Library of America: On the Long Tomorrow - Nicola Griffith

"The opening of The Long Tomorrow reads like a King James Bible for the American myth: sure, rhythmic, and implacable. Brackett sets up her major theme in the first sentence: knowledge is sin, and fourteen-year-old Len Colter is about to take the step that will lead to his loss of Eden. This is the theme of the Bildungsroman: loss of innocence, change, and the journey from safety into the unknown in pursuit of knowledge. But because Brackett's ambition was huge, she chose for her setting a post-nuclear Ruined Earth. She aimed for no less than the first serious science fiction novel of character. In mid-century North America, I doubt there was any writer better equipped for the challenge." 3.5 out of 5 http://www.loa.org/sciencefiction/appreciation/griffith.jsp