Alas, Babylon

By: Pat Frank

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

This true modern masterpiece is built around the two fateful words that make up the title and herald the end - “Alas, Babylon.” When a nuclear holocaust ravages the United States, a thousand years of civilization are stripped away overnight, and tens of millions of people are killed instantly.

But for one small town in Florida, miraculously spared, the struggle is just beginning, as men and women of all backgrounds join together to confront the darkness. Will Patton's narration paints this classic tale as an ominous picture of the terrible possibilites of the nuclear age.

©1959 Harry Hart Frank (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Fiction, 2012

"An enthralling and vivid story of the follies and failures of people, their courage and cruelty, their treachery and triumphs. Mr. Frank is a magnificent writer." ( Chicago Sunday Tribune)

"A warm, continuously interesting story of what can happen to a group of ordinary people in a perilous situation." ( New York Herald Tribune)

“Will Patton is a calm and steady narrator whose quiet intensity wraps around this post-apocalyptic saga...He reflects the tones of deference of women to men, nonwhites to whites, and children to adults. In a conversational tone, he quietly brings the characters and their relationships to life.” ( AudioFile)

Intriguing and absorbing listen

Yet another book I would have missed but for the Daily Deal. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The premise is frightening and all too believable, and the author treats it with seriousness and thought. In the second part of the book, the dialogue and descriptions veer toward the Wild West, but it's not bad, just cliched.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the women are such cardboard characters that it becomes funny. Hey, women can do stuff! They can, uh, sew! Make breakfast! Organize a household! And there must be something else they can do . . . uh, no, can't come up with anything else. Did I mention they make a damned good cup of coffee? It's so retro that it's amusing, not irritating. I know it's 1959, but even considering that, it's unusually pathetic. Perhaps the author didn't know many women.

Anyway, it's definitely worth a listen. It's a plausible view of WWIII and its aftermath. It would be interesting paired with James Howard Kunstler's The World Made By Hand and The Witch of Hebron, recent imaginings of the life of a small town after the breakdown of the U.S. political system and the disappearance of oil and electricity. I read both of these and can't comment on the audio editions, but I recommend both books.

Babylon has fallen, and she is getting up!

Where does Alas, Babylon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is hard for me to rank any book, but I definitely would rate this as one near the top of my list. While it was written years ago, the reactions of the characters still are valid for our times, provoking thought and introspection. But what really made it enjoyable was the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed watching the growth of the main characters juxtaposed with the descent into base animalistic living of others.

Which character – as performed by Will Patton – was your favorite?

I can't single out one character, but rather want to say Patton has one of the most pleasant, engaging voices of all the narrators I have listened too. I will be looking for other books just to hear his presentation.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the little girl discovered the hidden room, and music came back into their lives, was one of my favoirte moments. She became the hero she wanted to be just by being curious little girl.

Any additional comments?

This book also struck a chord for me as I grew up near Omaha and the other bases and missile silos in the area. The reality of living near a definite target area helped me begin to fight the fog of addiction and draw closer to a Higher Power, which eventually became God.

Classic that still sounds current!

Alas, Babylon wasn’t the first post-apocalyptic novel (it was originally published in 1959), but it is a quick beautiful read that still has relevance today. Will Patton does a great job narrating – he sounds smooth like a song but sad like he knows the bombs have destroyed most of America. Patton clearly knows how to feel apocalypse, he was in the movie Armageddon and he currently stars in the alien-apocalypse TV series Falling Skies. Some novels seem racist, sexist, simple, or just poorly written as time plods on but Alas, Babylon maintains its original power. It is a read-in-highschool novel, as it should be. For those of us who didn’t get to this one in school, the audiobook clocks in at just over 11 hours.

Wow

I never thought a book written in 1959 could be so relevant today. Stunning was the commentary about the purchase of political seats. I feel every Supreme Court justice could benefit from reading, or re-reading this book. Excellent narrator.

Chilling

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

The reason is because the author did such an amazing job with this work, that I actually noticed my body tense up after certain sections. It is an amazing book... Scary - but amazing.

Any additional comments?

I have not finished this book yet. Most of it - Yes. I got so wound up in it that needed to take a bit of a rest. I am looking forward to the continuing.

This revue is more so about the mental and emotional impact this topic
(when presented correctly) can have.

Worth the Money - (Shiver)

Mediocre

Will Patton's usually exceptional performance could not save this drab and unexciting story. It's not horrible but it's far from good.

Great Listening

Alas, Babylon. Will Patton makes you think you are in Florida in the 60's after Russia has attacked the US. As a baby boomer, this book brought back many memories of the Cold War. Mr. Patton's gives a wonderful voice to the times - the apocalyptic times seem very real.

Aging well . . .

While dated in some respects, if seen as the "period piece" that it essentially is, it holds up well. Much more enjoyable than the "mainstream" sci-fi that has been recommended to me.

As I was explaining to a colleague: the book leads you into thoughts of how you would cope with such calamities, which makes for interesting thoughts that last well beyond the reading of the book.

This book is fantastic!

I loved this book. Will Patton is a fantastic narrator. Sad when it was done.

You will enjoy this one

I enjoyed this book very much. The narrator did a great job and the story was well told. I can see why this book is on so many reading lists for high school literature classes. This is a modern classic, that is for sure.