Afterlight, New Alex Scarrow Book,

Discussion of books relating to oil, sustainability and everything else talked about here.

Moderator: Peak Moderation

OrraLoon
Posts: 436
Joined: 16 Jun 2007, 15:57
Location: Mittelschottland

Post by OrraLoon »

mikepepler wrote:Just got hold of Afterlight. I re-read Last Light first, as it was a while ago I read it, and am now part way through the sequel...

I really shouldn't read this stuff, it makes me want to put together a "run for the hills" plan B, instead of getting on with making plan A more sustainable...
No, I've never read any of these, but I will try.

Any suggestions for the next in the series -- "Darkest Hour"?
Give me a place to stand on and I will move the Earth.
User avatar
mikepepler
Site Admin
Posts: 3096
Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
Location: Rye, UK
Contact:

Post by mikepepler »

Definitely worth a read. Quite scary, if you see the scenario as even remotely possible.
User avatar
Catweazle
Posts: 3388
Joined: 17 Feb 2008, 12:04
Location: Petite Bourgeois, over the hills

Post by Catweazle »

Do you think that Mad Max type books / scenarios could be scaring people into paralysis ? By which I mean are they making people think that preparations are a waste of time ?
User avatar
RenewableCandy
Posts: 12777
Joined: 12 Sep 2007, 12:13
Location: York

Post by RenewableCandy »

Probably. Then they put it on the back-burner because they can't deal with it. Which is why I haven't read any of it (but I've seen the film "I am Legend" and thought it was rather good).
Soyez réaliste. Demandez l'impossible.
Stories
The Price of Time
User avatar
mikepepler
Site Admin
Posts: 3096
Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
Location: Rye, UK
Contact:

Post by mikepepler »

Depends on your personality. It scares me into making plans in the moments I take it seriously, though some of the time I think it could never get that bad. I'm not 100" sure of that though.
User avatar
mikepepler
Site Admin
Posts: 3096
Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
Location: Rye, UK
Contact:

Post by mikepepler »

Finished reading it now, a great book. At least the ending is positive (though the prologue give that away to soem extent), though it's certainly not a happy story!
User avatar
Ludwig
Posts: 3849
Joined: 08 Jul 2008, 00:31
Location: Cambridgeshire

Post by Ludwig »

I would never read a doomer novel about PO. I think to read that kind of thing, you have to believe it's not really going to happen. I think we're screwed, and that society is likely to collapse a lot sooner than most people, even among the PO aware, think.

Why anyone would want to read doomer novels for "pleasure" is beyond me, when we're going to have the real thing to enjoy soon enough.
"We're just waiting, looking skyward as the days go down / Someone promised there'd be answers if we stayed around."
User avatar
mikepepler
Site Admin
Posts: 3096
Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
Location: Rye, UK
Contact:

Post by mikepepler »

Ludwig wrote:I would never read a doomer novel about PO. I think to read that kind of thing, you have to believe it's not really going to happen. I think we're screwed, and that society is likely to collapse a lot sooner than most people, even among the PO aware, think.

Why anyone would want to read doomer novels for "pleasure" is beyond me, when we're going to have the real thing to enjoy soon enough.
Maybe it's a bit like rides at amusement parks, which people go on to get scared in safety? The only difference is this one could be real to some degree one day.

For me, it helps/makes me think things through. When making a decision I tend to test the boundaries, considering possibilities that are quite way out, before settling on something more middle-of-the-road, so for me reading a book like this is just part of that.

I honestly don't know if a fast crash will really happen. It's enough of a risk that I think God every time I get back home from a day trip to London for work without the power going off while I'm there, but not enough of a risk that I stop going there... I guess I might reconsider this if things run downhill a bit though!
User avatar
adam2
Site Admin
Posts: 10893
Joined: 02 Jul 2007, 17:49
Location: North Somerset, twinned with Atlantis

Post by adam2 »

Highly recomended, best read after "Last Light" though could be read as a stand alone book.

Not that scary to those already a bit doomerish, but might frighten some people, esp those that have excessive faith in TPTB to sort things out and protect us from disaster.

I am intrigued by the name of one of the baddies "Latoc", was this just a random name picked by the author, or is it a subtle joke ?
Doomerish webite Life After The Oil Crash, often refered to as latoc.
Last edited by adam2 on 17 Aug 2010, 19:08, edited 1 time in total.
"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"
User avatar
mikepepler
Site Admin
Posts: 3096
Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
Location: Rye, UK
Contact:

Post by mikepepler »

adam2 wrote:I am intrigued by the name of one of the baddies "Latoc", was this just a random name picked by the author, or is it a suble joke ?
I asked Alex, the name was an intentional reference for the LATOC website.
User avatar
adam2
Site Admin
Posts: 10893
Joined: 02 Jul 2007, 17:49
Location: North Somerset, twinned with Atlantis

Post by adam2 »

mikepepler wrote:
adam2 wrote:I am intrigued by the name of one of the baddies "Latoc", was this just a random name picked by the author, or is it a subtle joke ?
I asked Alex, the name was an intentional reference for the LATOC website.
Interesting, thanks.
"Installers and owners of emergency diesels must assume that they will have to run for a week or more"
User avatar
jonny2mad
Posts: 2452
Joined: 24 Nov 2005, 11:09
Location: weston super mare

Post by jonny2mad »

well actually latoc might be a name a baddy interested in peak oil might assume :shock: I suppose its better than mr dieoff.org or mr olduvai I presume :D
"What causes more suffering in the world than the stupidity of the compassionate?"Friedrich Nietzsche

optimism is cowardice oswald spengler
User avatar
nexus
Posts: 1305
Joined: 16 May 2009, 22:57

Post by nexus »

Just borrowed this book, which was on prominent display in the library. I noticed the Latoc name and thought it must be an in joke, so I check on here to see what others thought and accidentally find out he's a baddie!!! :wink:
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Frederick Douglass
Post Reply