The incredible tide [Hardcover]

Alexander Key (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1970

After five years alone on a rocky island not knowing if anyone else survived the holocaust, a seventeen-year-old boy is rescued and finds his troubles are only beginning.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Westminster Press; 1St Edition edition (1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664324703
• ISBN-13: 978-0664324704
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,610,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hey Conan (and Key) fans! I've actually read this!, August 7, 2001

By 

Aehrynne (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The incredible tide (Hardcover)

I *finally* got the chance to read this rare book! Here's a brief synopsis: Sometime in the future, mankind has managed to practically destroy the world via magnetic weapons, which have caused most of the land on earth to sink into the sea. Five years after "the Change," the survivors are trying to rebuild. One such survivor is Conan, a 17 year old youth who managed to live on a barren rock island all alone. One day, he is "rescued" and taken to Industria, a communist-type state desparately searching for a Dr. Briac Roa, a scientist with knowledge that will give them power to make their city-state run, and to also defeat any other remaining country.

Half a world away, in the remnants of Western society called High Harbor, Conan's friend (and Roa's granddaughter) Lanna, must help the settlement leaders defend the Harbor from Industria, as well as from taitorous, wild youths. Conan must find Dr. Roa and escape Industira in time to help defend High Harbor!

This is such a Cold War era novel (written in 1970, I think)! As a Political science major, I found the detailed account of Industria's political/social/economic structure pretty interesting... very much a communist society. Those from High Harbor are called Westerners, and acknowledge the presence of God, which the Industrian Dr. Manski can't understand.

I thought the book was pretty good, but this is one of the rare instances where I think that the TV version is better. I'm referring, of course, to the 1978 Japanese TV series Conan: the Boy in the Future. There are *tons* of differences, the main ones being that in the book Conan and Lana are older (about 17 vs about 10), and they don't meet until the end (in the book, they did know each other before the war). Also, the novel takes place 5 years after the war, in the TV series its 20 years; actually a pretty significant change. Overall, the characters are more likeable in the anime, in my humble opinion. Jimsy and Captain Dyce are barely in the book, and Miss Monsley's character (Dr. Manski), is pretty different. To give the novel credit, its a LOT shorter than the show, so it couldn't go into the depth that the series did. Its a pretty decent, quick read, and a neat story that provided a great springboard for an awesome animated series. If you weren't sure that Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, etc) was a genius, read the book, and watch the series! I'd recommend them both!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing..., February 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The incredible tide (Hardcover)

A shame so much of Key's books are out-of-print--he wrote some of the best environmental science fiction ever. A direct influence on Hayao Miyazaki.

If you can't hunt down a physical copy of this one down, and don't want to spend a hundred bucks online, you can read it's entirety here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050218020028/http://www.powernet.net/~mbaring/earthlibrary.htm

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing science fiction novel., July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The incredible tide (Hardcover)

The Incredible Tide is a departure for Key, set in a traditional science fictional future, where technology (and smog) are worshipped. It's also an adventure story, and a coming of age tale, aimed a somewhat older readers than most of his books. A different sort of read, and quite absorbing.