The Purple Cloud M P Shiel 9781374898530 Books
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The Purple Cloud M P Shiel 9781374898530 Books
This is the first novel that I picked up by M.P Shiel as I've only begun to read Victorian prose/ sci-fi. This novel is a sci-fi oriented, post apocalyptic monologue of the protagonist Adam. The sort of main motif of the narrative stems from the biblical reference of Adam and Eve through a more contemporary way. The travels of Adam, the meaning of society, humanity and procreation are all the structural concepts constructing its foundations. Some might find the book a little excessive with all the information dump, but I think it is interesting if we read the novel with the written time frame in mind. In some ways, it can be experimental but there is a point to all the madness. Overall, great read, and a great contemporary interpretation to the archaic Adam and Eve saga.Product details
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Tags : The Purple Cloud [M. P. Shiel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America,M. P. Shiel,The Purple Cloud,Pinnacle Press,1374898538,Travel General
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The Purple Cloud M P Shiel 9781374898530 Books Reviews
This old classic has its moments. I had heard about this novel for many years but always managed to skip reading it. I can see why it was so influential on so many authors who wrote apocalyptic fiction.
The beginning of this book began fairly well with an expedition to the North Pole. Only after reaching the North Pole did everything change. On the way back Adam finds that everybody is dead, no matter where he goes in the whole world, he is the last man alive. Then begins the middle part of the story. Honestly this is the most tedious and patience trying portion of the book. His going about the towns looking for survivors or naming all the type of ships he comes across on the ocean, is stifling almost robotic. I about jumped for joy when he started to lose his mind and begin burning cities around the world starting with London, for at least it began to pick up once again. The story begins to really get interesting when after burning Constantinople he comes across a young woman. The rest of the story is dedicated to their lives together or not together but together, until the end where what is fated to happen happens.
I feel the author captured the human spirit very well in his characters. Man so violent, and at times whimsical, and Leda cautious, with always a plan about her for she knows what God intends for her. I also think that man alone is a terrible torture to oneself for we are a social creature and the author portrays that very well.
This is one of the first Science Fiction books that gave me an interest in Sci Fi/ Fantasy books. I've reread it at least 3-4 times in the past 40 years. It's an 'end-of-World' type of book with just several survivors who travel the world and enjoy the best things that our old Earth had provided for the Human Race. I'm sure that anybody who is interested in this genre will also love this book, it is a great read
The book is an interesting example of modern apocalyptic literature. Some of the images of a dead world are truly gruesome. (Walking Dead fans will appreciate them.)
My problem is that I just did not like the main character. Mostly he is a jerk. He is somewhat redeemed in the end however.
I had trouble with this book at first. If it were printed today, it would be a very fat book. It's printed with a tiny font [most editions] and written in very formal English. It reminded me of Jules Verne. It should be on every science fiction fans list of read books.
The story is basically post-apocalyptic, with spiritual undertones. No zombies or roving bands of starving people, more psychological. The main character is tormented, inventive, destructive - engaging.
I really enjoyed the premise of the book, but sometimes the details were "too detailed." Instead of being a helpful description that paints a picture, the details in some parts tend to bog down the narrative. However, the author does do a good job of keeping you guessing how the story will end; though, it ended a little too quickly for my taste.
It's an experiment that can never be performed, but it's worth thought anyway how would a man act if there were no one to answer to? Adam Jeffson is that man, and this is his world.
Back in 1901, when this was written, parts of the earth's surface remained unmapped, including the north pole. Jeffson is part of the expedition to reach that pole - as sole survivor, he finds it (an actual upright pole, it turns out), and struggles back to civilzation to claim his reward. No one is left to give it, though. During the months of his trek, catastrophic volcanoes unleashed poisonous gasses that cover the world, killing off every bird, beast, and man, except for him alone. At first, he scours the globe in search of other survivors. After years of solitary confinement in the world-wide jail, his civilized spirit fails. He turns to the decadence of drugs and pointless wealth. Decadence turns to active nihilism, a self-declared mission of arson and destruction, a modern Nero who blasts and burns entire cities for his own amusement. Then ... well, I'll try to avoid spoilers, but his name is Adam and 1901 was not an era that tolerated wholly unhappy endings.
Just reading history books won't tell you how nervous that era was. Political tremors were building up to the quake that triggered the first world war. Medicine hadn't made the inroads against disease that modern generations assume, as the 1918 Spanish flu would soon show. The earth itself could turn against mankind, as the 1883 explosion of Krakatoa had shown. Sheil captured that sense of fragility, and his words preserve that sense for today's reader.
This book also preserves the style of writing that prevailed back then, something that might be even less familiar today. Think of the effort that moviemakers put into the special effects of today's media, then realize that writing was that era's medium. The pyrotechnics are all there, but in the florid vocabulary of the writing.
The story is a fair one, and could work well if recast as a modern adventure movie. More than that, though, "The Purple Cloud" records the fears, the values, and the literary style at the turn of the last century. It succeeds at many levels.
-- wiredweird
This is the first novel that I picked up by M.P Shiel as I've only begun to read Victorian prose/ sci-fi. This novel is a sci-fi oriented, post apocalyptic monologue of the protagonist Adam. The sort of main motif of the narrative stems from the biblical reference of Adam and Eve through a more contemporary way. The travels of Adam, the meaning of society, humanity and procreation are all the structural concepts constructing its foundations. Some might find the book a little excessive with all the information dump, but I think it is interesting if we read the novel with the written time frame in mind. In some ways, it can be experimental but there is a point to all the madness. Overall, great read, and a great contemporary interpretation to the archaic Adam and Eve saga.
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