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All Fools' Day
The summer of 1971 was unusually sunny for London. It was also scientifically fascinating: Sunspots emitting a new type of solar radiation suddenly appeared.
Then, unaccountably, there began a sharp rise in the suicide rate, and over the next ten years, the radiation-triggered impulse to self-destruction gradually eliminated all but the Transnormals---creative artists, eccentrics, psychopaths---those who had always lived on the fringe of organized society.
These survivors now found themselves in a depopulated world where civilization had dissolved and man had reverted to savagery...
Then, unaccountably, there began a sharp rise in the suicide rate, and over the next ten years, the radiation-triggered impulse to self-destruction gradually eliminated all but the Transnormals---creative artists, eccentrics, psychopaths---those who had always lived on the fringe of organized society.
These survivors now found themselves in a depopulated world where civilization had dissolved and man had reverted to savagery...
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1966
7 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Edmund Cooper
100 books45 followersExcerpted from wikipedia:
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).
In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
Edmund Cooper was born in Marple, near Stockport in Cheshire on April 30, 1926. He served in the Merchant Navy towards the end of the Second World War. After World War II, he trained as a teacher and began to publish short stories. His first novel, Deadly Image
(later republished as The Uncertain Midnight) was completed in 1957 and published in 1958. A 1956 short story, Brain Child, was adapted as the movie The Invisible Boy (1957).In 1969 The Uncertain Midnight was adapted for Swiss television, in French. At the height of his popularity, in the 1970s, he began to review science fiction for the Sunday Times and continued to do so until his death in 1982.
Apart from the website mentioned above there was another Edmund Cooper website full of information about the author and his publications.
Known Pseudonyms:
Richard Avery
George Kinley
Martin Lester
Broderick Quain
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 1, 2025
An SFF book published in the year I was born, at a time when the setting (UK - 1971) was in the future!
I read this book a very long time ago when I was pretty young. I'm thinking it was well over thirty years ago and I may have been around ten. So the fact that it has stayed with me all these years has to mean something?
The central crisis, the thing that delivers the post apocalyptic stage on which events play out, is original and in many ways poignant. Something happens that leads everyone 'normal' to succumb to suicidal urges. The only survivors are 'odd' - eccentrics, people whose thought-patterns don't follow the usual path. I guess part of the fascination is wondering if you'd be among the survivors.
The story is told through the eyes of one such survivor and details his attempts to continue to survive and to come to terms with the new reality in which everyone has a chance/need to reinvent and re-envision themselves.
The general thrust is a (now) familiar exploration of society collapsing in a hurry and what floods in to fill the vacuum. Cults arise, different groupings do battle. The patients take over the asylum.
I can't say I have a clear memory of the plot, but I recall the story to be brutal, touching, and funny in fairly equal measures, and a very good read. One day I will reacquire a copy and find out how much my perception may have changed in the intervening decades!
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I read this book a very long time ago when I was pretty young. I'm thinking it was well over thirty years ago and I may have been around ten. So the fact that it has stayed with me all these years has to mean something?
The central crisis, the thing that delivers the post apocalyptic stage on which events play out, is original and in many ways poignant. Something happens that leads everyone 'normal' to succumb to suicidal urges. The only survivors are 'odd' - eccentrics, people whose thought-patterns don't follow the usual path. I guess part of the fascination is wondering if you'd be among the survivors.
The story is told through the eyes of one such survivor and details his attempts to continue to survive and to come to terms with the new reality in which everyone has a chance/need to reinvent and re-envision themselves.
The general thrust is a (now) familiar exploration of society collapsing in a hurry and what floods in to fill the vacuum. Cults arise, different groupings do battle. The patients take over the asylum.
I can't say I have a clear memory of the plot, but I recall the story to be brutal, touching, and funny in fairly equal measures, and a very good read. One day I will reacquire a copy and find out how much my perception may have changed in the intervening decades!
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
November 23, 2025
3.5 rounded up. Decent addition to my Dystopian Fiction shelf. There's a hell of a lot going on for just 192 pages and the author paints a brilliant picture of a desolate England, overrun by dogs cats and rats, horses and pigs. Published in the 60's it has some pretty outdated views particularly about women and lets not be coy.. rape. This was going to be a three but I rounded it purely for the ending which I thought was pretty neat.
September 5, 2016
All fool’s day is an early dystopian science fiction novel by an Author that I am strangely fascinated by.
The story is dated but that did not really bother me, after all it was written before I was born: In 1971 strange sun spots started appearing and marvellously warm summers started occurring in England. These factors continued for a decade and as they continued suicide rates rose. These suicides became known as Radient Suicides and after a while population levels dropped so dramatically that civilisation could not support itself and the country, all countries lapsed into a savage disorganisation.
This is a clever and well written story, these days it would be speculative fiction, but, published as it was in 1966 this was the sci-fi of its day. In the author’s note, Cooper lays before us the importance of the sun to life on earth and how vitally important to us the delicate balance of the sun’s rays to atmosphere is. It reads like the words of a visionary, because global warming, holes in the ozone and rising melanoma rates were not relevant to the 60’s but they certainly are today. Also from the author’s note “The story opens in 1971; but it might just as well be 1981 or, indeed, at any time in the future. For mankind can never be immune from a touch of the sun.” Yes, that is pretty visionary in my book.
Some of the things Cooper speculated would occur are very much a product of his time and did not date well. Especially, he did not predict the quick rise of technology, so the story could not really be placed much after 1971 because it is too tech – poor. In another way it has dated; Cooper had some peculiar views on women, this comes out in other of his books but it is more dramatic in this one. He may not have been an actual misogynist, but he had very polarised views on what women were good for, even by the standards of his day, so the story reads misogynisticlly by today’s standards. This is also why I find my fascination with the author strange, I don't usually have a high tolerance for mysogeny.
The other think that may be difficult for modern readers is how very unlikable and downright nasty the main man is. All of Cooper’s male characters that I have read had issues, they are often antisocial or desocialised, often failures ect. In this story Cooper takes it a step further, Grenville is more morose, less explicable and much less easy to like than most. He is violent, nasty and does some pretty horrible things and no excuses are proffered for him: he is what he is.
Still, I found this an interesting classic sci-fi. I enjoyed it. A final word on the cover; it has dated even more than the story. A woman stands with boots and a rifle slung over her shoulder, but her coat is open to reveal her breasts. The strange black mask-thing she appeared to be wearing was so odd! I tried to make it out for ages because it looked like some sort of bondage mask that you could purchase at an adult store. Still not entirely sure what it is meant to be but possibly it is meant to be a re-breather or a drinking tube. This fails to explain the eye mask or to relate to the story in any way at all.
The story is dated but that did not really bother me, after all it was written before I was born: In 1971 strange sun spots started appearing and marvellously warm summers started occurring in England. These factors continued for a decade and as they continued suicide rates rose. These suicides became known as Radient Suicides and after a while population levels dropped so dramatically that civilisation could not support itself and the country, all countries lapsed into a savage disorganisation.
This is a clever and well written story, these days it would be speculative fiction, but, published as it was in 1966 this was the sci-fi of its day. In the author’s note, Cooper lays before us the importance of the sun to life on earth and how vitally important to us the delicate balance of the sun’s rays to atmosphere is. It reads like the words of a visionary, because global warming, holes in the ozone and rising melanoma rates were not relevant to the 60’s but they certainly are today. Also from the author’s note “The story opens in 1971; but it might just as well be 1981 or, indeed, at any time in the future. For mankind can never be immune from a touch of the sun.” Yes, that is pretty visionary in my book.
Some of the things Cooper speculated would occur are very much a product of his time and did not date well. Especially, he did not predict the quick rise of technology, so the story could not really be placed much after 1971 because it is too tech – poor. In another way it has dated; Cooper had some peculiar views on women, this comes out in other of his books but it is more dramatic in this one. He may not have been an actual misogynist, but he had very polarised views on what women were good for, even by the standards of his day, so the story reads misogynisticlly by today’s standards. This is also why I find my fascination with the author strange, I don't usually have a high tolerance for mysogeny.
The other think that may be difficult for modern readers is how very unlikable and downright nasty the main man is. All of Cooper’s male characters that I have read had issues, they are often antisocial or desocialised, often failures ect. In this story Cooper takes it a step further, Grenville is more morose, less explicable and much less easy to like than most. He is violent, nasty and does some pretty horrible things and no excuses are proffered for him: he is what he is.
Still, I found this an interesting classic sci-fi. I enjoyed it. A final word on the cover; it has dated even more than the story. A woman stands with boots and a rifle slung over her shoulder, but her coat is open to reveal her breasts. The strange black mask-thing she appeared to be wearing was so odd! I tried to make it out for ages because it looked like some sort of bondage mask that you could purchase at an adult store. Still not entirely sure what it is meant to be but possibly it is meant to be a re-breather or a drinking tube. This fails to explain the eye mask or to relate to the story in any way at all.
June 2, 2018
This has to be my most favourite of Edmund Cooper novels and he has written a few good ones. We are once again in a post-apocalyptic Britain. This is often Edmund Coopers type of brave new world. Each apocalypse is a different type of thing in most of his stories. Perhaps it was his desire to destroy the real world and invent many types of new one - hence his regular sci/fi formula of after the disaster.
In this, particular dystopian world there are sun spots that cause mass suicide and only the more mentally unstable and unbalanced characters seem to have survived. They struggle to invent some semblance of new order. The stories are simplistic pulp science fiction, and this is one of Edmund Cooper's best in my view. I really enjoyed this story.
C.A. Powell
The Last Days of Thunder Child
In this, particular dystopian world there are sun spots that cause mass suicide and only the more mentally unstable and unbalanced characters seem to have survived. They struggle to invent some semblance of new order. The stories are simplistic pulp science fiction, and this is one of Edmund Cooper's best in my view. I really enjoyed this story.
C.A. Powell
The Last Days of Thunder Child
October 3, 2014
This is a cracking book if you like old school post apocalyptic fiction along the lines of something that John Christopher might have written. The book begins with a couple of examples of scientific papers that suggest that the premise of the story is possible, and although I find it a bit unlikely, I think the idea is refreshing after reading about a hundred books where the world ends through plague or nuclear war.
Anyway, the book begins with unusual activity in the Sun causing the Earth to be exposed to a previously unknown type of intense solar radiation. Over a period of around a decade this causes most of the world's 'normal' people to give in to suicidal urges, drastically reducing the population. Only people who are somehow mentally unbalanced seem to be immune to the problem, so only they are left alive.
The story follows one particular man through the crisis as he tries to survive amidst the chaos. Approximately the first half of the book describes the descent of the UK as the authorities gradually collapse and all forms of order gradually cease to exist. Once this backdrop is well established, the second half of the book has a stronger narrative element as we follow the 'hero' as society is being rebuilt to some extent.
This story does feature quite a lot of violence, including torture and worse, but it's handled in a way that's inkeeping with the situation. If you don't mind a few unpleasant scenes then I thoroughly recommend this book. My only complaint is that it was a little short for my tastes.
Anyway, the book begins with unusual activity in the Sun causing the Earth to be exposed to a previously unknown type of intense solar radiation. Over a period of around a decade this causes most of the world's 'normal' people to give in to suicidal urges, drastically reducing the population. Only people who are somehow mentally unbalanced seem to be immune to the problem, so only they are left alive.
The story follows one particular man through the crisis as he tries to survive amidst the chaos. Approximately the first half of the book describes the descent of the UK as the authorities gradually collapse and all forms of order gradually cease to exist. Once this backdrop is well established, the second half of the book has a stronger narrative element as we follow the 'hero' as society is being rebuilt to some extent.
This story does feature quite a lot of violence, including torture and worse, but it's handled in a way that's inkeeping with the situation. If you don't mind a few unpleasant scenes then I thoroughly recommend this book. My only complaint is that it was a little short for my tastes.
November 21, 2025
Per una volta ho trovato su una bancarella un Galassia anzichè i soliti Urania: come rinunciare? Oltre tutto non conoscevo l’autore, ma ne parlavano bene colleghi più esperti.
Decisamente non sono rimasto deluso: è un bel romanzo catastrofico britannico, uscito nel ’66, cioè quando Wyndham e Christopher (soprattutto il secondo, nel suo caso) avevano fissato le regole del genere. Come (per esempio) “La lampada del sesso” di Aldiss, è un affascinante documento della società britannica pre-sessantottina, in cui una trama futuribile viene affrontata da personaggi che ragionano e si comportano secondo schemi per noi ormai arcaici.
Si immagina che il Sole inizi a emettere radiazioni che spingono, di anno in anno, sempre più persone al suicidio; solo gli “anormali” (artisti, criminali, oosessuali (tale è la visione dell’autore) ) vengono risparmiati, talchè, alla fine degli anni ’70, nelle Isole Britanniche restano poche centinaia di migliaia di “transnormali”, in una società regredita a livello peggio che feudale. Il protagonista Matthew Greville è un pubblicitario di successo, che però, dopo aver scoperto che molto del suo successo era dovuto ai letti frequentati dalla moglie, era riuscito a farla morire in un incidente stradale; all’inizio dell’azione principale è tornato sul luogo del delitto, in un momento di malinconia alcolica, e ha così l’occasione di salvare una ragazza, Liz, da una muta di cani inselvatichiti. Dopo una breve visita ai resti di Londra su richiesta di lei, che l’aveva vista da bambina (cioè poco prima di diventare schiava sessuale del branco di superstiti da cui è appena scappata), Greville inizia il viaggio che li porterà nel suo rifugio nella East Anglia, vicino a Norwich; ma dovranno affrontare indicibili vicissitudini, inclusi stupri subìti da lei (tra cui una specie di stupro da parte dello stesso Greville), e descritti con fin troppo realismo, a mio parere (ma ci torneremo).
Non sto a dettagliare le avventure che seguono: è un romanzo pulp a cui è inutile chiedere i significati dei “Trasfigurati” di Wyndham o di “Inverno senza fine” di Christopher, o anche solo una logica narrativa: è puro romanzesco, dove in qualunque momento può accadere qualunque cosa, ma molto ben narrata: si sente anche in traduzione che l’autore è “anche poeta” (per citare la Signorina Silvani.. no, in realtà l’ho scoperto nei Santi del Giorno di @Stefano Sacchini).
Del resto la traduzione è molto buona, grazie agli sforzi di Montanari e assistente anglofona per rendere i gerghi malavitosi. Il titolo originale “All fools’ day” è purtroppo intraducibile: indica il nostro allegro “primo d’aprile”, ma ha il gustoso senso letterale di “Giorno di tutti pazzi”, ben più aderente al romanzo.
Da notare che questo romanzo del ’66 ambientato nel ’71 fu pubblicato in Italia nel ’74: nemmeno negli anni del boom fantascientifico nostrano si riusciva a tenere il passo.. e gli ottimi curatori Curtoni e Montanari, parlando del catastrofismo britannico, ne citano a esempio “la trilogia ballardiana vento-fuoco-acqua”: “Foresta di cristallo” sarebbe stato pubblicato da noi l’anno successivo.. Teneri ricordi di un tempo che fu, cinquant’anni fa.
Altra curiosità editoriale: tra le molte metamorfosi delle copertine di Galassia, da ghirigori in bianco/nero allo psichedelico Ferruccio Alessandri all’onirico Bruce Pennington, questa è insolita: che sia, come altre copertine dello SFBC in quegli anni, opera di Libero Vitali, che era anche direttore responsabile delle collane?
Tornando al romanzo, è un peccato che a un certo punto Liz rinunci a cercare di salvare la gemella Jane per salvarla: sarebbe stato uno sviluppo interessante, con toni parapsicologici, visto che aveva visioni di lei (soggetta a una schiavitù sessuale ancora peggiore di quella a cui era soggetta Liz); alla fine serve solo a giustificare qualche lubrica scena onirica e la partenza dal loro rifugio.
Da notare anche il senso dell’orrido scatenato da branchi animali affamati: cani, maiali e soprattutto ratti.. da qui James Herbert prenderà parecchio!
Torno un momento sul tema delle mentalità “di una volta”. Siamo abituati a considerare arretrato il passato più o meno remoto (con più o meno precisione storica), ma è spesso il passato prossimo a sorprenderci per la distanza, considerato che si tratta di persone che abbiamo conosciuto. Qui l’evoluto, moderno protagonista non può non trattare come “una brocca rotta, ormai inutile” (per usare una vecchia metafora) la ragazza che ha salvato; lei stessa è profondamente convinta di esserlo. Siccome lei è stata costretta a essere schiava sessuale, per lui ormai è una assatanata da cui difendersi (!) o da trattare più o meno allo stesso modo; lei stessa, ancora sofferente per gli stupri del giorno, lo induce a farle altrettanto, immagino per stabilire almeno quel tipo di rapporto con il suo salvatore. E va notato come nei sogni erotici di lei, ma anche nella realtà narrata, lo stupro scateni comunque piacere fisico nella donna pur riluttante. In pratica la donna è vista come un pozzo senza fondo di incontrollabile lussuria: accettabile finchè repressa e incanalata dalle convenzioni sociali, ma pericolosa una volta che (non importa se per volontà sua o violenza altrui) abbia assaggiato il “frutto proibito”: a quel punto è “una brocca rotta” da cui non può che uscire continuamente “peccato”.
Non è però questa la cifra finale del romanzo: è piuttosto lo stato “normale” (per allora) delle cose, che il nostro Cooper saprà superare permettendo ai personaggi di superare questi schemi; addirittura, Greville accetterà come proprio il primo figlio avuto da lei, che in realtà aveva una lunga lista di possibili padri.
Decisamente non sono rimasto deluso: è un bel romanzo catastrofico britannico, uscito nel ’66, cioè quando Wyndham e Christopher (soprattutto il secondo, nel suo caso) avevano fissato le regole del genere. Come (per esempio) “La lampada del sesso” di Aldiss, è un affascinante documento della società britannica pre-sessantottina, in cui una trama futuribile viene affrontata da personaggi che ragionano e si comportano secondo schemi per noi ormai arcaici.
Si immagina che il Sole inizi a emettere radiazioni che spingono, di anno in anno, sempre più persone al suicidio; solo gli “anormali” (artisti, criminali, oosessuali (tale è la visione dell’autore) ) vengono risparmiati, talchè, alla fine degli anni ’70, nelle Isole Britanniche restano poche centinaia di migliaia di “transnormali”, in una società regredita a livello peggio che feudale. Il protagonista Matthew Greville è un pubblicitario di successo, che però, dopo aver scoperto che molto del suo successo era dovuto ai letti frequentati dalla moglie, era riuscito a farla morire in un incidente stradale; all’inizio dell’azione principale è tornato sul luogo del delitto, in un momento di malinconia alcolica, e ha così l’occasione di salvare una ragazza, Liz, da una muta di cani inselvatichiti. Dopo una breve visita ai resti di Londra su richiesta di lei, che l’aveva vista da bambina (cioè poco prima di diventare schiava sessuale del branco di superstiti da cui è appena scappata), Greville inizia il viaggio che li porterà nel suo rifugio nella East Anglia, vicino a Norwich; ma dovranno affrontare indicibili vicissitudini, inclusi stupri subìti da lei (tra cui una specie di stupro da parte dello stesso Greville), e descritti con fin troppo realismo, a mio parere (ma ci torneremo).
Non sto a dettagliare le avventure che seguono: è un romanzo pulp a cui è inutile chiedere i significati dei “Trasfigurati” di Wyndham o di “Inverno senza fine” di Christopher, o anche solo una logica narrativa: è puro romanzesco, dove in qualunque momento può accadere qualunque cosa, ma molto ben narrata: si sente anche in traduzione che l’autore è “anche poeta” (per citare la Signorina Silvani.. no, in realtà l’ho scoperto nei Santi del Giorno di @Stefano Sacchini).
Del resto la traduzione è molto buona, grazie agli sforzi di Montanari e assistente anglofona per rendere i gerghi malavitosi. Il titolo originale “All fools’ day” è purtroppo intraducibile: indica il nostro allegro “primo d’aprile”, ma ha il gustoso senso letterale di “Giorno di tutti pazzi”, ben più aderente al romanzo.
Da notare che questo romanzo del ’66 ambientato nel ’71 fu pubblicato in Italia nel ’74: nemmeno negli anni del boom fantascientifico nostrano si riusciva a tenere il passo.. e gli ottimi curatori Curtoni e Montanari, parlando del catastrofismo britannico, ne citano a esempio “la trilogia ballardiana vento-fuoco-acqua”: “Foresta di cristallo” sarebbe stato pubblicato da noi l’anno successivo.. Teneri ricordi di un tempo che fu, cinquant’anni fa.
Altra curiosità editoriale: tra le molte metamorfosi delle copertine di Galassia, da ghirigori in bianco/nero allo psichedelico Ferruccio Alessandri all’onirico Bruce Pennington, questa è insolita: che sia, come altre copertine dello SFBC in quegli anni, opera di Libero Vitali, che era anche direttore responsabile delle collane?
Tornando al romanzo, è un peccato che a un certo punto Liz rinunci a cercare di salvare la gemella Jane per salvarla: sarebbe stato uno sviluppo interessante, con toni parapsicologici, visto che aveva visioni di lei (soggetta a una schiavitù sessuale ancora peggiore di quella a cui era soggetta Liz); alla fine serve solo a giustificare qualche lubrica scena onirica e la partenza dal loro rifugio.
Da notare anche il senso dell’orrido scatenato da branchi animali affamati: cani, maiali e soprattutto ratti.. da qui James Herbert prenderà parecchio!
Torno un momento sul tema delle mentalità “di una volta”. Siamo abituati a considerare arretrato il passato più o meno remoto (con più o meno precisione storica), ma è spesso il passato prossimo a sorprenderci per la distanza, considerato che si tratta di persone che abbiamo conosciuto. Qui l’evoluto, moderno protagonista non può non trattare come “una brocca rotta, ormai inutile” (per usare una vecchia metafora) la ragazza che ha salvato; lei stessa è profondamente convinta di esserlo. Siccome lei è stata costretta a essere schiava sessuale, per lui ormai è una assatanata da cui difendersi (!) o da trattare più o meno allo stesso modo; lei stessa, ancora sofferente per gli stupri del giorno, lo induce a farle altrettanto, immagino per stabilire almeno quel tipo di rapporto con il suo salvatore. E va notato come nei sogni erotici di lei, ma anche nella realtà narrata, lo stupro scateni comunque piacere fisico nella donna pur riluttante. In pratica la donna è vista come un pozzo senza fondo di incontrollabile lussuria: accettabile finchè repressa e incanalata dalle convenzioni sociali, ma pericolosa una volta che (non importa se per volontà sua o violenza altrui) abbia assaggiato il “frutto proibito”: a quel punto è “una brocca rotta” da cui non può che uscire continuamente “peccato”.
Non è però questa la cifra finale del romanzo: è piuttosto lo stato “normale” (per allora) delle cose, che il nostro Cooper saprà superare permettendo ai personaggi di superare questi schemi; addirittura, Greville accetterà come proprio il primo figlio avuto da lei, che in realtà aveva una lunga lista di possibili padri.
February 25, 2012
Post apocolypitic mayhem in rural 70s Norfolk. Very strange premise, worked really well. All too brief for such a fun trip. Some outdated views which blemish it only slightly.
November 6, 2021
A fast read. Typical Cooper book, love it or hate it author. For me was something in the middle, interesting premise, quick pace, somehow dated, bleak but the kind of book that when you start you cannot stop reading so it was definitely entertaining. However I enjoyed more the other previous book I've read from him Sea-Horse in the Sky. This one not so much, 3 stars.
December 17, 2024
This is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. I had no idea what I was getting into here but this book was written 60+ years ago and it reads (besides a few out of touch parts) like it was written last week. It’s so ahead of its time with its portrayal of post apocalyptic society. Greville was an insanely excellent main character that grew by the page. I can’t believe how short it was and how much it felt like it packed in. Run don’t walk to read this, it’s an incredible novel about society, what kills us, what forms us, and how we all operate as little cogs in that wheel. How close we are to complete savagery. Man this was so good.
May 14, 2016
This is a good sci-fi novel that reminded me a lot of I Am Legend, as far as the post apocalyptic setting and the flawed yet intelligent protagonist. So in All Fool's Day all the sane people have killed them selves off. The sun has sent off sun flares that no one seems to understand, but their effects on the human population soon become clear enough. They make those who would generally be considered normal people, want to commit suicide. This goes on for years until the fabric of society has been completely deteriorated because there's no one left with any sense to keep it all together.
Here enters Greville, the hero of our story. He's surprisingly well rounded for a transie (a transnormal). His only problem is he once tried to kill himself, and in the course killed his wife. He's a little messed up from that, but other than that he's a rock solid survivalist. When he saves the life of a woman and brings her into his citadel the story takes a turn, and from there it keeps going.
The novel is well thought out and quite believable. The world that Cooper has created here, of a dilapidated London is one that feels somber and realistic, but despite the end of the world scenario, the characters are actually filled with hope for the future, and that's what makes the novel so fun to read.
Here enters Greville, the hero of our story. He's surprisingly well rounded for a transie (a transnormal). His only problem is he once tried to kill himself, and in the course killed his wife. He's a little messed up from that, but other than that he's a rock solid survivalist. When he saves the life of a woman and brings her into his citadel the story takes a turn, and from there it keeps going.
The novel is well thought out and quite believable. The world that Cooper has created here, of a dilapidated London is one that feels somber and realistic, but despite the end of the world scenario, the characters are actually filled with hope for the future, and that's what makes the novel so fun to read.
February 16, 2022
I liked the writer's voice. The story had so many interesting devopments, some quite negative. Again and again i would put it aside, looking for something less dystopian. And then I'd miss it..found myself thinking about the story I wanted to know the ending, and for me, that means a full read through. The calamity that ruined the world and set the stage was really unique. When I turned the last page, I thought "what a great story." Glad I hung in there. This was my 2nd Edmund Cooper book. I think his style is beginning to grow on me.
February 4, 2016
I knew nothing about the book when started to read it. I was a bit shocked at the beginning by the brutality in some segments, but overall I would say it is a good essay on mankind essence, a bit rough sometimes but written in a very good style.
November 29, 2021
“All Fool’s Day” by Edmund Cooper (1966) This Edition 1973
Overall Rating 7/10 – Guilty Pleasure
Plot
The sun begins emitting a strange new flare (Omicron Radiation) which, over a number of years, brings all “normal” people to commit suicide. This leaves an apocalypse full of mis-fits and strange geniuses as well as everyone else who doesn’t fit the label “normal”. The story follows our protagonist (Matthew Greville) as he battles survival in this new world of “Fool’s”.
Writing Style
Easy to read and flowing style that is somewhere between High school essay writer and accomplished fiction writer. Nothing complex (like Dickens) and no excess use of names or words that bend the brain unnecessarily (Marion Zimmer Bradley). You would not realise you were reading from a hand of the year 1966 and it pretty much passes for “today”. Some irritating uses of the word “for” (as in “for” he felt it too soon, “for” there were too many of them etc).
Point of View
Written in the 3rd Person / Past & Present Tense (standard convention)
Critique
This was precisely the sort of thing you would expect a depressed 16 year old to conjure from their mind if they were to be asked to write about an apocalypse. Very macabre in general and very uncultured around females. The rough treatment and puerile eye of the world of a naked female and sex is bombastically evident throughout without any mitigation.
It seemed as though I was reading the story as it flowed out of the author’s mind – word for word, sentence by sentence and page by page. There seemed to be no forward thinking and the plot simply “developed” as events progressed and unfolded. Clearly there was no back writing as there was no evidence of forward thinking a plot.
I enjoyed reading it only for the guilty pleasure it invoked but was disturbed by the unrelenting death(s).
As I reached the end (the epilogue) I was able to second guess what was coming but it still ripped me to shreds.
Overall Rating 7/10 – Guilty Pleasure
Plot
The sun begins emitting a strange new flare (Omicron Radiation) which, over a number of years, brings all “normal” people to commit suicide. This leaves an apocalypse full of mis-fits and strange geniuses as well as everyone else who doesn’t fit the label “normal”. The story follows our protagonist (Matthew Greville) as he battles survival in this new world of “Fool’s”.
Writing Style
Easy to read and flowing style that is somewhere between High school essay writer and accomplished fiction writer. Nothing complex (like Dickens) and no excess use of names or words that bend the brain unnecessarily (Marion Zimmer Bradley). You would not realise you were reading from a hand of the year 1966 and it pretty much passes for “today”. Some irritating uses of the word “for” (as in “for” he felt it too soon, “for” there were too many of them etc).
Point of View
Written in the 3rd Person / Past & Present Tense (standard convention)
Critique
This was precisely the sort of thing you would expect a depressed 16 year old to conjure from their mind if they were to be asked to write about an apocalypse. Very macabre in general and very uncultured around females. The rough treatment and puerile eye of the world of a naked female and sex is bombastically evident throughout without any mitigation.
It seemed as though I was reading the story as it flowed out of the author’s mind – word for word, sentence by sentence and page by page. There seemed to be no forward thinking and the plot simply “developed” as events progressed and unfolded. Clearly there was no back writing as there was no evidence of forward thinking a plot.
I enjoyed reading it only for the guilty pleasure it invoked but was disturbed by the unrelenting death(s).
As I reached the end (the epilogue) I was able to second guess what was coming but it still ripped me to shreds.
August 2, 2023
*An utterly immersive,
*Literary tour de force of post-apocalyptic
*Literature. In this 1966 novel, Edmund Cooper speculates upon & imagines a mass-depopulated
*Future (in this case the 70s & 80s) where
*Only neurodivergent, eccentric & psychopathic individuals survive, immune from an endemic case of gradually-increasing global rate of suicides, apparently caused by what is termed
*Omega radiation emitted from the sun. When all of the "normally functioning" populace have finally perished, the so-called "transnormals" have to find means & ways to
*Live on & live off a world that has, to all intents & purposes, ended. It
*'S not all
*Doom, but there's nihilistic gloom; & a fair amount of desperate, merciless, visceral violence described in the struggle for survival or dominance. The main setting is England. The protagonist is a middle-aged man named Matthew Greville who, by
*An altruistic streak of fate, saves a
*Young woman, Liz, from being attacked & eaten by a pack of wild, ravenous dogs on a derelict London bridge. This is where the major action & the plot of the novel takes off: a novel whose engrossing story & gorgeous prose impressed me immensely; to such an extent that I want to read everything Edmund Cooper put into writing.
*Literary tour de force of post-apocalyptic
*Literature. In this 1966 novel, Edmund Cooper speculates upon & imagines a mass-depopulated
*Future (in this case the 70s & 80s) where
*Only neurodivergent, eccentric & psychopathic individuals survive, immune from an endemic case of gradually-increasing global rate of suicides, apparently caused by what is termed
*Omega radiation emitted from the sun. When all of the "normally functioning" populace have finally perished, the so-called "transnormals" have to find means & ways to
*Live on & live off a world that has, to all intents & purposes, ended. It
*'S not all
*Doom, but there's nihilistic gloom; & a fair amount of desperate, merciless, visceral violence described in the struggle for survival or dominance. The main setting is England. The protagonist is a middle-aged man named Matthew Greville who, by
*An altruistic streak of fate, saves a
*Young woman, Liz, from being attacked & eaten by a pack of wild, ravenous dogs on a derelict London bridge. This is where the major action & the plot of the novel takes off: a novel whose engrossing story & gorgeous prose impressed me immensely; to such an extent that I want to read everything Edmund Cooper put into writing.
April 17, 2025
This is really good book. I've read this book in two days and with each chapter I wanted to read more and more. This book is set in 1970's in a world quite similar to ours, the difference is that the sun is provoking people to commit suicide in droves. First are ten thousand, then the next year are 50K and so on until a place\value that made society crumble.
What makes this interesting is how this happens and instead of being a bit of random they understand is not. It's only "normal" people and only weird, crazy, homosexual (back then it was considered a disease of the mind) and other misfits were spared. Kind of Heaven backwards? The good people commit suicide whilst the crappy stay on hell = earth.
On this tale we follow a man called Greville as he ridden with guilt due to his actions and his then-wife\lover died. He was locked and all of the previous thing I mentioned happened while he was locked. Then he is released and all shit breaks loose.
In the beginning it's just him and trying to survive but then he saves a woman called Liz. I have to say something before - if you are a woman and read this book expect rape stuff (only told, never graphic) and being treated as cattle. She was being a prisoner with a gang of man with her sister and so she is trying to get to her. OF course he doesn't want since he enjoys her company - more than one way.
Please have in mind that all of this characters are either depictable, all of the seven sins here and there. There is a scene where she tells him she wants to leave and he beats the crap out of her and then cry and she accepts it. It's kind of weird but if you think about he time it was written and type of people it makes sense. After being beaten he asks how she feels and she says "I belong to you for the time being. You can do what you like."
There is a lot of violence - but never really that graphic apart from the chapter where zounds of rats devour a group of pigs (by hunting them).
Then there is the all allegory of this book by the end - what works when a group of "broken" people things of doing somekind of community? It's interesting they understand democracy won't work so they choose the "benevolent" despot rule.
Overall It's quite good book about a post-apocalpytic scenario, with a page count of under 200 you can easily read in a day or two. I do believe the ending could have been a bit better (because we have a time jump) but overall I enjoy the "real" ending (you will understand if you read the last page. It ended as I expected to be quite honest.
I have three more books by the author, don't know when I read them but I surely will enjoy. 88/100
What makes this interesting is how this happens and instead of being a bit of random they understand is not. It's only "normal" people and only weird, crazy, homosexual (back then it was considered a disease of the mind) and other misfits were spared. Kind of Heaven backwards? The good people commit suicide whilst the crappy stay on hell = earth.
On this tale we follow a man called Greville as he ridden with guilt due to his actions and his then-wife\lover died. He was locked and all of the previous thing I mentioned happened while he was locked. Then he is released and all shit breaks loose.
In the beginning it's just him and trying to survive but then he saves a woman called Liz. I have to say something before - if you are a woman and read this book expect rape stuff (only told, never graphic) and being treated as cattle. She was being a prisoner with a gang of man with her sister and so she is trying to get to her. OF course he doesn't want since he enjoys her company - more than one way.
Please have in mind that all of this characters are either depictable, all of the seven sins here and there. There is a scene where she tells him she wants to leave and he beats the crap out of her and then cry and she accepts it. It's kind of weird but if you think about he time it was written and type of people it makes sense. After being beaten he asks how she feels and she says "I belong to you for the time being. You can do what you like."
There is a lot of violence - but never really that graphic apart from the chapter where zounds of rats devour a group of pigs (by hunting them).
Then there is the all allegory of this book by the end - what works when a group of "broken" people things of doing somekind of community? It's interesting they understand democracy won't work so they choose the "benevolent" despot rule.
Overall It's quite good book about a post-apocalpytic scenario, with a page count of under 200 you can easily read in a day or two. I do believe the ending could have been a bit better (because we have a time jump) but overall I enjoy the "real" ending (you will understand if you read the last page. It ended as I expected to be quite honest.
I have three more books by the author, don't know when I read them but I surely will enjoy. 88/100
December 21, 2021
This is a really great dystopian end of civilization novel. The premise of the sunspots causing mass suicide is kind of a stretch, but the rest is gold. It's kind of an I am Legend situation with the zombies.
The main character and the girl he rescues face life where it's kill or be killed. It hits it right on the nose, because it is very possible that is how things would be in suddenly most people were gone.
This is definitely a must read for old school sci-fi fans. The main character is more of an anti-hero with a lot of demons of his own he must come to terms with.
The main character and the girl he rescues face life where it's kill or be killed. It hits it right on the nose, because it is very possible that is how things would be in suddenly most people were gone.
This is definitely a must read for old school sci-fi fans. The main character is more of an anti-hero with a lot of demons of his own he must come to terms with.
December 17, 2018
I want to give this 3.5 stars really... it’s good, but I just didn’t enjoy it as much as Seahorse in the sky or transit. That probably has more to do with my personal tastes of story though. It’s a easy quick read, good execution but there just wasn’t the same mystery too it as the other two I mentioned so it didn’t compel me in the same way.
September 17, 2025
One of my favourite novels by my favourite British science-fiction author. Cooper is a divisive figure. But you shouldn't allow that to stop you reading his work. In fact, I'd say that's a good reason to give him a go.
November 23, 2024
Stands the test of time very well considering when it was written.
Mainly because of the subject = post-apocalyptic
Recommended if you like that genre
Mainly because of the subject = post-apocalyptic
Recommended if you like that genre
May 12, 2018
Sem dúvida uma excelente obra literária.Edmund Cooper consegue transportar-nos para um mundo pós-apocaliptíco com uma facilidade de mestre.
Escrita fluída e atraente.
O mais difícil neste excelente livro é conseguir parar de o ler.
Escrita fluída e atraente.
O mais difícil neste excelente livro é conseguir parar de o ler.
August 21, 2025
Written in 1966, this novel by Edmund Cooper is a little dated at times, not that this harms it, I think. New sun-spots release a new form of radiation that turns the earth back to the middle ages within a few years, and kills off most of the planet's inhabitants in the process. Suicide becomes rampant in the first instance, leaving only the extremes of society left, like psychopaths and eccentrics. Matthew Greville, a survivor, navigates his way through a dangerous, post-apocalyptic world where everyone appears out to kill everyone else, and probably is. He meets Liz, fifteen years his junior, who is all too used to the abuse and cruelty of this new society, but they link up and for a while at least, fund solace in an island home, safe from the dangers now rampant throughout the country. But Liz has a twin sister who is in trouble, in Manchester, and the pair set off on a dangerous journey to find her. But their mission is far more dangerous than they expected, and difficult times lie ahead. Killer monks, feudal warlords, armies of rats and packs of wild dogs are all out to kill them. A wonderful, if short, futurist adventure. I really liked it.
December 21, 2020
J’avais déjà lu ce bouquin quand j’étais ado chez mes parents. Je ne l’avais pas vraiment fini parce qu’il est quand même assez compliqué à lire pour des jeunes : le langage est assez ancien et pas forcément des plus intuitifs.
Aujourd’hui à presque 28 ans, j’ai enfin pu le finir. J’ai beaucoup aimé l’histoire, malgré le fait qu’il traîne un peu en longueur. Mais la fin est un coup de maître!
J’ai voulu le relire pas mal d’années après. Mais introuvable en magasin, et il coûte très très cher en occasion... ce bouquin est une perle rare! Dommage qu’il ne soit plus édité.
Aujourd’hui à presque 28 ans, j’ai enfin pu le finir. J’ai beaucoup aimé l’histoire, malgré le fait qu’il traîne un peu en longueur. Mais la fin est un coup de maître!
J’ai voulu le relire pas mal d’années après. Mais introuvable en magasin, et il coûte très très cher en occasion... ce bouquin est une perle rare! Dommage qu’il ne soit plus édité.
Read
April 18, 2012Liked the concept, liked the writing, didn't finish it. Due to the nature of the story, the book is pretty heavy on brutality, savagery and--let's not avoid the word--rape.
December 3, 2016
geen moment saai
June 20, 2017
An "old school" post-apocalyptic novel from the 70s, the kind I grew up with, the kind that turned me on to the genre. What a great premise, end of the world and only the crazies are left... However, the crazies in Cooper's novel soon start to behave with the same degree of self-preservation and organization as any survivor of myriad post-apoc novels do. It would have been perhaps more effective to amplify the characters' individual conditions... an ambush or two by histrionic delinquents doesn't really make a psychopath. A nomadic group of killer monks intent on cleansing all in its path was cutting edge in Cooper's day but now... Readers have commented on the novel's scenes of rape and other depictions of violence. Well, it is the apocalypse, after all. It would make for a pretty poor reading experienced if the depravity and violence were to be rinsed out' obliquely hinted at. Cooper was a writer of his time and his style and subject matter were so informed. I have read far grimmer and more graphic depictions of depraved human behaviour in other books. There is no delight in reading these, but the authors make clear the thesis of all of these post-apoc novels: how quickly humankind would sink once the thin veneer of civilization is stripped away.
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