I had never seen the Kevin Costner movie about the post apocalyptic postman that saved a town by delivering letters because it sounded stupid, but I sure as shit ran down to my closest Blockbuster and rented it the second I finished the last page of this incredible book. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Postman is great, it is more than a story it is an archetype for a genre, it should be a sci-fi standard and required reading for every adult. Our main character, Gordon, was alive during normal times but it has been 20 years since the "Big War" that ended civilization. After being pushed around by a bunch of bandits and having his camp raided, <i>again</i>, he is ready to finally stop being Mr. Nice Guy and start kicking ass and taking names. Gordon is just a lonely traveler, making his way west across the decimated United Sates, on foot. He meets all kinds of characters and eventually finds an old Postman's uniform, so he starts telling people he <i>is</i> a postman and he travels from town to down picking up and delivering letters in exchange for room and board. The author takes the opportunity this setting allows to show us many vignettes of different types of possible societies in this new world, some good and trying to rebuild, others have turned vicious and cruel.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is great fun seeing our Hero (Gordon) fight and talk his way across the Western US with only what he carries and his acting skills (he is also an actor (I know its weird)). It is really cringy though when Brin talks about feminism and where it "goes" in a post apocalypse, I won't get into it but you'll need to be able to forgive some of his old misconceptions and just plain sexiest opinions in places. But all in all, a great novel, some fun ideas, a great story but a horrible movie.
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