Vanishing Point [Mass Market Paperback]

Michaela Roessner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1994

Years after an inexplicable incident during which ninety percent of the human population disappeared without a trace, the survivors make peace with each other, defending themselves against roving fanatics and investigating the Vanishing. Reprint. AB. LJ.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The apocalypse of Roessner's ( Walkabout Woman ) well-crafted, sensitive post-apocalyptic novel has nothing to do with bombs or (overtly at least) with some eco-catastrophe, but rather with the mysterious and spontaneous disappearance of 90% of the population. Three decades after the Vanishing, as it is called, the traumatized survivors are still trying to cope with the loss and loneliness: some, like the destructive Heaven Bounders, gravitate toward religious fanaticism; some preserve the memory of lost lives by maintaining their empty homes. The widely varied inhabitants of the House (formerly the Winchester Mansion in San Jose, Calif.) are more optimistic, pulling together to rebuild a secure life in an altered world. Therein lies the book's chief weakness: the answers that House members find in mystical "new physics" seem too easy, and many of the characters are unrealistically nice and reasonable. In the end, this fine novel is marred by Roessner's unwillingness to confront some of the uglier sides of fate and human nature.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

One day approximately 90 percent of the world's population vanish. The survivors must cope with marauders, cults, friends, enemies, and nature. In California a scientist, Nesta, joins a group attempting to explain the vanishing. Renzie and Tuck, brother and sister, are co-workers. As research progresses, too many anomalies occur, and Nesta studies them. When "Bounders," an arson-enamored group, attacks, the good people enlist the aid of the children to lead them through various dimensions to safety in their own "Here." Day-to-day routines and a touch of romance flesh out a fantasy world the author ( Walkabout Woman , Spectra: Bantam, 1988) has successfully created. An exciting climax rounds out a book sure to please readers of apocalyptic novels and even some general readers.
- Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; First Thus edition (November 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812516729
• ISBN-13: 978-0812516722
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been so much better, March 23, 2006

By 

Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanishing Point (Mass Market Paperback)

This book had some things going for it- good story (idea), good scientific premise (well, at least "something" out "there" is not the blame), good writing, interesting characters. So what happened?

Well, for one thing, there are too many dang characters. Guys and gals show up for a page, VANISH, then reappear again always for some deep or nefarious meaning. It all seemed a bit hokey. Even if 90% of the world vanished, that still meant 30 million Americans remained, hardly decimating us enough to force us to turn to obscure and self-destructive cults. Once again, we have the situation where a "scientist" discovers the "truth" through extremely suspect paranormal methods.

One day, without warning, 90% of the Earth vanished - the people, their clothes and nothing else. Naturally, there were the usual culprits (aliens, religion, government plot, etc.) but after 30 years most folks seems to have accepted this as a historical fact and moved on. It appears everyone has joined one of a number of weird cults, each built around explaining or living with the Vanishing. This is the story of one group, a team that lives in the "House" and searches for an explanation in unexplained anomalies that seem to appear randomly. The author attempts to weave some personal tales into the mix but the whole thing is so convoluted, it is difficult to follows. The PHYSICAL descriptions of the action and the settings are frustrating to the extreme - maybe that's the point. In the end, one cult invades and the children, blessed with a new power of control over the laws of nature, save the day. Time for a nap.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book I'm still lost in 17 years later, November 5, 2009

By 

CaptPostMod - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vanishing Point (Hardcover)

This is a very inventive and engaging book. I was probably about 13 or so when I first read this (I'm 30 now) and part of me is STILL lost in it!

I hadn't been to the Winchester Mystery House in real life when I read the book. But for years until I finally did go, people who had been there thought I'd been, too, just because I was so familiar with it from the book. This book took me there. If you're looking for a great young adult book that takes you to a whole different place, this is the one to read!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent science-fiction novel, July 26, 2006

By 

Michael J. Keyes (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Vanishing Point (Mass Market Paperback)

I agree with most of the criticisms leveled against this book by other reviewers, but I enjoyed it immensely despite its faults. The novel is set in the future, 29 years after 90% of the population has vanished. As one reader pointed out, that would leave thirty million Americans, but Roessner illogically describes a country that is largely uninhabited and that is ruled by competing cults. That, however, is a detail. On a much more important level, Roessner gradually lets us know that some fundamental laws of nature have changed, and that the disappearance of most of the population is not the only problem facing humanity. The children born into this new world are much more adapted to it than are the adults, and they have abilities not shared by their elders. The real appeal of the story seems to me to be the contrast between the adults and the children who were born after the Vanishing, and in the dreamlike quality of the author's descriptions of this new world. "Vanishing Point" is an easy novel to criticize, but it is not easy to forget, and I for one found it to be very intelligently conceived and highly entertaining.