Mixed Pickles - the Book log 2012

Not a good representation of the contents

The Ragged Edge...
was the US title of  John Christopher catastrophe-survivors novel.  As with "The Death of Grass", Christopher telescopes time to show us the descent into feudalism and lawlessness that follows a natural disaster, in this case world-wide seismic activity.

It might be possible to suggest that earthquakes of the magnitude Christopher describes would cause much more damage, and that the effects would not be a few mere aftershocks, but instead a continuous upheaval that ensured that no life survived, but at the end of it all the science doesn't matter.  What counts is his depiction of people at the ragged edge of civilisation, some of them intent on making a niche for themselves as rulers of new micro-kingdoms, some intent on create a more harmonious communal existence.

This was one of the first "science fiction" books I ever read and, of course, it isn't "science fiction" at all, but a story of people under extreme conditions.  And forty five years after that first reading, I still remember vividly so many of the scenes and incidents;  a tribute to John Christopher's writing powers.

Unputdownability : desperate for the hero's salvation, but afraid to turn the page in case something nasty happens.