This Is the Way the World Ends (S.F. MASTERWORKS Book 92)

"This is the Way the World Ends" is one of those ambiguous, "Is it sci-fi or something else?" kind of books. The book is essentially a philosophical and theological contemplation on responsibility: the responsibility of the citizen to stop an insane State; and the responsibility the current generation bears to both the all-but infinite hordes of the dead, and the actually-infinite yet-to-be-born.What stops it from reading like a philosophical tract, however, is that it's essentially a twisted, satirical retelling of "Alice in Wonderland" (through the looking glass of Vonnegut, more than Swift), which I assume jumped off from the acronym for Mutually Assured Destruction, that ongoing insanity, giving rise to a "MAD Hatter".The plot shifts between three main modes: periods of mawkish schmaltz; horrifyingly graphic depictions of a world burning down to its last embers; and a rip-roaring legal thriller against the backdrop of the trial of the millennium. Two things stop these shifts from being too jarring. Firstly, Morrow's lucid writing style, with its acerbic gallows humour and deft descriptive flourishes, is consistently entertaining. Particularly in the rose-tinted sections, which often get just a little too saccharine for my tastes, there is a soft but omnipresent satire, which simultaneously nods to the reader (well, I thought so anyway) and promises a return to the grisly horror promised by the title in due course, sort of: "Yes, it is over the top, isn't it? Oh well, there *must* be a happy ending to a book about the end of the world, *mustn't* there?" The writing is particularly taut in the extended trial sequence, which keeps the action from getting too bogged down. I read the latter 200-some pages of the book in one sitting, so it can't have been all that bad!The second thing that stopped the tonal shifts from disorienting this reader was the excellent portrayal of George Paxton, a slightly dim but utterly benevolent and likeable character who acts as our POV into a world gone mad, and serves as one of the key messages of the text: we are all of us, no matter how far removed from the Powers That Be, responsible for the horrors done in our name. Paxton's relatability goes a bit beyond the 'everyman' he is often trumpeted as: he is utterly devoted to his wife and daughter, utterly driven by the belief that he can forestall the extinction of the human race. But whatever George's character archetype is, he is so well drawn, in his joy and his horror, his bemusement and his all-too-common sorrow, that you can't help but be sucked along through the kaleidoscopic fever-dream of the plot, drawn in even as you are amused by the conceit and horrified by the subject matter.The book may be outdated (2015 is mentioned in the book as a distant, utopian future that could have been) but its message is not. People who dismiss the book's message forget that the civilised nations of the Earth can still blast it to a cinder on the say-so of a half-dozen suitably mad or bad people. I think that this is a fine book, completely unlike anything else for all that it wears its inspirations (Eliot, Carroll, Vonnegut, Swift) on its sleeve. I urge you to give it a go!

George Paxton who engraves tombstones for a living, wants to get his young daughter, a protective suit against nuclear radiation that has become the must have item across America. Unable to afford it, he’s offered one for her, if he just signed a document admitting responsibility for letting any nuclear war happen. He signs, and it happens. As one of the survivors, Paxton is taken with the five others, by people who will now never exist because of the nuclear war to be put on trial for it in Antarctica.This is a very dark satire with a lot of witty prose with surprising but appropriate references to Alice in Wonderland. It follows on from ‘Dr Strangelove’ with discussing the mentality that leads to war, but this time throws in an every man figure as well. A great comment on the 1980’s cold war that makes you remember that the weapons are still there. Recommended.

An engaging tale focusing on the consequences of owning nuclear weapons. The first half follows George, a simple but likable man who only wants to protect his daughter from an impending nuclear war. As the bombs are dropped, he is saved, and we see the following destruction through his eyes. The second half is a balanced look at nuclear weaponry and 'mutually assured destruction', using the backdrop of a trial against George and a handful of other survivors by the people who would have lived if the world had not been destroyed.Although the concept of a nuclear war with the Soviets is an outdated concept, the story is still relevant today, especially for the average citizen. Are we to blame for being complacent and not speaking out against what we believe is wrong?May not appeal to everybody's tastes, but highly recommended if you enjoy strange stories that make you think. I found myself caring about George. Talks of Leonardo, Nostradamus, and numerous Alice In Wonderland references only added to the appeal for me. I am very happy I chose this book to read.

What starts out as what you think as a typical post apocalyse novel rapidly goes off into some very strange territory with a trial for six people judged as responsible for global nuclear war - but it is done by the people who never got a chance to live a resultThe arguments around why you would have nuclear weapons are well done , and quite familiar (MAD is a great acronym) and the grim inevitability is very well done - but for me it was just a little too 'out there'

Library copy first read aeons ago, recently re-Kindled. As good now as it was on first reading nearly thirty years ago. Even the Cold- War-boiling-over backdrop doesn't seem particularly dated - MAD still relevant even though the weapons and the enemies might have changed (not necessarily for the better). The main characters are portrayed in-depth (in more ways than one) with good word economy.For the most part, it's very well paced. Comes to more than one conclusion and the pace and story in the middle strand out a bit before coming back together. A very emotive story not for the terminally depressed, though the clever framework does allow for a teensy bit of hope to shine through.

The first part of the story was quite good and I liked it, but oh dear by the time I had read to half-way I needed a shot in the arm to keep going, it became so boring I just had to stop . Sorry I just can't recommend this book - boring ....

I thought this had quite a lot of promise, but it peters out badly towards the end. It seemed incoherent and the story just failed to move me.If you're looking for a 300 page allegorical examination of guilt, then this is for you.If you're not, avoid.

This book actually manages to make Neville Shute's "On the Beach" look upbeat. It's another hauntingly grim tale of the destruction of humanity, but this time with a somewhat supernatural twist. The plot manages to pull some surprises though - unlike Shute's book.It's a great book with some unexpected plot turns. Make sure you read a "happy" book afterwards to balance it out.