On Feb 2, 8:08 am, Blair Leatherwood  wrote:   
   > I just finished reading On the Beach, and it made me think about   
   > post-apocalyptic fiction in general.   
   >   
   > There seem to be two basic variants.  One is the "small band of   
   > survivors creating a new society" and the other is "sorry folks, you   
   > really screwed the pooch and it's all over now".   
   >   
   > Which resonates more with you?  And are there preferred variants of the   
   > variants (like the "we haven't really learned much"--see A Canticle for   
   > Leibowitz--or "we'll do better this time")?   
   >   
   > Any favorites?  I did get a nice little thrill at the end of On the   
   > Beach (first time I've read it; I *think* I've seen the older film   
   > version a long, long time ago) because it seemed so inevitable.   
   >   
   > I have read Canticle, Alas, Babylon, Earth Abides, When/After Worlds   
   > Collide, and probably many others which could fit the definition.  I'm   
   > leaving dystopias out of this--I'm primarily interested in true   
   > apocalypses (apocalypsi?).   
   >   
   > Blair   
   i find both variants enjoyable and annoying.   
   the recent events in haiti i think bare witness to just how horrific   
   and messy a mass die off is.  jumping the story to 'every body's dead   
   except we three' feels like a bit of a cheat that white washes all the   
   blood and gusts (unless of course everything/one has been vaporized   
   during the invasion) and why movies like 'zombie land' are strangely   
   appealing, "so, like there was this virus and can you believe the shit   
   we have to deal with now.?"   
   g   
   --- SBBSecho 2.12-Win32   
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