On the Beach (Unabridged)
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4.2 • 20 Ratings
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- £10.99
Publisher Description
Australia is one of the last places where life still exists after nuclear war starts in the Northern Hemisphere. A year on, an invisible cloak of radiation has spread almost completely around the world.
Darwin is a ghost town, and radiation levels at Ayres Rock are increasing. An American nuclear-powered submarine has found its way to Australia, where its captain has placed the boat under the command of the Australian Navy. Commander Dwight Towers and his Australian liaison officer are sent to the coast of North America to discover whether a stray radio signal originating from near Seattle is a sign of life.
Customer Reviews
Choices made at the end of the day
The theme has the potential to be melodramatic overkill, as the world is smitten by lethal post nuclear radiation. So far only parts of Australia have survived, but soon enough everything will be doomed. But then the 'last gasp' priorities that emerge at every level are described, the choices that are made before before the inevitable death throes - & these are what make the book such compelling reading. There are really fascinating vignettes of the characters in the story, as well as descriptions of how society behaves at the end of the day.
There are thoughts (not too many) on the issue of how warfare can escalate, & you can tell that they are his own.
What a wonderful writer he is.
unputdownable
The narrator james Smillie is a genius. I couldn’t stop listening to this version because of his artistry and subtlety. This was a gripping and moving reading. You won’t hear a better recording.
On the beach
Read the book 12 months ago. It is a stunning piece of work listen to it or read it, a really moving thought provoking piece of work.