Limbo

by Bernard Wolfe

Book Overview

In the aftermath of an atomic war, a new international movement of pacifism has arisen. Multitudes of young men have chosen to curb their aggressive instincts through voluntary amputation -... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B001B2S54Y
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: Ace Books, Inc.
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Little Known & One Of Science-Fiction's Best

David Pringle's 100 Best Science-Fiction Novels is a decent resource and shopping list for well-read SF fans. I was rounding out my classic post-apocalyptic & distopian future books part of the list (i.e. 1984, Brave New World, We, Canticle For Leibowitz, etc.) when I came across Limbo. The fact that I'd never heard of Limbo or it's author, Bernard Wolfe, and that it was, apparently, the only SF novel he ever wrote, intrigued me. I wasn't disappointed.This is a wonderful 50's era cautionary tale, Swiftian in many ways, all dressed up as science fiction. Wolfe writes quite well and with a depth not encountered in much of SF. It makes for a great read not to mention a great recommendation to friends because it is so little known. Though the book seems quaintly dated at some points, the various themes all regard fundamental questions of the human condition that are timeless and universal. It is essentially a commentary on Cold War era America through the device of future projection. In the spirit of great satire, Wolfe extrapolates an extreme and ludicrous version of the present moment and places it far into the future. The statement is simple: This is what we're going to be like if we keep going this way. It's all there - WWIII, nuclear devastation, rebuilding what's left with the few that are left, but here's the kicker: since we obviously will never learn to control ourselves and to prevent future destruction, everyone will lay down their arms and legs, literally, via amputation, and replace them with nuclear powered, auto-controlled limbs. Absolutely absurd and that's precisely the point.I don't want to give away any more specifics. I'm sure you can find more elsewhere if you need to. As far as SF goes, I'm a pretty harsh critic. To this day Limbo remains one of my favorites, and IMO, may be the best American contribution to the distopian novel genre. It's a great ride that'll have you aching for your own brand new set of nuclear powered limbs by the end.

A future that could have been.

This novel of a post-apocalyptic world seemed very real to me when I first read it in 1966 as a junior in high school. I had read 1984 a year earlier and this book had a realism of a nightmare future in ways more compelling than Orwell's. Set in the mid 1970's the story tells the adventures of one man who leaves his solitude on an Indian Ocean island and travels to what's left of the United States. Bernard Wolf's characters and themes in this book are delightfully twisted and filled with a macabre humor. I only read this book once, but it has haunted the back of my mind all these years. Growing up in the thick of the cold war this book was all my nuclear nighmares come true. Please read the book with this perspective and you will not be disappointed!