The Long Winter, Fawcett Gold Medal Book R2001

I don't know where to start with this novel- it is exactly the sort of thing that I thoroughly enjoy reading. The basic premise is to due to natural solar fluctuations a new ice age has dawned on the northern hemisphere (keep in mind this was released in 1962, many, many, many years prior to the conception of that piece of tripe that you are comparing it to). This isn't so much about the disaster that it wreaks on the world, but more about the people and how they react to it and one another. This is the sort of book that I would have loved to have studied when I was at university (and even now if I could think of a viable reason other than desire). It is rich in meaning, exploring gender roles, racism, politics, colonization, loyalty, customs, social status and a variety of other themes. I should think that I would ceased to be amazed at the generational gap that is clear and present in novels of this era and the ones that precede it, but I cannot help it. When confronted with a man who is distant and little more than fond of his children I can't help but be amazed at how far feminism has progressed (and I say feminism because allowing men to tap into their emotions is part of my egalitarian ideals). But it is so common that it becomes less of a problem the more you encounter it. It is well written and frustrating, the characters acting in ways that makes you want to beat them over the head with the book itself, which itself means that they are fleshed out enough to make them believable, even if a little old fashioned (well, I was born eighteen years after this was written). Though racism towards Blacks (I am not sure what is politically correct) is not as pronounced these days (I acknowledge that it still exists) it was interesting to see the way in which Christopher portrayed the reversal of fortunes. Racism did present itself but not to the extent in which it perpetuated through the ranks of the Whites. It wasn't even the fact that it was a post-apocalyptic novel that made this enjoyable- it was his portrayal of the world from a liberal point of view way back when. I will be tracking down more of his books.

This stands alongide the same author's "The Death of Grass" among the finest examples of post-apocalyptic fiction. For anyone familiar with the John Wyndham's "cosy catastrophes" this dark depiction of Britain consumed by glacial ice will some as some surprise.Perhaps not as bleak as "The Death of Grass", it still manages to unsettle the reader, with every human frailty exposed. Unlike the Wyndham school, there is no comfortable solution, no return to normality. What has changed is irrevocable.I would recommend this book to anyone who knows Chrsitopher only from the "Tripods" novels, for an insight into why he was once considered the shining hope of British SF.