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The Snow
1st large Gollancz 2004 trade edition paperback, new In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
Paperback
First published August 19, 2004
About the author
Adam Roberts
243 books582 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Adam Roberts (born 1965) is an academic, critic and novelist. He also writes parodies under the pseudonyms of A.R.R.R. Roberts, A3R Roberts and Don Brine. He also blogs at The Valve, a group blog devoted to literature and cultural studies.
He has a degree in English from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD from Cambridge University on Robert Browning and the Classics. He teaches English literature and creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Adam Roberts has been nominated twice for the Arthur C. Clarke Award: in 2001, for his debut novel, Salt, and in 2007, for Gradisil.
Adam Roberts (born 1965) is an academic, critic and novelist. He also writes parodies under the pseudonyms of A.R.R.R. Roberts, A3R Roberts and Don Brine. He also blogs at The Valve, a group blog devoted to literature and cultural studies.
He has a degree in English from the University of Aberdeen and a PhD from Cambridge University on Robert Browning and the Classics. He teaches English literature and creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Adam Roberts has been nominated twice for the Arthur C. Clarke Award: in 2001, for his debut novel, Salt, and in 2007, for Gradisil.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
June 8, 2013
It started off as a very promising novel and idea: what would happen if it simply never stopped snowing and most of the world died out, leaving something like 100,000 remaining survivors worldwide to build society from scratch?
Still, as I read on, it became simply... confusing. I googled the book to see if I'd missed anything, and it seemed that I was not alone in my stupor - this was a common response amongst anyone who had read the book, complete and utter confusion. The author tries to draw a cunning metaphor between a totalitarian society built on conspiracy and, I think, a hallucinagetic drug-infused experience (with just a little bit of science fiction), but completely fails, meaning that by the time you're finished reading the book, you feel that it simply doesn't make sense anymore. Add to the fact that the topical references will be lost on anyone who is not British and reading in the early 21st century, and what you're left with is a piece of poorly written material directed at a very limited audience.
Avoid this one. You'll most likely find there's nothing in it for you.
Still, as I read on, it became simply... confusing. I googled the book to see if I'd missed anything, and it seemed that I was not alone in my stupor - this was a common response amongst anyone who had read the book, complete and utter confusion. The author tries to draw a cunning metaphor between a totalitarian society built on conspiracy and, I think, a hallucinagetic drug-infused experience (with just a little bit of science fiction), but completely fails, meaning that by the time you're finished reading the book, you feel that it simply doesn't make sense anymore. Add to the fact that the topical references will be lost on anyone who is not British and reading in the early 21st century, and what you're left with is a piece of poorly written material directed at a very limited audience.
Avoid this one. You'll most likely find there's nothing in it for you.
March 22, 2012
The Snow was loaned to me by a science fiction enthusiast, a friend of mine whose favourite author is Adam Roberts. I began this book not knowing anything about it – not even what my friend thought of it because she wouldn't tell me! – and so I revelled in reading a book where anything could happen.
The Snow is set in a truly post-apocalyptic world: “..the snow doesn't stop. It falls and falls and falls. Until it lies three miles thick across the whole of the earth. Six billion people have died. Perhaps 150,000 survive.” We’re acquainted with Tira, our main character, shortly after the snow starts to fall. It continues and we see her attempt to survive. She keeps contact with family until the phone line goes dead, she obtains tinned food from her deceased neighbour, and abandons her house to acquire shelter and human interaction elsewhere. It seemed to me as if The Snow would follow a typical apocalyptic storyline of human survival and adventure, but it provided a level of depth that I enjoyed and appreciated immensely.
The story is told in a scrapbook sort of way, made up of illegal, censored official government documents - mainly Tira’s account of life during the snow, interviews, and government explanations. This added an element of realism to the storyline. It made it feel as if I wasn’t just reading a fictional account but authentic evidence of a cataclysmic event. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about government conspiracies, philosophically and sociologically-referenced rebellions, and even reading about Tira’s personal relationships. The Snow allows the reader to wholly understand how North America reacts to the snowfall, how it affects the nation as a whole as well as its individual citizens. The ending was, to put it bluntly, not to my taste at all, but it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book.
The Snow is a wonderfully constructed and developed apocalyptic story; a deceivingly tiny book that has a lot to offer. I’d eagerly suggest it to anyone who loves post-apocalyptic fiction but wants to read outside of what is currently popular.
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
The Snow is set in a truly post-apocalyptic world: “..the snow doesn't stop. It falls and falls and falls. Until it lies three miles thick across the whole of the earth. Six billion people have died. Perhaps 150,000 survive.” We’re acquainted with Tira, our main character, shortly after the snow starts to fall. It continues and we see her attempt to survive. She keeps contact with family until the phone line goes dead, she obtains tinned food from her deceased neighbour, and abandons her house to acquire shelter and human interaction elsewhere. It seemed to me as if The Snow would follow a typical apocalyptic storyline of human survival and adventure, but it provided a level of depth that I enjoyed and appreciated immensely.
The story is told in a scrapbook sort of way, made up of illegal, censored official government documents - mainly Tira’s account of life during the snow, interviews, and government explanations. This added an element of realism to the storyline. It made it feel as if I wasn’t just reading a fictional account but authentic evidence of a cataclysmic event. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about government conspiracies, philosophically and sociologically-referenced rebellions, and even reading about Tira’s personal relationships. The Snow allows the reader to wholly understand how North America reacts to the snowfall, how it affects the nation as a whole as well as its individual citizens. The ending was, to put it bluntly, not to my taste at all, but it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the book.
The Snow is a wonderfully constructed and developed apocalyptic story; a deceivingly tiny book that has a lot to offer. I’d eagerly suggest it to anyone who loves post-apocalyptic fiction but wants to read outside of what is currently popular.
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
December 1, 2012
I thought I would like this book, the whole snow apocalypse seemed like a promising story plot... I was wrong. First off, it wasn't very well written, a lot of repetitions and a monotonous style. This book is mostly about how the snow came and how two survivors deal with their new lives, their stories are told through official documents. But the author doesn't provide enough information and depth to make any of it feel believable, and I was left with too many basic questions about post-snow society. I thought the characters were very unlikeable and dull, I didn't care much about what would happen to them. Anyway, this book goes oooooon and ooonnnn and so little happens I had to force myself through it. And then ten pages from the end I accidently left the book at a relative's house. I honestly don't even feel the need to read the very end because the whole thing turned into a weird sci-fi WTF type of twist. Really not my thing. Very disappointing, incoherent, boring book.
September 18, 2009
SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Aliens did it. Absolute fucking tosh. I liked the theory of the 'super string' thingys that pumped snow out by accident. Fucking aliens, what a cop out!!! The first bit, Tira making her way across London was interesting, and I like the wee touch of making each chapter an 'official document', but apart from that this book sucked ass.
Aliens did it. Absolute fucking tosh. I liked the theory of the 'super string' thingys that pumped snow out by accident. Fucking aliens, what a cop out!!! The first bit, Tira making her way across London was interesting, and I like the wee touch of making each chapter an 'official document', but apart from that this book sucked ass.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2010
This is, for me, Roberts first great book. I've enjoyed everything I've read by him – all his previous novels have been clever, well written stories that at the same time have deep themes and morals woven into their fabric – but The Snow was a real WOW! book.
The basic premise (although absolutely nothing is basic in an Adam Roberts book) is that heavy snow begins to fall and does not stop. The world is soon covered in a blanket many metres – and eventually kilometres – deep, and civilisation quickly collapses. We follow one woman in London, Tira, who survives by scavenging resources inside buildings buried entombed inside newly formed glaciers, until she is rescued by a mining team from the surface, where the few survivors of this strange apocalypse continue to try to impose old structures on this utterly changed world. But this is just the beginning.
The story is told in a series of official documents – mostly statements recorded by Tira, sometimes others, and sometimes annotated letters. Part of this device produces the one problem with the book; in most of Tira's testimony, the names of people she refers to a blanked out for security – partly to demonstrate how governments like to control ad suppress information – but this can make it difficult to follow who she is talking about, although a lovely touch when she has lost a companion in the snow and is calling after them “NAME DELETED! Where are you NAME DELETED!”. For me, this detracts a little more than it adds, but this is a very minor gripe.
Sometimes reviewers (and writers) try to distance great work from genre fiction, but this is one of those books that shows a novel can be genre and literature. This is diamond hard Science Fiction, this is an apocalyptic novel, but it is not just these things. The Snow is multi-layered story filled with so many themes and ideas it would be dizzying if it weren't so well written. You might expect a novel about global calamity to concern itself with the human spirit and resilience, hardship and survival, but this is a book that goes so far beyond that. It is about imperialism and control, about how our perceptions and expectations of the world shape it, about tribalism, religion, race and gender relations, the fallibility of perception and memory. There are echoes of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Margaret Atwood]'s The Handmaid's Tale, and this book can sit proudly on a shelf with both of these.
The basic premise (although absolutely nothing is basic in an Adam Roberts book) is that heavy snow begins to fall and does not stop. The world is soon covered in a blanket many metres – and eventually kilometres – deep, and civilisation quickly collapses. We follow one woman in London, Tira, who survives by scavenging resources inside buildings buried entombed inside newly formed glaciers, until she is rescued by a mining team from the surface, where the few survivors of this strange apocalypse continue to try to impose old structures on this utterly changed world. But this is just the beginning.
The story is told in a series of official documents – mostly statements recorded by Tira, sometimes others, and sometimes annotated letters. Part of this device produces the one problem with the book; in most of Tira's testimony, the names of people she refers to a blanked out for security – partly to demonstrate how governments like to control ad suppress information – but this can make it difficult to follow who she is talking about, although a lovely touch when she has lost a companion in the snow and is calling after them “NAME DELETED! Where are you NAME DELETED!”. For me, this detracts a little more than it adds, but this is a very minor gripe.
Sometimes reviewers (and writers) try to distance great work from genre fiction, but this is one of those books that shows a novel can be genre and literature. This is diamond hard Science Fiction, this is an apocalyptic novel, but it is not just these things. The Snow is multi-layered story filled with so many themes and ideas it would be dizzying if it weren't so well written. You might expect a novel about global calamity to concern itself with the human spirit and resilience, hardship and survival, but this is a book that goes so far beyond that. It is about imperialism and control, about how our perceptions and expectations of the world shape it, about tribalism, religion, race and gender relations, the fallibility of perception and memory. There are echoes of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Margaret Atwood]'s The Handmaid's Tale, and this book can sit proudly on a shelf with both of these.
November 28, 2016
I first read "Snow" in 2004 and it was like my first time skiing down a black run at Zermatt. Terrifying, unexpected, and full of whiteness.
I won't give away the plot, but the scenario is that a young Indian woman survives a catastrophic snowfall only to be rescued by the remaining humans. Her home becomes a pre-fab barracks in a militarised society where there are seven men to one woman.
Roberts has said that he originally wanted to write a book about two themes: firstly, surviving a global catastrophe and secondly, surviving a marriage break-down. He then realised he was "writing a book about the different cathexes of whiteness: the environmental, the psychological, the racial, the blank page...but it was really about the "White Goddess", the Muse." Roberts' PhD examined Robert Browning and he has often compared "Snow" to Browning's "Sordello", both in the scale of its ambition and in the critical mauling it received. Browning nearly stopped writing after reading reviews Sordello. Roberts was deeply hurt by his hero's Christopher Priest's hatchet job on "Snow", but has gone on to publish prolifically.
Typically ambitious, "Snow" starts out strong and peters out half way through. I get the feeling that Roberts' imagination is so fertile that he quickly tires of his own story. Characters are introduced then disappear. Aliens arrive. A terrorist attack takes place. The novel eventually collapses under the weight of its own ambition. But with its complexity and strangeness, it remains a haunting read second time around. One for fans of J.G. Ballard, Anna Kavan, or anyone in search of something original, albeit flawed.
My first descent of Zermatt started on skis and ended on my backside. Roberts does the same in Snow, starting out with panache and ending in a mess. But "Snow" is well worth the ride.
I won't give away the plot, but the scenario is that a young Indian woman survives a catastrophic snowfall only to be rescued by the remaining humans. Her home becomes a pre-fab barracks in a militarised society where there are seven men to one woman.
Roberts has said that he originally wanted to write a book about two themes: firstly, surviving a global catastrophe and secondly, surviving a marriage break-down. He then realised he was "writing a book about the different cathexes of whiteness: the environmental, the psychological, the racial, the blank page...but it was really about the "White Goddess", the Muse." Roberts' PhD examined Robert Browning and he has often compared "Snow" to Browning's "Sordello", both in the scale of its ambition and in the critical mauling it received. Browning nearly stopped writing after reading reviews Sordello. Roberts was deeply hurt by his hero's Christopher Priest's hatchet job on "Snow", but has gone on to publish prolifically.
Typically ambitious, "Snow" starts out strong and peters out half way through. I get the feeling that Roberts' imagination is so fertile that he quickly tires of his own story. Characters are introduced then disappear. Aliens arrive. A terrorist attack takes place. The novel eventually collapses under the weight of its own ambition. But with its complexity and strangeness, it remains a haunting read second time around. One for fans of J.G. Ballard, Anna Kavan, or anyone in search of something original, albeit flawed.
My first descent of Zermatt started on skis and ended on my backside. Roberts does the same in Snow, starting out with panache and ending in a mess. But "Snow" is well worth the ride.
January 26, 2013
Too much about the (weak) emotional relationship(s) between the main protagonist and the people she has, was having, or had sex with. The majority of the book is written as a report, documenting the coming of the 'snow' and the aftermath. This style isn't consistent throughout and at one stage I thought this was going to turn out to be a series of short stories, which would probably have made for a better read. For me, too little attention is given to how and why the snow came about. Yes these are dealt with, but there are several times when 'but you don't want to hear about that' or similar are written. Well, actually, I did want to read about that. I'm guessing that was the point. But it was frustrating. Very disappointing read.
September 8, 2008
The premise of this book is great, and the beginning had me really hooked but then it seemed to lose it's way horribly. The story fizzled out and was quite unsatisfactory in the end (but I kept on going hoping it would improve), and also the characters were unsympathetic and one-dimensional, and I didn't really care one way or the other what happened to them.
Having said this, I really like Adam Roberts writing style, and will definitely pick up another of his to read sometime, and give him another go.
Having said this, I really like Adam Roberts writing style, and will definitely pick up another of his to read sometime, and give him another go.
March 26, 2019
To be honest, I'm of two minds about this book. I wanted to like it, I loved the premise and rushed through the opening act, I even liked the structure (collected government documents, even redacted), but a bit before the halfway point it became a struggle to read on. I thought the story was stalling, treading water, and only in the final stretches it picked up again. Still, there was a bit anticlimactic about the ending, as in: the explanation for the strange phenomenon of the title that was suggested at the start was way more interesting than what it turned out to be in the end. I don't know if I really like Roberts as an author, but I do admire him. If only for the out there plots he makes up. He manages to ask outrageous 'what if'-questions and then meticulously answer them. No one novel of his is the same as the ones before. He is also well read both in philosophy and science, but also in nerd-literature (he wrote parodies as A.R.R.R. Roberts). This makes his novels fascinating thought experiments. Also here, as the snow falls for years, building up to a high of several miles and trapping the survivors at the surface, trying to make a living. Starting out as a 'cozy apocalypse' in Wyndhan-style, it turns into an conspiracy thriller and personal memoir. Roberts tries to milk al metaphorical aspects of the snow, from the blanked out names, to the blank page for humanity, to racisme (snow is white ofcourse), to uniformity, to ... and so on. He must have had fun thinking up other issues for it to be applicable to. Still, the middle of the book meandered a bit too much for me, even adding the story of a side character and detailing his life before the snow with lots of cocaine (it's a white powder, get it?) which was not as interesting as the main narrative and functioned to stall the story. So, in the end I have to conclude that for its main idea I remain enthusiastic about this novel, but its execution stays behind. I will probably not reread this one, but I remain interested in other novels by Adam Roberts.
December 10, 2015
A post-apocalyptic story with a good premise. The snow just does not stop falling... first it disrupts traffic, then it makes daily life difficult, then it buries houses, and finally it covers the entire world. The few survivors (mostly military personnel) live in prefabs on the surface, and they keep "mining" for food and valuables buried in the old cities.
All this, however, is dealt with in less than 50 pages. The rest of the book is about petty politics and disagreements in the survivor colony, interspersed with random reminiscing that has little to do with the plot. The ending is okay, but overall, the book was not really worth the time.
All this, however, is dealt with in less than 50 pages. The rest of the book is about petty politics and disagreements in the survivor colony, interspersed with random reminiscing that has little to do with the plot. The ending is okay, but overall, the book was not really worth the time.
February 21, 2013
Just when i would think that I had a handle on what was going on in this science fiction novel, all of a sudden it would change and become a different kind of apocalypse. It begins with Londoner Tira experiencing the vast snow fall that blots out all of her normal life and then making her way to an office building where she lives with a man who has similarly become a refugee from the snow. Then, when it seems as though this is a pretty standard end of the world narrative, Tira is rescued from below the snow and brought above ground to where a militaristic government has taken command of the remaining population. Then, just when I became confident that I was reading a book that feel into the science fiction tradition of 1984, about what happens when a government attempts to completely control the population, there was yet another twist that morphed the story into a third kind of science fiction. I thought that these twists and turns made for a really interesting and thought provoking story.
The book is written in the form of narratives which have been released by the government and various names of characters are redacted. I thought this made for an interesting reading experience. At times it was aggravating because it took away from the flow of the story, but then at other times it made the story feel more authentic.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good adventure/science fiction story as well as to anyone who is interested in the links between spirituality and science fiction.
The book is written in the form of narratives which have been released by the government and various names of characters are redacted. I thought this made for an interesting reading experience. At times it was aggravating because it took away from the flow of the story, but then at other times it made the story feel more authentic.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good adventure/science fiction story as well as to anyone who is interested in the links between spirituality and science fiction.
November 9, 2008
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Adam Roberts' books. The premises are fascinating, the stories are compelling and I do very much enjoy Roberts' writing style. Unfortunately, none of the works I've read so far contain a single likeable character, major or minor.
His characters are all either seriously emotionally damaged in some way or just selfish or mean or self-important or... Well, you get the idea.
Yet I eat Roberts' stuff up. This is, what, the sixth book of his I've read so far? His ideas are so big and interesting, I guess I'm willing to put up with characters who, if they we're real people I personally knew, I'd smack them hard upside the head.
This particular novel does have the most sympathetic non-sympathetic lead character, however. Tira is mostly just in over her head in a radically altered world. A world completely covered with a mile or more of the Snow, which comes from nobody-knows-where-until-the-last-quarter-of-the-book.
The Snow also features the least ambiguous ending of any of Roberts' books I've read thus far. We actually find out where the Snow comes from!
Despite all the negativeness in the review, I did enjoy the book, probably about a 4 out of 5. But, I can only find myself rating it a 3 out of 5, as I think most readers would have difficulty getting through it.
His characters are all either seriously emotionally damaged in some way or just selfish or mean or self-important or... Well, you get the idea.
Yet I eat Roberts' stuff up. This is, what, the sixth book of his I've read so far? His ideas are so big and interesting, I guess I'm willing to put up with characters who, if they we're real people I personally knew, I'd smack them hard upside the head.
This particular novel does have the most sympathetic non-sympathetic lead character, however. Tira is mostly just in over her head in a radically altered world. A world completely covered with a mile or more of the Snow, which comes from nobody-knows-where-until-the-last-quarter-of-the-book.
The Snow also features the least ambiguous ending of any of Roberts' books I've read thus far. We actually find out where the Snow comes from!
Despite all the negativeness in the review, I did enjoy the book, probably about a 4 out of 5. But, I can only find myself rating it a 3 out of 5, as I think most readers would have difficulty getting through it.
January 22, 2014
The beginning of this book reminded me of The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham, both in writing style and general plot. After the first chapter, though, it gets way more scifi-ey. It's a bit difficult to get into, I found, but once you get used to the writing style, it gets easier. Some parts can be a bit confusing, but if you don't think too deeply about it, it can be an enjoyable story. I liked how each chapter was an official document, it made it seem more real. The idea, too, is original. There have been Ice Age stories before, but snow that won't stop falling is a new one, to me at least. The government was very clever with its coverup, and I was not expecting the ending at all, which is saying something. Some have said they don't like the ending, but I can see why he planned it, and that he planned it from the beginning. I don't know who to recommend it to, but if you liked John Wyndham's book, and if you like postapocalyptic stories, then you might enjoy this book. It's not for everyone though.
(I actually think this is worth a 3.5, but I'm not going to give it a 4)
(I actually think this is worth a 3.5, but I'm not going to give it a 4)
May 13, 2024
Good premise but a bit slow
January 16, 2026
I picked this up when it came out back when I was a bookseller. The concept really intrigued me, and I started the volume. I started it and from this read was about a third of the way through it. Then my backpack went missing and with it this volume. The book would come to mind from time to time, and to be honest I could not recall the author. I though the title was just ‘Snow’. Every now and again I would do a search for it, but never stumbled upon it again. Jump ahead 22 years and with Ai I was able to track it down by redefining my search 4 times. I picked up the eBook, having switched to mainly eBooks because of my dual form of dyslexia and started reading it.
The description of the story is:
“And this is how the world will end ...
'The snow started falling on the sixth of September, soft noiseless flakes filling the sky like a swarm of white moths, or like static interference on your TV screen - whichever metaphor, nature or technology, you find the more evocative. Snow everywhere, all through the air, with that distinctive sense of hurrying that a vigorous snowfall brings with it. Everything in a rush, busy-busy snowflakes. And, simultaneously, paradoxically, everything is hushed, calm, as quiet as cancer, as white as death.
And at the beginning people were happy.'
But the snow doesn't stop. It falls and falls and falls. Until it lies three miles thick across the whole of the earth. Six billion people have died. Perhaps 150,000 survive. But those 150,000 need help, they need support, they need organising, governing.
And so the lies begin. Lies about how the snow started. Lies about who is to blame. Lies about who is left. Lies about what really lies beneath.”
The story began as I recalled and I felt some of the same bewilderment as reading the story. It is mainly personal narrative, and primarily from one source. But it is written as redacted reports and document control source much like you would expect from a secret government project. For example:
“[Warning: this is an Illegal Document under the Texts (Restricted) Act of is. The Minimum punishment for reading, possessing or disseminating this document in part or whole is a 3rd degree fine and up to one year in confinement. Do NOT proceed beyond this legal notice; notify your nearest certificated police officer or certificated military officer AT ONCE, quoting your provenance for the document and your period of access.]
[Tampering with the official seal on this document is an offense under the Government of the People (Emergency Powers) Act of 2, punishable by fines in the 6th or 7th degree and up to two weeks in confinement]
[Notice: this document, having been in general circulation for a period not exceeding two months one year or less prior to the establishment of a legal interdiction, is now an Illegal Document. Anybody who may have read part or all of this document during the period in which it was in general circulation is hereby reminded that the recall, republication (in part or whole) of any element of said document, substantive or marginal, is now an offense under the Texts (Restricted) Act of 15]
{{<>}}”
The chapters in the work are:
Snow
So You Want To Be A Food-Miner?
Interview with Gerard Louis Seidensticker
Know Your Snow!
Doc 08–999 [Clouds]
Confession
Text Title: [not specified] Text Code: 341–999
Website
Also by Adam Roberts
About the Author
Appendix
Coda Tira Bojani Sahai
I was close a couple of times to having this volume end up on my ‘Did Not Finish’ pile. But because it had come to mind so often over the intervening years I pushed through. Over all it was an interesting read. Parts of it feel very disjointed. And parts seem like random jumps. I really feels like 2 different stores that were mashed up in the middle. Both might have worked really well on their own. But together it just seems to miss the mark.
Was the story entertaining? - Yes
Was the story enjoyable? – So so
Is there anyone I would immediately recommend it to? – No
I have read numerous books about terraforming planets. Mostly around terraforming Mars. Including the Solar System series by Manual Alfonseca that begins with Under An Orange Sky. Or In the Shadow of Deimos by Jane Killick Terraforming Mars Book based on the Board Game. As well as the non fiction volume Terraforming Mars edited by Martin Beech, Joseph Seckbach, and Richard Gordon. This final one had essays deal with the ethics of Terraforming that fit in really well with this story, and Alfonseca’s deals with some unexpected consequences for and from native inhabitants.
I seldom look at other reviews or opinions before working on my own. But because I could not pin this one down I did take a peek. A lot of commentary out there is similar to my own impressions. But I am thankful I finally tracked it down and finished it even if 22 years after starting.
Overall it is an interesting story. And as one of the earliest in Adam’s career I can understand the roughness. For fans of more esoteric Science Fiction it will be a good read. The trajectory switched midstride in what feels a surreal way. But it was good enough that I have just picked up 'Salt' to give a try. So who knows maybe it will hit for you.
The description of the story is:
“And this is how the world will end ...
'The snow started falling on the sixth of September, soft noiseless flakes filling the sky like a swarm of white moths, or like static interference on your TV screen - whichever metaphor, nature or technology, you find the more evocative. Snow everywhere, all through the air, with that distinctive sense of hurrying that a vigorous snowfall brings with it. Everything in a rush, busy-busy snowflakes. And, simultaneously, paradoxically, everything is hushed, calm, as quiet as cancer, as white as death.
And at the beginning people were happy.'
But the snow doesn't stop. It falls and falls and falls. Until it lies three miles thick across the whole of the earth. Six billion people have died. Perhaps 150,000 survive. But those 150,000 need help, they need support, they need organising, governing.
And so the lies begin. Lies about how the snow started. Lies about who is to blame. Lies about who is left. Lies about what really lies beneath.”
The story began as I recalled and I felt some of the same bewilderment as reading the story. It is mainly personal narrative, and primarily from one source. But it is written as redacted reports and document control source much like you would expect from a secret government project. For example:
“[Warning: this is an Illegal Document under the Texts (Restricted) Act of is. The Minimum punishment for reading, possessing or disseminating this document in part or whole is a 3rd degree fine and up to one year in confinement. Do NOT proceed beyond this legal notice; notify your nearest certificated police officer or certificated military officer AT ONCE, quoting your provenance for the document and your period of access.]
[Tampering with the official seal on this document is an offense under the Government of the People (Emergency Powers) Act of 2, punishable by fines in the 6th or 7th degree and up to two weeks in confinement]
[Notice: this document, having been in general circulation for a period not exceeding two months one year or less prior to the establishment of a legal interdiction, is now an Illegal Document. Anybody who may have read part or all of this document during the period in which it was in general circulation is hereby reminded that the recall, republication (in part or whole) of any element of said document, substantive or marginal, is now an offense under the Texts (Restricted) Act of 15]
{{<>}}”
The chapters in the work are:
Snow
So You Want To Be A Food-Miner?
Interview with Gerard Louis Seidensticker
Know Your Snow!
Doc 08–999 [Clouds]
Confession
Text Title: [not specified] Text Code: 341–999
Website
Also by Adam Roberts
About the Author
Appendix
Coda Tira Bojani Sahai
I was close a couple of times to having this volume end up on my ‘Did Not Finish’ pile. But because it had come to mind so often over the intervening years I pushed through. Over all it was an interesting read. Parts of it feel very disjointed. And parts seem like random jumps. I really feels like 2 different stores that were mashed up in the middle. Both might have worked really well on their own. But together it just seems to miss the mark.
Was the story entertaining? - Yes
Was the story enjoyable? – So so
Is there anyone I would immediately recommend it to? – No
I have read numerous books about terraforming planets. Mostly around terraforming Mars. Including the Solar System series by Manual Alfonseca that begins with Under An Orange Sky. Or In the Shadow of Deimos by Jane Killick Terraforming Mars Book based on the Board Game. As well as the non fiction volume Terraforming Mars edited by Martin Beech, Joseph Seckbach, and Richard Gordon. This final one had essays deal with the ethics of Terraforming that fit in really well with this story, and Alfonseca’s deals with some unexpected consequences for and from native inhabitants.
I seldom look at other reviews or opinions before working on my own. But because I could not pin this one down I did take a peek. A lot of commentary out there is similar to my own impressions. But I am thankful I finally tracked it down and finished it even if 22 years after starting.
Overall it is an interesting story. And as one of the earliest in Adam’s career I can understand the roughness. For fans of more esoteric Science Fiction it will be a good read. The trajectory switched midstride in what feels a surreal way. But it was good enough that I have just picked up 'Salt' to give a try. So who knows maybe it will hit for you.
July 25, 2012
WTF? 60 pages from the end, all of a sudden aliens? Pffft.
This was actually reasonable up until then, particularly the parts narrated by Tira and the official documents. The random Player-lite Hollywood coke binge story in the Fred narration was a bit unnecessary.
But. ALIEN handwave. At the last minute. Grr.
This was actually reasonable up until then, particularly the parts narrated by Tira and the official documents. The random Player-lite Hollywood coke binge story in the Fred narration was a bit unnecessary.
But. ALIEN handwave. At the last minute. Grr.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2014
Self-indulgent rubbish. Good idea, really badly executed
February 11, 2012
Part infuriating., part brilliant, part WTF...
July 22, 2019
When I heard the premise of this book, I was pathetically excited. Set in a future where snow just keeps on falling, until it's miles thick all around the world. How would human life survive? I couldn't wait to track down a copy to find out.
And the first section of the book definitely lives up to my expectations. Told in past tense by a survivor (slightly annoying as you know she'll get out of the snow, slightly exciting as you don't know how), it catalogs how one day a gentle snow storm started and just never stopped. Tira manages to keep above the growing drifts, until she falls in with Jefferies and they hole up in an office block to wait it out. But with food running out and their oxygenating plants dying, the future looks bleak.
Then the book takes a twist - civilisation has sort of survived in cities that are constantly being rebuilt as the snow gets deeper. 'Mining' back down to the world below for food and supplies, life is controlled by the military. And then Roberts goes on a political rant ..... there's lots of discussion about terrorism, the nature of truth, drug addiction, conspiracy theories and general stuff that was slightly boring and not really the book I wanted to read. You do find out what caused the snow, but otherwise not a lot happens. Tira floats through her new life and the regurgitates it for the reader.
Then the book takes a twist - the snow wasn't caused by what the reader thought. Now there's something else going on that supposedly explains a lot of Tira's problems. Oh, and it'd good to smoke.
I did read through it all, hence the 2 stars, not one star review. And I still love the premise (stuck in traffic the other day, I couldn't help but look up at the buildings on either side and imagine them completely covered in snow). But it felt as if the author didn't really know what story he wanted to tell and why. Tira was an OK character, but I didn't exactly find her appealing, and while it was an interesting gimmick not to name any other character, it made them seem too remote to empathise with.
So mildly enjoyable, but largely disappointing as not the book I so wanted it to be.
And the first section of the book definitely lives up to my expectations. Told in past tense by a survivor (slightly annoying as you know she'll get out of the snow, slightly exciting as you don't know how), it catalogs how one day a gentle snow storm started and just never stopped. Tira manages to keep above the growing drifts, until she falls in with Jefferies and they hole up in an office block to wait it out. But with food running out and their oxygenating plants dying, the future looks bleak.
Then the book takes a twist - civilisation has sort of survived in cities that are constantly being rebuilt as the snow gets deeper. 'Mining' back down to the world below for food and supplies, life is controlled by the military. And then Roberts goes on a political rant ..... there's lots of discussion about terrorism, the nature of truth, drug addiction, conspiracy theories and general stuff that was slightly boring and not really the book I wanted to read. You do find out what caused the snow, but otherwise not a lot happens. Tira floats through her new life and the regurgitates it for the reader.
Then the book takes a twist - the snow wasn't caused by what the reader thought. Now there's something else going on that supposedly explains a lot of Tira's problems. Oh, and it'd good to smoke.
I did read through it all, hence the 2 stars, not one star review. And I still love the premise (stuck in traffic the other day, I couldn't help but look up at the buildings on either side and imagine them completely covered in snow). But it felt as if the author didn't really know what story he wanted to tell and why. Tira was an OK character, but I didn't exactly find her appealing, and while it was an interesting gimmick not to name any other character, it made them seem too remote to empathise with.
So mildly enjoyable, but largely disappointing as not the book I so wanted it to be.
May 7, 2024
One of the reasons I find The Road by Cormac McCarthy so powerful, is that despite the truly awful situation the father finds himself in, he never gives up hope. His incredible life force drives the entire story. In contrast, the MC in this book, Tira, is more of an annoying wet rag. She is the ultimate victim, in that events happen to her, and she rarely has the motivation to change her circumstances, just drifting along with other people's decisions for her. And yet internally she's bitter and angry most of the time. And the race theme was just daft. So daft, in fact, that the author actually corrects it within the novel. Very odd. So two novels, which in some ways have very similar themes (end of the world apocalypse through cold), are very, very different stories indeed.
I did enjoy some of this, but overall the lack of protagonist to engage with held me one step removed from it all the time. The second character (we never learn his name, call him the bald terrorist), had a long, long section devoted to his life before the snow and I skipped most of this. Endless stream of consciousness about taking coke, I think. Utterly dull and unrelated to the post-snow story.
The book is very fractured. I like stories that bring in 3rd-hand accounts, go back over with news articles, then add 1st-hand accounts, but it didn't really work here as there almost seemed to be no narrative whole to the plot. I'm going out on a limb and suggesting that the latter third of this novel came to the author after he'd written the earlier part about the apocalyptic snow? That maybe struggling to explain it, he came up with the extremely 'out there' explanation that he does.
So, disappointed with a novel I've been wanting to read for ages, given its snow-related apocalyptic themes.
I did enjoy some of this, but overall the lack of protagonist to engage with held me one step removed from it all the time. The second character (we never learn his name, call him the bald terrorist), had a long, long section devoted to his life before the snow and I skipped most of this. Endless stream of consciousness about taking coke, I think. Utterly dull and unrelated to the post-snow story.
The book is very fractured. I like stories that bring in 3rd-hand accounts, go back over with news articles, then add 1st-hand accounts, but it didn't really work here as there almost seemed to be no narrative whole to the plot. I'm going out on a limb and suggesting that the latter third of this novel came to the author after he'd written the earlier part about the apocalyptic snow? That maybe struggling to explain it, he came up with the extremely 'out there' explanation that he does.
So, disappointed with a novel I've been wanting to read for ages, given its snow-related apocalyptic themes.
February 13, 2025
I really enjoyed this novel. It was completely my kind of high class and experimental contemporary science fiction. A progressive, deeper, darker, whiter white-out quest and total mind f***.
First published over 20 years ago, it still presents as blisteringly current. No mean feat considering the progress of the first quarter of this 21st century we inhabit.
The book starts off quite deceptively normal and gradually by gradually draws you into its wintery flow. As the snow settles and accumulates everything gets darker as everything gets whiter and all the world alters as all reasoned normality becomes buried. The old ways are crushed and completely break down. Then it all slowly rises again as all that remained is rebuilt. Recrafted as and under an entirely alien construct, in more ways than one. A truce. New understandings. New hope. The cast of deeply flawed characters all as sharply charged and repellant as varied flakes of crystalline snow.
My only niggle - it’s just a small one - I didn’t care for the use of all the redacted names in the file reportage during the mid sections of the book. It made unnecessarily hard work for the reader. The less committed would be likely to give up and fall away. They were listed out in full anyway, you come to discover, in the appendix at the end of the book. Who, if anyone would bother to make the effort to then go back and fill in the blanks? They were no one you knew nor would be prepared to root for by the end. You had arrived there anyway without the knowing. Perhaps that was the point. Strange way to make it though. Aside from that one little flaw, a masterpiece.
First published over 20 years ago, it still presents as blisteringly current. No mean feat considering the progress of the first quarter of this 21st century we inhabit.
The book starts off quite deceptively normal and gradually by gradually draws you into its wintery flow. As the snow settles and accumulates everything gets darker as everything gets whiter and all the world alters as all reasoned normality becomes buried. The old ways are crushed and completely break down. Then it all slowly rises again as all that remained is rebuilt. Recrafted as and under an entirely alien construct, in more ways than one. A truce. New understandings. New hope. The cast of deeply flawed characters all as sharply charged and repellant as varied flakes of crystalline snow.
My only niggle - it’s just a small one - I didn’t care for the use of all the redacted names in the file reportage during the mid sections of the book. It made unnecessarily hard work for the reader. The less committed would be likely to give up and fall away. They were listed out in full anyway, you come to discover, in the appendix at the end of the book. Who, if anyone would bother to make the effort to then go back and fill in the blanks? They were no one you knew nor would be prepared to root for by the end. You had arrived there anyway without the knowing. Perhaps that was the point. Strange way to make it though. Aside from that one little flaw, a masterpiece.
December 28, 2024
I quite liked The Snow; thought it was a solid "good". Intriguing enough to keep me wanting to know what happened next, while anticipating some kind of "big reveal" at the end. Well written, too.
There were definite high points, and moments where the language became rather prosaic - giving the whole thing an uneven feel. "Literary" is good, but the text bounced into the literary zone and out again, in places.
The redacted names - "[Blank]" and "[Name deleted]" - that appear throughout the text - seem to have received mixed reactions from readers; some found it annoying. Mostly I found the mechanism less annoying and more amusing, like it was an in-joke; an authorial wink, or whatever. In a more literary sense, it added a subtly discomfiting touch of oppression to the proceedings, reaching out of the dystopian text to include us.
It probably did reduce the emotional impact though, keeping us out of the characters' heads when some zoomed-in reader empathy was needed.
In retrospect, I think my favourite segment was the core one-third of the book that took place pre-Snow, and so wasn't really about the Snow at all. Perhaps this was another aspect that made the book feel eclectic and uneven.
None of that is exactly damning though; it's just my theory of why the book was good and solid rather than great and memorable.
I heard that, although good, this isn't among Adams' best by a long way. On that strength, I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.
There were definite high points, and moments where the language became rather prosaic - giving the whole thing an uneven feel. "Literary" is good, but the text bounced into the literary zone and out again, in places.
The redacted names - "[Blank]" and "[Name deleted]" - that appear throughout the text - seem to have received mixed reactions from readers; some found it annoying. Mostly I found the mechanism less annoying and more amusing, like it was an in-joke; an authorial wink, or whatever. In a more literary sense, it added a subtly discomfiting touch of oppression to the proceedings, reaching out of the dystopian text to include us.
It probably did reduce the emotional impact though, keeping us out of the characters' heads when some zoomed-in reader empathy was needed.
In retrospect, I think my favourite segment was the core one-third of the book that took place pre-Snow, and so wasn't really about the Snow at all. Perhaps this was another aspect that made the book feel eclectic and uneven.
None of that is exactly damning though; it's just my theory of why the book was good and solid rather than great and memorable.
I heard that, although good, this isn't among Adams' best by a long way. On that strength, I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.
December 8, 2024
"The Snow" was my first Adam Roberts novel and I enjoyed it! Roberts explores the end of the world theme in a fresh new way: imagine the world is covered in snow several miles deep. Only a tiny fraction of humanity survive. The story explores the lives of a handful of survivors - men and women - as they attempt to rebuild some kind of society. There are thoughtful explorations of power, terrorism and how people respond to the mass trauma of most people dying under the snow.
Published in 2004, the novel explores the implications of the "War on Terror" in ways that still feel interesting 20 years later. I also enjoyed the use of "found documents" subject to a variety of censorship procedures throughout the novel intriguing as a way of signalling how the new post-Snow society works.
I read this book as the snow started falling in my area and it was the perfect time to read it.
Published in 2004, the novel explores the implications of the "War on Terror" in ways that still feel interesting 20 years later. I also enjoyed the use of "found documents" subject to a variety of censorship procedures throughout the novel intriguing as a way of signalling how the new post-Snow society works.
I read this book as the snow started falling in my area and it was the perfect time to read it.
March 10, 2025
I think it's more like 4.8 stars, but I rounded up.
I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. The protagonist was a woman, but she wasn't a busty scientist who is amazing at everything; she was just a normal woman who happened to be in a good situation to make it into the story. The scientific reasoning behind the snow itself was superbly creative and makes the book worth reading on its own.
The format of the book was also really entertaining. I was reminded a little bit of World War Z, but with fewer interviews. I really liked how the interview style allowed the text to jump around a little bit without being jarring.
My only sort of gripe was the climax. I didn't care for the ending, but it had to wrap up somehow, and the ending was one of those ways, I suppose.
I enjoyed a lot of things about this book. The protagonist was a woman, but she wasn't a busty scientist who is amazing at everything; she was just a normal woman who happened to be in a good situation to make it into the story. The scientific reasoning behind the snow itself was superbly creative and makes the book worth reading on its own.
The format of the book was also really entertaining. I was reminded a little bit of World War Z, but with fewer interviews. I really liked how the interview style allowed the text to jump around a little bit without being jarring.
My only sort of gripe was the climax. I didn't care for the ending, but it had to wrap up somehow, and the ending was one of those ways, I suppose.
July 11, 2021
A very cool premise with a likable and honest (to a fault) viewpoint character. This is a very character driven story, big concept Sci-Fi but narrated by a down-to-earth person, not a scientist or a typical hero. I found this story puzzling as parts of it were engaging and other parts were dead boring. Very in keeping with the chosen viewpoint. The story includes a mystery, the origin or the Snow but there are no antagonists, there is no drama, there is no suspense. I'm not exactly sure what the author was trying to say with this story - I expected some sort of comment on society or even about how power dynamics might affect the last survivors of a catastrophe but I sure didn't get it.
December 2, 2024
This is a dystopia, based on an unexplained climate change scenario where the weather turns to snow, everywhere (even in the Sahara), for enough time to make people live on the upper floors of buildings. It's structured as a set of documents, of different types: something which suggests the works of John Brunner in that genre, though the first section, in which the catastrophe is described as a narrative, is distinctly reminiscent of John Wyndham. It's also by far the best part of the book, the rest being unrewarding reading.
January 27, 2018
This type of disaster/apocalyptic novel can be very uneven, the best having a compelling scenario carried through to a plausible conclusion. The plot here is captivating, a young English woman being one of the few survivors of a snowfall that blankets the Earth to a depth of several miles, and the eeriness of the new environment and the struggle for explanations are fascinatingly drawn. However, despite some vivid writing, to an extent the back-story of one of the main characters and the eventual explanation for the phenomenon disappoint. 2.5 stars.
December 20, 2018
2.5 stars DNF at 43%. While the premise is interesting the story soon became less about survival and more about politics, government, and relationships I cared about even less then the politics. I started skimming pages for quite a while before deciding that I didn't particularly care about anything that was going on nor about how it ended.
August 10, 2022
Started well, great concept about snow that suffocates civilisation, apart from a few thousand who manage to work out how to survive. The story switches protagonists at one point, and in my view, we have too much detail about the second one - a "terrorist", as he was described. Unusually for me, I found it hard going....
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