In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Book
At the end of World War II, J. Robert Oppenheimer was one of America's preeminent physicists. For...
Set in present day, it follows Jon Keller, an American Historian, and his fellow guests at a hotel in Switzerland, following a nuclear war. Pretty much every major city in the world has been bombed. The majority of guests have left, trying to get back to their homes even thought the media has advised them against doing so (no aeroplanes, no public transport). Jon and a small group of other guests decide to stay and make the best of it.
Whilst checking water supplies in the roof storage tanks, they find the body of a child, and Jon decides to investigate.
The book is written in Jon's voice as he writes a diary, a history, of his and the other guests survival, and his investigation.
I really liked this. It wasn't sensationalised, it all seemed so reasonable, and in our current worldwide political climate, so plausible - which is what made it really scary. It did have a bit of the "Huis Clos" (a play by Jean Paul Sartre) feeling about it: a feeling of being trapped with the same day coming around again and again, no escape, stuck with the same people that you neither particularly like or trust. And I liked that about it.
By the way, in the advent of a nuclear holocaust, Switzerland would seem to be a pretty civilised place to be 'stuck'.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Viking for the copy of this book to read and review!
Under Pressure
Book
Imagine a world without natural light, where you can barely stand up straight for fear of knocking...
The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War
Book
If anyone could be considered a Russian counterpart to the infamous British double-agent Kim Philby,...
JT (287 KP) rated The Book of Eli (2010) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
A story based around religion is not always going to be for everyone but if anything the cast is a shining light in an otherwise scrappy film.
Gary Oldman plays the true archetypal villain, looking like a cowboy but sounding like a biblical reverend, he truly knows how to play the bad guy. Washington gives an equally decent performance but is some way off his best.
The cinematography is stunning and the desolate landscape depicts a true reflection of the aftermath of nuclear war. It’s grainy and gritty but needed to pack more of a punch. The brief action and fight scenes are well choreographed and the twist in tale at the end should be enough raise a few questions in the car park.
The Notebooks of Edward Bond: v. 2
Book
This second volume of Edward Bond's notebooks covers the period from Restoration, his historic drama...
The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World After an Apocalypse
Book
Maybe it was a viral pandemic, or an asteroid strike, or perhaps nuclear war. Whatever the cause,...
Warday
Book
The unthinkable happened five years ago and now two writers have set out to find what's left of...
Voodoo Warriors: The Story of the McDonnell Voodoo Fast-Jets
Book
During the mid-1950s the United States Air Force was given its most powerful single-seat, two-engine...


