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Darkest and Dawn #1
Through Darkest America
Post Apocalypse America...
Bluevale was about all Howie had seen of the world. Even his Pa, who knew everything, didn’t know much about the way it was before the war.
Scriptures said all of the unclean animals had been wiped out. Howie didn’t know what that meant exactly. He’d seen horses. And stock of course. Stock looked like humans. ‘Cept stock had no soul. That’s why they was meat.
Howie had a good life for a boy. Then the soldiers came. And what they did to his folks made him grow up right quick. He got his revenge—‘cept now the whole darn army was after him. But he had a huge country to run across… and lots of miles to stay alive.
Includes new bonus chapter!
Bluevale was about all Howie had seen of the world. Even his Pa, who knew everything, didn’t know much about the way it was before the war.
Scriptures said all of the unclean animals had been wiped out. Howie didn’t know what that meant exactly. He’d seen horses. And stock of course. Stock looked like humans. ‘Cept stock had no soul. That’s why they was meat.
Howie had a good life for a boy. Then the soldiers came. And what they did to his folks made him grow up right quick. He got his revenge—‘cept now the whole darn army was after him. But he had a huge country to run across… and lots of miles to stay alive.
Includes new bonus chapter!
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1986
7 people are currently reading
394 people want to read
About the author
Neal Barrett Jr.
128 books44 followersNeal Barrett, Jr. was a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 10, 2011
If you finished reading Schindler's List and thought, "That was nice, but I'd like to read something REALLY depressing," then Through Darkest America is the book for you.
March 25, 2012
12 stars of 5!
Perusing this novel’s foreword by acclaimed author Joe R. Lansdale really raised the bar of my expectations for this story. Mr. Lansdale calls Author Barrett one of the last true storytellers, and in my view this is highly accurate. I was immediately caught up in the tale, nearly a participant rather than an observer. There’s no question of suspension of disbelief in this tale; it occurs involuntarily. The painting Mr. Barrett sets out to create is incredibly detailed, a tapestry with sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touches-well-defined characters, and a plot with secrets lurking just under the surface, rising only for a moment to peek at the reader with a sharp wink and then disappearing.
In this horrible post-apocalyptic America, where farmers and townspeople and cavalry and government strive to carry on just as if the “War” had never occurred and wiped out wildlife other than birds and fish, the reader has become part of the tale and is living through it along with the characters-both those human and those not-so-human. This was an enrapturing read for a Sunday afternoon, without noise and without distractions, I was so caught up in the story and its settings. Neal Barrett Jr. is now one of my must-read-authors. I think I could read a version of the phone book if he composed it. I highly recommend this one for aficionados of dystopian, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, and science-fantasy. Devotees of best writing will find this novel a gem.
Perusing this novel’s foreword by acclaimed author Joe R. Lansdale really raised the bar of my expectations for this story. Mr. Lansdale calls Author Barrett one of the last true storytellers, and in my view this is highly accurate. I was immediately caught up in the tale, nearly a participant rather than an observer. There’s no question of suspension of disbelief in this tale; it occurs involuntarily. The painting Mr. Barrett sets out to create is incredibly detailed, a tapestry with sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touches-well-defined characters, and a plot with secrets lurking just under the surface, rising only for a moment to peek at the reader with a sharp wink and then disappearing.
In this horrible post-apocalyptic America, where farmers and townspeople and cavalry and government strive to carry on just as if the “War” had never occurred and wiped out wildlife other than birds and fish, the reader has become part of the tale and is living through it along with the characters-both those human and those not-so-human. This was an enrapturing read for a Sunday afternoon, without noise and without distractions, I was so caught up in the story and its settings. Neal Barrett Jr. is now one of my must-read-authors. I think I could read a version of the phone book if he composed it. I highly recommend this one for aficionados of dystopian, futuristic, post-apocalyptic, and science-fantasy. Devotees of best writing will find this novel a gem.
July 11, 2009
A post-apocalyptic novel. Almost hard to believe this is by the same author who did the much lighter hearted Aldair books, which I loved. This one was absolutely brutal but very interesting. Be aware, though, that to get the whole story you really need to read the sequel as well, which is called "Dawn's Uncertain Light."
May 12, 2023
An old school dystopian novel from the 80s. Very depressing. Society has collapsed and resources are scarce. Outlaw bands roam the country and are in constant battle with the remnant government. Follows a young boy who’s family is eradicated and then what he does thereafter. There is a reveal at the end which wasn’t too difficult to figure out in the first half dozen chapters, but even without this subterfuge, the novel definitely lived up to the title, Through Darkest America.
December 21, 2023
I can't believe this book is out of print. I can't believe this is not considered a classic. I don't say that lightly. Probably my my favorite subgenre of fiction is the post-apocalyptic epic – the Stand, Mad Max, the Road, and hell I even liked Book of Eli. This was released the same year as the book I considered the greatest in the genre - Swans Song by Robert McCammon. I admit that I had no experience with author Neal Barrett before reading this book, but to say I was blown away is an understatement. This book slapped me around while I begged for more.
While this novel is certainly Post-apocalyptic it feels like a Western. It explores issues of violence and inhumanity, ecological devastation, and in my mind does almost as good a job of exploring humanity's messed up relationship with animals they consider to be food as any animal rights book I have ever read. It is one of the single darkest and most brutal novels in a subgenre of speculative horror that is well known for being brutal. If I have already sold you do yourself a favor and buy a used copy on Amazon (this book is not easy to find), because I have to give away some early plot points to talk about why this novel is so brilliant.
Through Darkest America takes place sometime after a great war, was it a nuclear war? Biological warfare? The author doesn't explain but we do know it was several generations in the past. Our main narrator is Howie Ryder son of a livestock farmer who provides meat for the government fighting rebels out in the western frontier.
You might think this sounds pretty normal but after the war, the majority of the mammals have died out sometime in the process of the war. A few prized horses are left to be used for transportation, so what do the people eat? They eat stock. What is stock? As Howie's dad explains, Stock looks like humans, but they are not. You see Stock don't speak and they don't have souls.
Just as Howie is set to take over his father's herd, He witnesses a brutal crime. A group of soldiers sexually assaulted a female “Stock.” Howie's father kills the rapist and gives Howie a speech about what separates people from stock. Howie is confused because the victim looks human, he even finds her attractive. This incident sets off a chain of events that ends with the killing or kidnapping of his family. Howie barely escapes.
For the rest of the novel we go with Howie on a coming-of-age journey that includes him joining an old-fashioned cattle drive, except the drive is made of stock. Along this journey, Howie falls in love, and questions the leader of his gang. I refuse to give away the very end but it sets up a sequel I am dying to read.
Through Darkest America being out of print is a crime. This might be one of the most important works of speculative fiction I have ever read and it's only dumbluck that I read it. You see a couple of months ago I picked an issue of Twilight Zone magazine published in 1988 at a vintage store. In this issue Through Darkest America was reviewed on the same page as Robert McCammon's Swan Song( as I mentioned above). As soon as I read the review I knew I had to read this book. That wasn't easy since it's out of print, I looked at every used bookstore, and library I could but I had to break down and order a used copy from Amazon.
The story works as a coming-of-age story, it works as a post-apocalyptic epic and most of all it is a gritty tale of the wild west. More than anything it is a slap in the face that explores many issues. He might not be vegan I would think Barrett is at least a vegetarian. As a Vegan myself the idea of “stock” in cannibal America is not much of stretch. Since this book was written before terms like “free-range,” and “Humanely raised” are used and argued within many of the same ways Howie's dad explains the ethical reasons behind raising Stock.
Just as meat-eaters try to explain away the emotions, and feelings of so-called “Livestock animals” the characters of this dark future dismiss the lives of their food. They are just soulless stock after all. As you might guess the ethical standards for what makes someone a person or stock gets blurred. In the end, Howie discovers the truth about stock. They can't talk because they are disfigured, they can't rebel because they have never been taught and their spirits have been broken. And just as we have that truth revealed the book ends up setting up perfectly for the sequel.
As a speculative fiction author who means to express himself on important political and social issues I have never been so jealous of a novel or an idea. A genius work of speculative activism, this novel should be a goddamn classic. Read it. Think about it. If enough of us write about it, Barrett can get it back into print.
While this novel is certainly Post-apocalyptic it feels like a Western. It explores issues of violence and inhumanity, ecological devastation, and in my mind does almost as good a job of exploring humanity's messed up relationship with animals they consider to be food as any animal rights book I have ever read. It is one of the single darkest and most brutal novels in a subgenre of speculative horror that is well known for being brutal. If I have already sold you do yourself a favor and buy a used copy on Amazon (this book is not easy to find), because I have to give away some early plot points to talk about why this novel is so brilliant.
Through Darkest America takes place sometime after a great war, was it a nuclear war? Biological warfare? The author doesn't explain but we do know it was several generations in the past. Our main narrator is Howie Ryder son of a livestock farmer who provides meat for the government fighting rebels out in the western frontier.
You might think this sounds pretty normal but after the war, the majority of the mammals have died out sometime in the process of the war. A few prized horses are left to be used for transportation, so what do the people eat? They eat stock. What is stock? As Howie's dad explains, Stock looks like humans, but they are not. You see Stock don't speak and they don't have souls.
Just as Howie is set to take over his father's herd, He witnesses a brutal crime. A group of soldiers sexually assaulted a female “Stock.” Howie's father kills the rapist and gives Howie a speech about what separates people from stock. Howie is confused because the victim looks human, he even finds her attractive. This incident sets off a chain of events that ends with the killing or kidnapping of his family. Howie barely escapes.
For the rest of the novel we go with Howie on a coming-of-age journey that includes him joining an old-fashioned cattle drive, except the drive is made of stock. Along this journey, Howie falls in love, and questions the leader of his gang. I refuse to give away the very end but it sets up a sequel I am dying to read.
Through Darkest America being out of print is a crime. This might be one of the most important works of speculative fiction I have ever read and it's only dumbluck that I read it. You see a couple of months ago I picked an issue of Twilight Zone magazine published in 1988 at a vintage store. In this issue Through Darkest America was reviewed on the same page as Robert McCammon's Swan Song( as I mentioned above). As soon as I read the review I knew I had to read this book. That wasn't easy since it's out of print, I looked at every used bookstore, and library I could but I had to break down and order a used copy from Amazon.
The story works as a coming-of-age story, it works as a post-apocalyptic epic and most of all it is a gritty tale of the wild west. More than anything it is a slap in the face that explores many issues. He might not be vegan I would think Barrett is at least a vegetarian. As a Vegan myself the idea of “stock” in cannibal America is not much of stretch. Since this book was written before terms like “free-range,” and “Humanely raised” are used and argued within many of the same ways Howie's dad explains the ethical reasons behind raising Stock.
Just as meat-eaters try to explain away the emotions, and feelings of so-called “Livestock animals” the characters of this dark future dismiss the lives of their food. They are just soulless stock after all. As you might guess the ethical standards for what makes someone a person or stock gets blurred. In the end, Howie discovers the truth about stock. They can't talk because they are disfigured, they can't rebel because they have never been taught and their spirits have been broken. And just as we have that truth revealed the book ends up setting up perfectly for the sequel.
As a speculative fiction author who means to express himself on important political and social issues I have never been so jealous of a novel or an idea. A genius work of speculative activism, this novel should be a goddamn classic. Read it. Think about it. If enough of us write about it, Barrett can get it back into print.
February 24, 2018
Set in a post-apocalyptic world that has a "wild wild west" feeling to it and about as developed as the same era, but we quickly learn it's a very different world. No animals are left and alternative ways for providing meat exist. An alternative that will bother you throughout the whol book. We then get to know Hawie as a child. Until one day his world is turned upside down and he is provided with one choice "survive at all cost or die".
I would have classified this as dystopia, but it concentrates on the main character's personal journey more than the world setting, at least for the most of the book. We slowly learn with Howie new things about the world he lives in, but while the story gains resolution for him we are left wondering as to how this cruel world came to be, and will anything change?
Two reasons I will be reading the next book are:
1. I really want to know what happens and 2. I really want to know what happens.
Another thing that deserves mentioning and praise is what sets this book apart from most of the violence in a lot of sci-fi books is that all the violence was not pointless. It wasn't a mindless action that did not affect the characters, not just a hack and slash job. It was personal and it was either for revenge or for survival. I did wonder if I should add a content warning, but I'm sure if you are considering this book you would know what you are getting yourself into.
So dive into it.
November 7, 2022
Just reread this ... Read it when I was in my twenties and when I recently found that there was a sequel I decided to read it again to refresh my memory... Now I am on to "DAWN'S UNCERTAIN LIGHT" the sequel and I hope it is as good as the first book ... If you like post apocalyptic , frontier , boy off the farm , cowboy , civil war-like action then give this one a read ... Oh and by the way there is plenty of "free range" cannibalism here too ...
{EXCERPT}
"Bluevale was about all Howie had seen of the world.
Even his Pa,who knew everything,didn't know much about the way it was before the war.
Scriptures said all of the unclean animals had been wiped out. Howie didn't know what that meant
exactly. He"d seen horses. And stock of course.Stock looked like humans. 'Cept stock had no soul.
That's why they was meat."
Enjoy this one I know I sure did ... Even the second time around and I am not a big fan of re-readng books ...
{EXCERPT}
"Bluevale was about all Howie had seen of the world.
Even his Pa,who knew everything,didn't know much about the way it was before the war.
Scriptures said all of the unclean animals had been wiped out. Howie didn't know what that meant
exactly. He"d seen horses. And stock of course.Stock looked like humans. 'Cept stock had no soul.
That's why they was meat."
Enjoy this one I know I sure did ... Even the second time around and I am not a big fan of re-readng books ...
May 23, 2012
Through Darkest America by Neal Barret Jr. is set in a post apocalypse America several years after a nuclear war. The star of the book is a 12 year old boy named Howie. Howie lives with his family on a farm. In this alternate reality there are no big cities anymore and there is no wildlife with the exception of birds which the holy scriptures call unclean and some strange hairy creatures called horses which are very different from the horses we know.
Howie believes that the government is always right, his dad is the wisest man around, his mother is the most beautiful woman in the world and his sister is a pest. Things change quickly though because a revolution is coming and Howie has to grow up and he quickly realizes that the world is very different place then he believed it was. Through Darkest America is a coming of age story set in a post apocalyptic world where everyone seems to have an agenda and no one can be trusted.
During the course of this book and within a short period of time you watch Howie go from a boy to a man, you see him survive a couple of horrible tragedies, fight in a couple of battles that he didn't want to be a part of and watch him get tortured for information he doesn't have. What makes this story great is you really feel for Howie, you feel for him as he asks his father to explain things he doesn't understand and you are rooting for him as he tries to escape from a city during a war between the loyalists and the rebels. Through Darkest America was originally released in 1988 and recently was rereleased through Biting Dog Press. I think this book deserves to be considered a classic.
When I started to read it, right away there was a scene that made me realize that this book could be considered horror just as much as it would be considered speculative fiction. At one point Howie is told by his father to go see to the stock that they are taking to be slaughtered for meat. As the author is describing the stock you suddenly realize these aren’t pigs or cows. The stock is humans. So this book transcends genres, it works as a horror novel, a science fiction book and its an action adventure story.
Another part of the book that really stuck out for me was when Howie and a female companion were trying to escape a battle in a city they try to escape on horseback and during this tense moment in the book the woman throws up on Howie after getting motion sickness. I loved how the author threw in a funny moment as the book was reaching towards its climactic end.
This book is very dark and there really isn’t a happy ending but at the same time it is a very well written fast paced adventure with a lot of suspense thrown in. I loved how Howie is forced, to soon to become a man and how little by little he sees that everything he believed as a child was wrong. you also see his quest to figure out what is right in this world and a new place to call home. I highly recommend this book.
Howie believes that the government is always right, his dad is the wisest man around, his mother is the most beautiful woman in the world and his sister is a pest. Things change quickly though because a revolution is coming and Howie has to grow up and he quickly realizes that the world is very different place then he believed it was. Through Darkest America is a coming of age story set in a post apocalyptic world where everyone seems to have an agenda and no one can be trusted.
During the course of this book and within a short period of time you watch Howie go from a boy to a man, you see him survive a couple of horrible tragedies, fight in a couple of battles that he didn't want to be a part of and watch him get tortured for information he doesn't have. What makes this story great is you really feel for Howie, you feel for him as he asks his father to explain things he doesn't understand and you are rooting for him as he tries to escape from a city during a war between the loyalists and the rebels. Through Darkest America was originally released in 1988 and recently was rereleased through Biting Dog Press. I think this book deserves to be considered a classic.
When I started to read it, right away there was a scene that made me realize that this book could be considered horror just as much as it would be considered speculative fiction. At one point Howie is told by his father to go see to the stock that they are taking to be slaughtered for meat. As the author is describing the stock you suddenly realize these aren’t pigs or cows. The stock is humans. So this book transcends genres, it works as a horror novel, a science fiction book and its an action adventure story.
Another part of the book that really stuck out for me was when Howie and a female companion were trying to escape a battle in a city they try to escape on horseback and during this tense moment in the book the woman throws up on Howie after getting motion sickness. I loved how the author threw in a funny moment as the book was reaching towards its climactic end.
This book is very dark and there really isn’t a happy ending but at the same time it is a very well written fast paced adventure with a lot of suspense thrown in. I loved how Howie is forced, to soon to become a man and how little by little he sees that everything he believed as a child was wrong. you also see his quest to figure out what is right in this world and a new place to call home. I highly recommend this book.
August 6, 2019
set several generations after apocalypse in America, this parallels life in 1800s seen in Westerns and histories of wars against native americans and Civil war. Has a few cases of ultraviolence. Title is perfect for the book. Better than The Walking Dead - it's worse when the enemy is alive and human.
January 6, 2020
I'm always up for a good post-apocalyptic story, and Barrett does a good job in so many ways with his worldbuilding that I was sad to see the book fall into a rut and stay there.
One problem I've seen with many end-of-the-world stories is that authors blow stuff up (figuratively or literally) and then go off on a tangent, when what we'd really like is to see more of that world. TDA gets off to a slow start, then becomes a rip-roaring adventure, and quickly disintegrates as the lead character spins his wheels with bad man after bad man after bad man.
By the time the book gets to its final gory climax, the torture felt gratuitous and unwarranted by the rest of the story, and it became clear that we were in no way going to wrap things up in a satisfying manner. Then the Epilogue threw everything open once more, giving the plot I'd been hoping for about 100 pages earlier.
I hear there is a sequel; I doubt I'll get to it. This was not the sort of book I'd been hoping to read, despite many elements of promise.
One problem I've seen with many end-of-the-world stories is that authors blow stuff up (figuratively or literally) and then go off on a tangent, when what we'd really like is to see more of that world. TDA gets off to a slow start, then becomes a rip-roaring adventure, and quickly disintegrates as the lead character spins his wheels with bad man after bad man after bad man.
By the time the book gets to its final gory climax, the torture felt gratuitous and unwarranted by the rest of the story, and it became clear that we were in no way going to wrap things up in a satisfying manner. Then the Epilogue threw everything open once more, giving the plot I'd been hoping for about 100 pages earlier.
I hear there is a sequel; I doubt I'll get to it. This was not the sort of book I'd been hoping to read, despite many elements of promise.
April 18, 2022
What is the point of making this book post-apocalyptic if more than 80% of it is identical to a western? If I wanted to read a western I’d read a western, and if the writer wanted to make a western he didn’t need the post apocalyptic setting or the human livestock plot element. Starts off very promising but becomes very boring as it goes along. Doesn’t offer anything thoughtful to say, just one situation to another with no bearing on the story.
Read
August 9, 2008It’s not very often that a fiction writer can make me cringe. Very little of what makes its way into print is even a tithe of the awfulness that is splashed across headlines and that is usually watered down to meet the demands of a public that has no tolerance for news that might be upsetting.
http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2007...
http://fireandsword.blogspot.com/2007...
September 18, 2017
Basically a post apocalyptic SF novel, that is basically western too. Extremely bleak, dark, and depressing...and wonderful. The best part is that almost nothing good ever happens in this book.
June 18, 2018
Wow. So so dark. And disturbing. But great. Everyone should read this.
February 25, 2023
very interesting
It’s a very interesting story. A lot of interesting ideas. That’s what I like in a science fiction novel, ideas that I would never have thought of.
It’s a very interesting story. A lot of interesting ideas. That’s what I like in a science fiction novel, ideas that I would never have thought of.
February 24, 2016
Oh wow, just wow! That was dark, very, very dark but wow! I'm a bit speechless.
August 13, 2018
E' successo qualcosa all'umanità. Non si sa che cosa, ma da qualche generazione sono svanite le conoscenze tecnologiche successive alla rivoluzione industriale e, cosa ancora più grave, sono scomparsi praticamente tutti gli animali, tranne qualche cavallo. Con queste premesse eccovi proiettati nel futuro distopico ambientato da qualche parte nel midwest americano, di fatto tramutatosi in un redivivo western in cui si fronteggia un esercito "unionista" contro non meglio precisati ribelli che avanzano dall'ovest. E a farne le spese sono come spesso avviene gli agricoltori soggetti al tributo "volontario" delle risorse alimentari e ad un non meglio definito sorteggio premio vacanza riservato per pochi "fortunati" adolescenti. Ma non è un semplice western. L'assenza di animali ha reso necessario utilizzare altro come fonte di proteine animali da unire ai classici prodotti dell'agricoltura. E cosa può esserci di altro in questi casi se non la carne umana prodotta da allevamenti locali o vaganti di "bestiame" esattamente come avveniva con i "long horn"? Cannibalismo? Non proprio, o almeno non secondo la concezione di agricoltori e abitanti che distingue nettamente tra "l'umano" e il bestiame "solo" esternamente simile all'umano ma privo di intelligenza, parola e consapevolezza di se. In un certo senso una specie ancora più diversa dal "noi" di quella che i tedeschi definivano "Untermensch" perché almeno li l'umanità era implicita mentre qui sembra totalmente assente dal "bestiame".
Il libro è molto interessante e godibile. Pura fantascienza distopica, senza nulla di horror (avvisati i fan del genere che non troveranno nulla qui). Anche la storia è un misto di racconto di formazione, fuga e battaglie in puro stile western (senza indiani), vendette e denaro.
Ho molto apprezzato il fatto che l'autore abbia evitato la facilissima via "politica" che altri avrebbero percorso (ad esempio costruendo una trama in salsa schiavista). Nulla del genere. Esteriormente "il bestiame" è identico ai coloni, con gli stessi tratti somatici anglosassoni proprio per rendere molto difficile far "digerire" (ops) al lettore l'idea della normalità di un cibo simile ma a anche come sia facile abituarsi a tutto dopo un po'.
Il finale è interessante e lascia aperto la via ad un sequel che non credo si sia mai avverato.
Il libro è molto interessante e godibile. Pura fantascienza distopica, senza nulla di horror (avvisati i fan del genere che non troveranno nulla qui). Anche la storia è un misto di racconto di formazione, fuga e battaglie in puro stile western (senza indiani), vendette e denaro.
Ho molto apprezzato il fatto che l'autore abbia evitato la facilissima via "politica" che altri avrebbero percorso (ad esempio costruendo una trama in salsa schiavista). Nulla del genere. Esteriormente "il bestiame" è identico ai coloni, con gli stessi tratti somatici anglosassoni proprio per rendere molto difficile far "digerire" (ops) al lettore l'idea della normalità di un cibo simile ma a anche come sia facile abituarsi a tutto dopo un po'.
Il finale è interessante e lascia aperto la via ad un sequel che non credo si sia mai avverato.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2024
My library copy of this book carries a little sticker on the back. “FI, 21 Day, Adult Only.” I’ve no clue what “FI” means, and “21 Day” obviously refers to the lending period. As for the “Adult Only” warning, that much is self-explanatory. Or at least it should be, except this is the first library book I’ve come across to carry the caveat.
Through Darkest America definitely earned its sticker. It’s one of the better, albeit lesser-known entries in the postapocalyptic subgenre of SF fiction. It features everything from graphic rape to torture and bestiality. The book’s main theme, in fact, is how, if man is not careful, he can turn into a beast. In some cases, this transformation can become quite literal. Imagine H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau mixed with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (albeit much better written than McCarthy’s book) and you’re in the neighborhood.
The work follows the peregrinations of a young boy named Howie through the wasteland of what was once America. It begins with him enjoying a peaceful, if not quite idyllic life with his father, mother, and sister. There are rumors of war on the wind, though, and the government men are coming riding in on steeds, looking for recruits and supplies to requisition.
The soldiers rub the locals the wrong way, and violence breaks out. After Howie’s small town is razed and his family is killed, he sets out to seek vengeance. Only author Neil Barrett Jr.’s understanding of humanity is too thorough to let the book become a simple revenge yarn. And though it shares beats with the classic “Hero’s Quest” monomyth, it’s not quite that, either. It can’t even be categorized as a picaresque, as young Howie is no hell-raking picaro. He wants neither love nor sex, though he’ll take either enroute to finding what he really wants, which are answers.
Am I spoiling it for you by telling you Howie doesn’t get any answers? This is the kind of book where you know, after the first few pages, that there isn’t going to be a tidy ending. It’s very well-written, though, in an understated way, doing a good job of showing us the scales falling from the heretofore-uncircumcised eyes of a young boy.
Through Darkest America definitely earned its sticker. It’s one of the better, albeit lesser-known entries in the postapocalyptic subgenre of SF fiction. It features everything from graphic rape to torture and bestiality. The book’s main theme, in fact, is how, if man is not careful, he can turn into a beast. In some cases, this transformation can become quite literal. Imagine H.G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau mixed with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road (albeit much better written than McCarthy’s book) and you’re in the neighborhood.
The work follows the peregrinations of a young boy named Howie through the wasteland of what was once America. It begins with him enjoying a peaceful, if not quite idyllic life with his father, mother, and sister. There are rumors of war on the wind, though, and the government men are coming riding in on steeds, looking for recruits and supplies to requisition.
The soldiers rub the locals the wrong way, and violence breaks out. After Howie’s small town is razed and his family is killed, he sets out to seek vengeance. Only author Neil Barrett Jr.’s understanding of humanity is too thorough to let the book become a simple revenge yarn. And though it shares beats with the classic “Hero’s Quest” monomyth, it’s not quite that, either. It can’t even be categorized as a picaresque, as young Howie is no hell-raking picaro. He wants neither love nor sex, though he’ll take either enroute to finding what he really wants, which are answers.
Am I spoiling it for you by telling you Howie doesn’t get any answers? This is the kind of book where you know, after the first few pages, that there isn’t going to be a tidy ending. It’s very well-written, though, in an understated way, doing a good job of showing us the scales falling from the heretofore-uncircumcised eyes of a young boy.
March 22, 2025
Avete presente un incidente in autostrada?
Uno di quelli in cui sono coinvolte più macchine, fiamme che ancora bruciano in un paio di carcasse metalliche, dei corpi carbonizzati, e il traffico sulla tua corsia è rallentato e tu non puoi, non vuoi staccare gli occhi da quell'orrore, da quel memento della fragilità delle nostre esistenze.
Ecco, questo libro è così. Per quanto il sottogenere distopico, soprattutto alla data in cui scrivo, sia ampiamente rappresentato, non è facile trovare una perla dell'oscuro come questa.
Questa non è una distopia dove c'è un dittatore cattivo da sconfiggere, un ordine sociale da abbattere con la forza della rivoluzione e del coraggio, non è una storia di resistenza all'ordine costituito, no... Questa è la banalità del male, è l'orrore sceso sull'umanità dopo l'Ultima Guerra, è una società decaduta fino al midollo, è l'esistenza più abbrutita e crudele, di una società che non vive alcuna forma di pentimento nel vivere come fa, ma razionalizza in nome della sopravvivenza, anzi, peggio, della quotidianità. E nonostante questo, riesce a venderti benissimo la figura del protagonista, ti fa tifare per lui nonostante la parte razionale ci dica che se fosse morto insieme al resto dell''umanità, sarebbe stato meglio.
Questo primo libro di una duologia non porta con sé alcun messaggio al lettore, se non "non fate scendere il sole sulla terra".
Uno di quelli in cui sono coinvolte più macchine, fiamme che ancora bruciano in un paio di carcasse metalliche, dei corpi carbonizzati, e il traffico sulla tua corsia è rallentato e tu non puoi, non vuoi staccare gli occhi da quell'orrore, da quel memento della fragilità delle nostre esistenze.
Ecco, questo libro è così. Per quanto il sottogenere distopico, soprattutto alla data in cui scrivo, sia ampiamente rappresentato, non è facile trovare una perla dell'oscuro come questa.
Questa non è una distopia dove c'è un dittatore cattivo da sconfiggere, un ordine sociale da abbattere con la forza della rivoluzione e del coraggio, non è una storia di resistenza all'ordine costituito, no... Questa è la banalità del male, è l'orrore sceso sull'umanità dopo l'Ultima Guerra, è una società decaduta fino al midollo, è l'esistenza più abbrutita e crudele, di una società che non vive alcuna forma di pentimento nel vivere come fa, ma razionalizza in nome della sopravvivenza, anzi, peggio, della quotidianità. E nonostante questo, riesce a venderti benissimo la figura del protagonista, ti fa tifare per lui nonostante la parte razionale ci dica che se fosse morto insieme al resto dell''umanità, sarebbe stato meglio.
Questo primo libro di una duologia non porta con sé alcun messaggio al lettore, se non "non fate scendere il sole sulla terra".
January 15, 2024
This is a brutal and disturbing book, and one of the best post apocalypse novels. I don't give many 5-star ratings, but this is one of the best SF novels of the eighties, even though it seems nearly forgotten. I remember buying the book when it was first published, but it languished on my shelf for many years. Be warned--torture, violence, slavery and worse abound, and it is all perfectly justified. I'm not sure the human race would necessarily fall this far, but I think that we could. I recently read the Pelbar series that has a similar premise. Compared to Barrett's novel, William's series, even though it has similar themes, is a Saturday morning cartoon. I just bought the sequel, Dawn's Uncertain Light.
October 6, 2025
Go West Young Man! In a post-apocalypse U.S. which feels a lot like after the Civil War in Tennessee, Howe and his family are caught up in a war between Rebels and Loyalists which ends up with his family massacred. Determined to find the man who led the attack he winds up part of Rebels and Loyalists at different stages. The book is harrowing - almost torture porn - and shows us a world where some humans are bred for meat and young girls are selected to go to a wonderful' island (one of which is Howie's sister) - which may not be as wonderful as it sounds. Ends abruptly so I presume Neal Barrett Jr. had a sequel planned. The book reads more like a gory Western than SF but if you can overlook the graphic violence (both physical and sexual) it is a picture of a future we must avoid.
October 26, 2018
A post-apocalyptic novel that takes place years after a nuclear war. The main character Howie lives on a farm with his family raising stock until his world is turned upside down. I found this book to be dark and disturbing, but yet I was drawn in to see what happened to society to bring these things about. I'm still not really sure what was happening in the book. You had soldiers and raiders but yet it was not clear what they were fighting each other for. Both sides seemed to be the bad guys. If you like this kind of book then you will like this one. I'm not going to be moving onto the sequel.
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May 8, 2025What was this? I feel like the entire story is incomplete. I didn't hate it, found it good enough to continue reading but there wasn't really a point to the story. what was this about? eww
July 19, 2012
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
I read Through Darkest America not knowing there was a sequel, so as I got deeper in I started getting confused about when a plot was going to really kick in. As a standalone, it's a strange book, basically a very grim coming-of-age for a farm boy named Howie. He's grown up on a farm that at the start seems fairly idyllic, considering it's 150 or so years after a War-capital-doubleyou. It's a kind of PA US neo-medievalism / neo-Wild West, not unlike that of Brin's The Postman.
HERE BE SPOILERS:
Here, the war has killed off most species and seems to have split homo sapien into two strands: sentient humans and soulless "stock". Yep, cannibalism is the way for this humble society. Though they don't see it as such, they see the War-capital-doubleyou as having cleansed the "unclean" species. Stock is the only species that's clean eating. It's a really striking, challenging concept and adds substantially to the book's despairing darkness.
It doesn't, however, stand up to much scrutiny. A large chunk of the book involves a stock drive, taking "meat" west to the front line of civil war between Rebels and Government/Loyalist forces. If you think about it, cattle drives, sheep droving or whatever were historically only viable for man because such animals could generally forage food. Grass mostly. Humans can't, so the stock drive involves having to carry a lot of provisions, or buy a lot more along the way. As I say, it's a powerful idea, but I'm sorry, this just isn't credible in a low-tech agrarian society.
I probably shouldn't be reviewing this at all, as frankly it doesn't so much feel like a prequel as just half a book. If I can get hold of the sequel, Dawn's Uncertain Light, I'll revisit and revise accordingly.
SPOILERS
I read Through Darkest America not knowing there was a sequel, so as I got deeper in I started getting confused about when a plot was going to really kick in. As a standalone, it's a strange book, basically a very grim coming-of-age for a farm boy named Howie. He's grown up on a farm that at the start seems fairly idyllic, considering it's 150 or so years after a War-capital-doubleyou. It's a kind of PA US neo-medievalism / neo-Wild West, not unlike that of Brin's The Postman.
HERE BE SPOILERS:
Here, the war has killed off most species and seems to have split homo sapien into two strands: sentient humans and soulless "stock". Yep, cannibalism is the way for this humble society. Though they don't see it as such, they see the War-capital-doubleyou as having cleansed the "unclean" species. Stock is the only species that's clean eating. It's a really striking, challenging concept and adds substantially to the book's despairing darkness.
It doesn't, however, stand up to much scrutiny. A large chunk of the book involves a stock drive, taking "meat" west to the front line of civil war between Rebels and Government/Loyalist forces. If you think about it, cattle drives, sheep droving or whatever were historically only viable for man because such animals could generally forage food. Grass mostly. Humans can't, so the stock drive involves having to carry a lot of provisions, or buy a lot more along the way. As I say, it's a powerful idea, but I'm sorry, this just isn't credible in a low-tech agrarian society.
I probably shouldn't be reviewing this at all, as frankly it doesn't so much feel like a prequel as just half a book. If I can get hold of the sequel, Dawn's Uncertain Light, I'll revisit and revise accordingly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2014
This is one of those books that leave a deep, dark impression, From the moment when the lead character is introduced, through the destruction of his family, right up to the point where what has happened to his sister, really happened, not the seductive fantasy that she was sold, becomes impossible to ignore...
A truly horrible plot, so well-written that you can't turn away. Like a car crash.
A truly horrible plot, so well-written that you can't turn away. Like a car crash.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2011
Through Darkest America was Neal Barret Jr's first novel. What is best described as a post-apocalyptic adventure story is such a magnificent achievement. Shamefully the second book was not able to muster the same amount of oomph.
March 24, 2012
I really liked this book....until the ending. Why are there so few authors that can write an ending that actually wraps things up in a decent.t way? I really think there was more the author could have done, but I'm just an armchair writer, what do I know?
August 7, 2012
One of the most overlooked masterpieces of post-apocalyptic fiction. It starts off as a coming-of-age story and slowly evolves into a truly horrific, dystopian nightmare.
June 16, 2012
Don't eat the meat!
February 28, 2013
Wow! An excellent book!
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