Earth Abides Audiobook By George R. Stewart cover art

Earth Abides

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Earth Abides

By: George R. Stewart
Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
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About this listen

First published in 1949, award-winning Earth Abides is one of the most influential science-fiction novels of the twentieth century. It remains a fresh, provocative story of apocalyptic pandemic, societal collapse, and rebirth.

The cabin had always been a special retreat for Isherwood Williams, a haven from the demands of society. But one day while hiking, Ish was bitten by a rattlesnake, and the solitude he had so desired took on dire new significance.

He was sick for days—and often delirious—waking up to find two strangers peering in at him from the cabin door. Yet oddly, instead of offering help, the two ran off as if terrified. Not long after, the coughing began. Ish suffered chills and fever, and a measles-like rash on his skin. He was one of the few people in the world to live through that peculiar malady, but he didn't know it then.

Ish headed home when he finally felt himself again—and noticed the strangeness almost immediately. No cars passed him on the road; the gas station not far from his cabin looked abandoned; and he was shocked to see the body of a man on the roadside near a small town.

Without a radio or phone, Ish had no idea of humanity’s abrupt demise. He had escaped death, yet could not escape the catastrophe—and with an eerie detachment he found himself curious as to how long it would be before all traces of civilization faded from Earth.

©1946, 1976; 2020 George R. Stewart. Introduction by Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Disaster Fiction Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Thought-Provoking

What listeners say about Earth Abides

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Thought-provoking Story Compelling Character Development Realistic Post-apocalyptic Portrayal Complex Protagonist
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Odd story

I am a fan of the post apocalyptic story. I rarely finish one because they all seem so similar. World ends...it seems only bad people remain except one soldier with PSTD and guns and one damsel in distress. Fights ensue with excruciating detail, blah, blah, blah. Rarely does something different come along.
This story was written decades ago, and is different. It assumes most people are not evil. Most people would band together to make things work. Most people would be concerned with living and not hunting others out to take their stuff.
The story is a bit naive, and the writing is simplistic and silly in many places...but I do believe in reality there would be something between fighting hoards and simple folks. I did at least finish this very long story.
It would be nice to see more stories written that look for some good and talk more about the struggles of life after an extinction event. There are a few, but I am thinking I must have read them all, because I can’t find one now.

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8 people found this helpful

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must listen if you're into civilization

absolutely loved it

save the introduction to the end of the story. I felt like it spoiled some of the storyline for me

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17 people found this helpful

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The birth of a genre

From what I understand, this is the first of the "post-apocalyptic" genre that is now so popular. the story itself is a little dry and at times slow, but that is more than made up by the character development of its main character, Ish. I came to this book from the video game series "The Last of Us" , where a minor character is named after this story's protagonist.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great listen, Now I can watch the TV Show

I really enjoyed this audio book. I wanted to listen to be prior to watching the new TV adaptation. Hopefully the show will be comparable or identical to the original (book).

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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A beautiful and thought provoking story

A beautiful and thought provoking story that had be thinking of everything from the origin of superstition, the fragility of civilization, to the short memory of humankind.

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I own two copies. But great to listen while workin

I loved this book since my sophomore year in high school. I have passed this story unto both of my neices.

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A thought provoking story

I am a believer in Jesus Christ and find the story tragically sad. But it is very worthwhile to listen to this story because the author paints a vivid picture of earth without man and his civilization. I recommend you read it, but if you are not a believer, follow it up by reading C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity"

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good read

for a book that was written in 1948 it relates very well to the current world and mind set

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Read it twice in one year.

I gave it 3 stars the first time and 4 stars the second time. I'm sure in a few years I will reread/relisten and it will have achieved a 5 star rating from me. The first read through I found a lot of character elements frustrating and impractical. Then I spent another year in the real world, inadvertently dwelling on this book. I watched those same character elements that had bothered me come into focus from within everyone around me, including myself. The book presents them in a distilled form, hard to palate at first drink. I found on the second read through I was almost absent mindedly nodding with assent while the character elements unfolded. In a way, I found I related much more with the MC on the second reading, having observed diluted versions of his observations in real life. I hope that made sense. If you get near the end and start to fall out with the story/character elements, push through. You may want to revist the book in the future and the best re-reads come from books you have completed (In my opinion).

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    4 out of 5 stars

2020 Intro has major spoilers!

Loved this story and narrator. It's not action packed but didn't need it. Intellectual, poetic, relatable and timeless.

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12 people found this helpful