

Will he succeed? Read the book and find the answer.

This is a very good book with all the flavor of Fifties' sci-fi; genre buff will enjoy it very much!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.