Customer Reviews

Some Will Not Die

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are many problems with Algis Budrys' "Some Will Not Die" but first and foremost is that the author doesn't seem to be at all sure what it is he wants to write. At some times, Budrys is writing a sort of "future history", at others a political thriller, and still others a rather mundane post-apocalyptic thriller. While the last of these is the primary genre in which one would place the book, the lack of focus results in a thoroughly disjointed novel.

It begins conventionally enough (following a prologue set some years later) with a super-plague, possibly developed by one of the competing parties of the Cold War, tearing through the U.S. and presumably, the rest of the world. The reader follows the path of Matt Garvin, a young survivor who strives to make a life for himself in an emptied on Manhattan. As the book progresses, the reader is offered glimpses of various stages of Matt and his family's life, alternating with the plot line from the prologue. Unfortunately, this approach in a fairly short novel leads to a pronounced lack of character development and plot twists that seem almost random. Moreover, there is only the vaguest connection between the prologue and the main body of the text, which makes for jarring transitions.

To his credit, Budrys does introduce some interesting theories regarding the development of civilization and the allocation of labor, but they are rarely well integrated into the plot, and therefore come across more like lecturing than story telling. Finally, the conclusions of both sections are so overwrought as to be almost laughable.

Ultimately, this isn't a terrible book, but it's not a very good one either. The character development is weak, and breaks off just when it is getting interesting. In addition, there is no unifying theme to the work, and finally, the book is riddled with typos. If you are a big fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, it may be worth reading if for no other reason than its premise is largely believable, which is rare in a genre riddled with absurdity. If you are indifferent to post-apocalyptic fiction, I would pass on "Some Will Not Die" as it doesn't have anything to offer when removed from the context of the genre.

Jake Mohlman

Algis Budrys is a great SF writer, and he brings fresh insight to every subject he touches. This novel is set in a future that will be familiar to most SF readers: after a catastrophic plague that wiped out nine-tenths of humanity, the survivors are faced with a choice of rebuilding civilisation or fighting each other for the ever-diminishing supplies of food and other essentials. One man accepts the crushing responsibility of using all necessary force to reunite the Republic, with the inevitable violence and loss of life. Is he right? Or is he just a bloodstained butcher, driven by his own lust for power? Decades after, his very name can make or unmake governments - one of which eventually sends an armoured expedition to seek him out or confirm his death.

Budrys has written only a few books, because he is very selective about the topics he chooses. Each book makes a statement that he felt to be important and worthwhile - and this one is no exception. Some Will Not Die is very well written, although poorly edited, and shows clear signs that the author was well acquainted with the grim realities of military life. Perhaps because it was assembled from independently-written sections, it adopts a flashback format that leaves a rather disjointed impression. Nevertheless, it is a book you will surely remember - both for its action and its ideas.

A. J. Budrys lived through the Danzig Crisis as a boy, and saw how Hitler was greeted as a liberator by the German population, as oppressor and conqueror by Poles and Jews.

Heroes are seen by many people in many ways. This novel shows the hero from the view of someone who knew him and didn't know he was meeting a hero. It's an important work.

It's also a lot of fun to read.

Jerry Pournelle

I have a copy of this from the 70's, just recently reread it. A little Tarantino like in switching time frames from preset to past until the past catches up to the present. Not the greatest literary work but an interesting look at what it would take to rebuild civilization after a catastrophe. Like the Romans & the Mongols might makes right as 2 families, the Garvins & the Berendtsens, look past paranoia & join together to unite their apartment building, then start building by building block by block, uniting people by force until New York is a free republic with central government, then they move south & north trying to unify other cities under them.

Disjointed, flighty, confusing. Good premise, but: Where are we? Who are we? What is going on? Where are we going? Very claustrophobic. Limited to high rise buildings in NYC and a vehicle on the Western plains of the US in different time periods. No definitive characters. Those that were defined, who cares? I'm still trying to figure out the plot. And I don't agree with the author about the chapter from a collection of short stories that he "tacked on" in this later version. This was all done so much better in "Earth Abides". You probably shouldn't waste your time, much less your money.

Algis Budrys, perhaps the less known among the classical SF masters, always was at his best in short stories rather than in novels. This book makes no exception, particularly as a consequence of a loose plot, with several, not well connected, sequences, centered around the creation of a new American republic after a plague that killed 90% of the population; and the search in the remote countryside, 30 years after, for the man who once led the Unification Army, who might or might not be dead.
Altough this idea is not very vell developed in the book, especially towards the end (where the author included an already published novella which is even more loosely connected than the rest), the novel deserves to be read for a couple of good reasons.
First, Budrys is able to provide a psychological insight in his characters, that was not common among the SF writers of his era.
Secondly, his version of post-apocalyptic history is quite original. Unlike most stories of its kind, this novel is focused on a hobbesian war of all against all: not only nation against nation, but city against city, block against block, and even apartment against apartment. In this situation, only a Leviathan (represented by the character of Theodore Berendtsen) can reunite people through military strength. Quite interestingly, in Budrys' vision the new republic can survive only as far as the Unification Army retains the monopoly on the use of weapons. Once Berendtsen is betrayed (no spoiling here, since this is revealed already at the beginning of the book) and the arms are redistributed to the civilians, the republic crumbles in fragments (and only the myth of the original Leviathan, Berendtsen, seems to be able to put it together again). Probably this view is not surprising in a man grown up during World War II, and forced to exile by the Soviet occupation of his homeland. However, it gives the novel a touch which was not common 50 years ago.

In Some Will not Die, A.J. Bydrys created a dark world existing after a plague kills off most of humanity. The core of the story focuses on a few survivors in Manhattan and their efforts to survive, at first, then to re-build an America in which the creation of technology has ended. Those who remain can only use what was left, including armaments and the few vehicles that will still run. Man hunts man for food, killing without asking question until one two men and their families decide to work together.

Eventually people living in an apartment building work together, followed by a whole block of buildings, then an entire community. Their authority spreads until all of New York City is under their sway. They discover that other cities have managed to organize, possibly posing a threat should they decide to move outward. In the center of the country, farm communities form, becoming armed camps. They grow enough food to sustain themselves.

The story becomes a study of how far a person might go in an effort to spread authority and what choices can be made. The one choice not made in this story is to explore the technologies and attempt to re-establish such things as power plants, farms in all possible locations, trade with other groups - all of the things that lead to civilization and nation-hood.

Surrounding the story of the past in the novel is the story of their future, of a band of men looking for a legend that will not die. Of the two families that first joined together in Manhattan, the son of the Berendtsens became a military leader of great power. He formed an army that conquered other cities and became a threat to the new political organization perhaps in the same way Caesar was deemed a threat by the Roman senators. Even though they are certain he was eliminated, however, his legend remains a threat to the republics that follow.

Many post-apocalyptic novels were written in the same time period as this one. Those who enjoy the sub-genre might also enjoy such books as Malevil, Earth Abides, or On the Beach.

Lasting impressions? This book was over too soon! After a lengthy intro into a fascinating world of urban survival reflected in the high plains hunker-down mode that it bred after years of conflict, the book just ends abruptly. The theme of a single man representing a civilizations ideals is very well placed and explored, as is the backlash from said single man's actions to bring these ideals back to the people of post bio-plague America. Unfortunately the last 100 pages or so of the book seems to be missing. Riding off into the sunset saying 'all's well that end's' is just not enough for me.

I have a copy of this from the 70's, just recently reread it. A little Tarantino like in switching time frames from preset to past until the past catches up to the present. Not the greatest literary work but an interesting look at what it would take to rebuild civilization after a catastrophe. Like the Romans & the Mongols might makes right as 2 families, the Garvins & the Berendtsens, look past paranoia & join together to unite their apartment building, then start building by building block by block, uniting people by force until New York is a free republic with central government, then they move south & north trying to unify other cities under them.

If you love novels about the end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI) then you may be able to wring enjoyment from this dry crust of story. What should you expect? Main characters who kill everyone they meet or see in order to either eat them or steal from them. Main characters who slaughter whole families, including women and children who refuse to bow to their will, their demands, their "organization." These, keep in mind, are the heroes of the story. If you enjoy this military adventure, then read on, but expect no pay off at the end. There is none. The ending is so disjointed that many readers are convinced there are separate stories in the book. In fact, these are the "end" of the novel, such as it is. If it's a great TEOTWAWKI story you want, read Earth Abides or Alas, Babylon or The Furies. This story honestly makes me question the sanity of those who published it. If ever a novel deserved a descent into obscurity, this is one.