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The Great De-evolution #1
The Man Who Watched the World End
The end of man was not signaled by marauding gangs or explosions, but with silence. People simply grew older knowing a younger generation would not be there to replace them. The final two residents in the neighborhood of Camelot, an old man and his invalid brother, are trapped in their house by forests full of cats and dogs battling with the bears and wolves to eat anything they can find.
As the man struggles to survive, he recounts all the ways society changed as the human population continued to shrink. THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE WORLD END is the haunting account of a man who has witnessed the world fade away. It is also a story about the power of family.
As the man struggles to survive, he recounts all the ways society changed as the human population continued to shrink. THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE WORLD END is the haunting account of a man who has witnessed the world fade away. It is also a story about the power of family.
Audible Audio
First published April 12, 2013
About the author
Chris Dietzel
26 books428 followersChris graduated from Western Maryland College (McDaniel College). He currently lives in Florida. His dream is to write the same kind of stories that have inspired him over the years.
Sign up for his mailing list to receive updates on future projects and some neat freebies: http://chrisdietzel.com/mailing_list/
In his free time, Chris volunteers for a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program for feral cats. (If you would like more information on how best to care for abandoned and feral cats in your neighborhood, please check out the Alley Cat Allies website at: http://www.alleycat.org/)
Dietzel is a huge fan of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts (MMA). He trained in BJJ for ten years, earning the rank of brown belt, and went 2-0 in amateur MMA fights before an injury ended his participation in contact sports.
It is incredibly difficult for new authors to gain an audience. If you read one of his books and enjoyed it, please recommend it to anyone else you think may like them.
Sign up for his mailing list to receive updates on future projects and some neat freebies: http://chrisdietzel.com/mailing_list/
In his free time, Chris volunteers for a Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program for feral cats. (If you would like more information on how best to care for abandoned and feral cats in your neighborhood, please check out the Alley Cat Allies website at: http://www.alleycat.org/)
Dietzel is a huge fan of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and mixed martial arts (MMA). He trained in BJJ for ten years, earning the rank of brown belt, and went 2-0 in amateur MMA fights before an injury ended his participation in contact sports.
It is incredibly difficult for new authors to gain an audience. If you read one of his books and enjoyed it, please recommend it to anyone else you think may like them.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews
September 17, 2013
Absolutely enthralling
I just couldn't put this book down, the whole book is wonderfully written, a departure from the explosions and genocide usually portrayed in the dystopian genre, similar to the road by Cormac McCarthy I think it captures that extreme sense of despair but also resignation to ones fate. The main themes also really spoke to me as my parents have always stressed to me the importance of family and how life is finite. We live in a world finely balanced, where countries constantly vie for power and individuals seek this or that personal achievement, but when the end is nigh it is startling to see how little of it matters.
The human race has always been fascinated by their existence and this story provides yet another interesting answer to how our existence will end, "with silence"
I want to delve into two other subjects that interested me deeply while I read the book, one being euthanasia and the other war. In reality Euthanasia is the last resort for those suffering from incomprehensible amounts of pain. It has always been seen as the lesser of two evils, as the bliss of death is seen as the only respite from the uninterrupted agony of life. In the case of the blocks however they aren't capable of suffering (they are in a vegetative state, which usually makes euthanasia the preferred option), their situation is a little bit more complex as they are the last of the humans, in every other case prior to the De-evolution 'life would go on' but killing a block was actually taking an active role in wiping out humanity.
War has become obsolete as people realise there would not be enough people to replace the fallen or populate conquered lands, I can't start to comprehend the logistics of war but it is common knowledge that an obscene number of lives are lost and being that life is now a cost no one can afford, war is finally not on the human agenda. Although in the story the idea of an international state of peace is hinted at he doesn't use such a word as peace because it isn't actually peace but a type of mutually assured destruction because everyone in the whole world knows that they have it all to lose in any violent encounters. And so people instead spend their time not destroying others but getting closer to each other.
(I may improve this review if I have time...theres just so much to read, I'm sorry if some of my ideas aren't fully formed I'm not a pro writer :D )
I just couldn't put this book down, the whole book is wonderfully written, a departure from the explosions and genocide usually portrayed in the dystopian genre, similar to the road by Cormac McCarthy I think it captures that extreme sense of despair but also resignation to ones fate. The main themes also really spoke to me as my parents have always stressed to me the importance of family and how life is finite. We live in a world finely balanced, where countries constantly vie for power and individuals seek this or that personal achievement, but when the end is nigh it is startling to see how little of it matters.
The human race has always been fascinated by their existence and this story provides yet another interesting answer to how our existence will end, "with silence"
I want to delve into two other subjects that interested me deeply while I read the book, one being euthanasia and the other war. In reality Euthanasia is the last resort for those suffering from incomprehensible amounts of pain. It has always been seen as the lesser of two evils, as the bliss of death is seen as the only respite from the uninterrupted agony of life. In the case of the blocks however they aren't capable of suffering (they are in a vegetative state, which usually makes euthanasia the preferred option), their situation is a little bit more complex as they are the last of the humans, in every other case prior to the De-evolution 'life would go on' but killing a block was actually taking an active role in wiping out humanity.
War has become obsolete as people realise there would not be enough people to replace the fallen or populate conquered lands, I can't start to comprehend the logistics of war but it is common knowledge that an obscene number of lives are lost and being that life is now a cost no one can afford, war is finally not on the human agenda. Although in the story the idea of an international state of peace is hinted at he doesn't use such a word as peace because it isn't actually peace but a type of mutually assured destruction because everyone in the whole world knows that they have it all to lose in any violent encounters. And so people instead spend their time not destroying others but getting closer to each other.
(I may improve this review if I have time...theres just so much to read, I'm sorry if some of my ideas aren't fully formed I'm not a pro writer :D )
September 25, 2013
(This review was originally posted at TNBBC's The Next Best Book Blog. Thanks muchly to Lori for providing me both the digital version of this book and the opportunity to be among her guest reviewers.)
If you're looking for a breezy, feel-good tale, The Man Who Watched the World End is probably not for you, nor will it be your kind of novel if you prefer endings that are neatly packaged with bright, optimistic bows that herald the joys awaiting a story's characters beyond the last page; however, if you like your fiction to be character-driven and insightful even as it teeters on the brink of society's obsolescence, then Chris Dietzel has written the book for you.
The novel begins as humanity's reign is ending. The children comprising mankind's final generation are alive only in the biological sense. They grow older but are human marionettes: silent, immobile, helpless to care for themselves, kept alive by the loving kin or kindhearted strangers upon whom they are wholly dependent. Decades later, these Blocks (so named "because it was as if their condition obstructed them from the world") and their siblings are the last proof of man's existence, reduced to pockets of senior citizens cohabiting in group settlements (though, if our narrator is indicative of the outliers, a handful are watching their and society's clocks run down in the familiar imprisonment of crumbling homes in derelict neighborhoods) as nature reclaims all that the elderly remnants of a once thriving species no longer have the youthful vigor to defend.
We see very little of this, as the reader's glimpse into the quieting world is a three-month period captured within one lonely old man's lovingly, diligently maintained diary. It is through the eyes of this man -- who, along with his Block brother, is the last human occupant of the otherwise abandoned and symbolically named neighborhood of Camelot -- that the audience bears witness to the conclusion of our earthly chapter. Since the world is ending not with a bang, not even with a whimper but a slow exhalation, there really isn't a whole lot to see other than one man's daily ritual of tending to the brother for whom his love becomes increasingly unyielding, hoping for a southward ride from a passing convoy on its way to one of the communal-living sites, and watching the local flora and fauna take back what man has only temporarily claimed. But this is not a story of man vs. nature, man vs. self or even man vs. improbable odds: It is, simply, an account of one man's life that turns flashbacks into a supporting cast and exposition into thoughtful narration.
The elderly gentleman tasked with narrating the end of society as he witnesses it carries the story almost entirely on his own: his brother is in a waking coma, his last remaining neighbors fled right before the novel's beginning, and the animals surrounding his house are more interested in his future carcass than his breathing companionship -- including the wild dogs and feral cats born of domestic pets so many litters ago. All he has are his memories, which are equally parts familiar and tinged with a foreign sorrow, as he was among the last wave of normally functioning children and grew up knowing that most babies born after him, like his brother, would never be shaken from their unresponsive silences.
As he reveals more of his past self and present worries, he paints a picture of a bygone era that is just recognizable enough to be eerie: His memories are just like any of ours, composites of his internal and external memories with a few of his parents' own that have stuck with him over the years, but interspersed with the sense that doors previously unknown to mankind were suddenly slamming shut forever as he and the rapidly diminishing number of "normal" children became the last to tackle the once-joyous milestones of growing up.
It is in showcasing such memories that Dietzel's attention to detail may shine the brightest, as the far-reaching impact of a species poignantly aware that it has no future was something he obviously (and successfully) considered from all sides. From baby items suddenly becoming a defunct business to the government finally summoning the foresight to ensure the last hiccup of humanity will at least be provided for in what should have been its grandchild-rich golden years, the international ripple effect of newborns lacking discernible brain functions is terrifying in both its implications and the ways in which Dietzel summarily dismantled familiar infrastructure. The secondhand glimpses of a world that has seen the last Hollywood film, the final World Series, the disbanding of governments, the emotional ramifications of tracking the youngest "normal" person, and the annihilation of the hope that keeps us moving forward are hard to watch even as past events, but Dietzel writes so matter-of-factly and compellingly that each memory becomes the ultimate example of how our very human curiosity forces us to ogle unfolding tragedy.
There are a few weak spots in what is an otherwise impressive debut novel. The greengrocer's apostrophe -- my sworn enemy -- popped in to say hullo a few times ("Dalmatians and Rottweiler's united"; "if the Johnson's just now decided...") and there were a few homophone issues, like "feint breaths," "slightly older then myself" and "faired better," that drove me a little batty. Less frequent were simple editing issues, such as "the last four decades years" and "He couldn't help but be letdown." Aside from a comparatively few lapses in mechanics, the biggest problem I had with the story itself was the government's Survival Bill, which "provided the last generation of functioning adults with resources to take care of themselves and their Block relatives." As a reader, it sometimes seemed like an easy way to sidestep the survival issues a vulnerable society would face in a more brutally overt end-world scenario; as a writer, though, I understood that tacking on the additional responsibility of a people left to fend for themselves without food, electricity and a reliable internet connection in increasingly hostile terrain would only detract from story Dietzel wanted to tell.
But for every one pitfall, The Man Who Watched the World End had a dozen more successes. It shows an incredible awareness of the human condition, of how loneliness and constant reminders of our fading presence in a world we once lorded over can affect everything from a single man to an entire desperate, dying species. The metaphors were resoundingly spot-on: I couldn't help but read the Block phenomenon as a cautionary tale foretelling the long-term dangers of what happens when children of Helicopter Parents grow up without any idea of how to function outside their protective bubbles, and having the narrator reside in Camelot -- a name nearly synonymous with so much promise and so much lost -- was a subtle yet effective touch.
The Man Who Watched the World End is a tribute to humanity's prodigious knack for optimistic denial and its inability to believe that its end is not only possible but also inevitable. It is fraught with hopefulness and helplessness, a celebration of how the past and present can be powerful motivators in the absence of a future, and a touching example of how the strength of family in all its incarnations can often be enough to keep an individual going against the harshest of odds.
If you're looking for a breezy, feel-good tale, The Man Who Watched the World End is probably not for you, nor will it be your kind of novel if you prefer endings that are neatly packaged with bright, optimistic bows that herald the joys awaiting a story's characters beyond the last page; however, if you like your fiction to be character-driven and insightful even as it teeters on the brink of society's obsolescence, then Chris Dietzel has written the book for you.
The novel begins as humanity's reign is ending. The children comprising mankind's final generation are alive only in the biological sense. They grow older but are human marionettes: silent, immobile, helpless to care for themselves, kept alive by the loving kin or kindhearted strangers upon whom they are wholly dependent. Decades later, these Blocks (so named "because it was as if their condition obstructed them from the world") and their siblings are the last proof of man's existence, reduced to pockets of senior citizens cohabiting in group settlements (though, if our narrator is indicative of the outliers, a handful are watching their and society's clocks run down in the familiar imprisonment of crumbling homes in derelict neighborhoods) as nature reclaims all that the elderly remnants of a once thriving species no longer have the youthful vigor to defend.
We see very little of this, as the reader's glimpse into the quieting world is a three-month period captured within one lonely old man's lovingly, diligently maintained diary. It is through the eyes of this man -- who, along with his Block brother, is the last human occupant of the otherwise abandoned and symbolically named neighborhood of Camelot -- that the audience bears witness to the conclusion of our earthly chapter. Since the world is ending not with a bang, not even with a whimper but a slow exhalation, there really isn't a whole lot to see other than one man's daily ritual of tending to the brother for whom his love becomes increasingly unyielding, hoping for a southward ride from a passing convoy on its way to one of the communal-living sites, and watching the local flora and fauna take back what man has only temporarily claimed. But this is not a story of man vs. nature, man vs. self or even man vs. improbable odds: It is, simply, an account of one man's life that turns flashbacks into a supporting cast and exposition into thoughtful narration.
The elderly gentleman tasked with narrating the end of society as he witnesses it carries the story almost entirely on his own: his brother is in a waking coma, his last remaining neighbors fled right before the novel's beginning, and the animals surrounding his house are more interested in his future carcass than his breathing companionship -- including the wild dogs and feral cats born of domestic pets so many litters ago. All he has are his memories, which are equally parts familiar and tinged with a foreign sorrow, as he was among the last wave of normally functioning children and grew up knowing that most babies born after him, like his brother, would never be shaken from their unresponsive silences.
As he reveals more of his past self and present worries, he paints a picture of a bygone era that is just recognizable enough to be eerie: His memories are just like any of ours, composites of his internal and external memories with a few of his parents' own that have stuck with him over the years, but interspersed with the sense that doors previously unknown to mankind were suddenly slamming shut forever as he and the rapidly diminishing number of "normal" children became the last to tackle the once-joyous milestones of growing up.
It is in showcasing such memories that Dietzel's attention to detail may shine the brightest, as the far-reaching impact of a species poignantly aware that it has no future was something he obviously (and successfully) considered from all sides. From baby items suddenly becoming a defunct business to the government finally summoning the foresight to ensure the last hiccup of humanity will at least be provided for in what should have been its grandchild-rich golden years, the international ripple effect of newborns lacking discernible brain functions is terrifying in both its implications and the ways in which Dietzel summarily dismantled familiar infrastructure. The secondhand glimpses of a world that has seen the last Hollywood film, the final World Series, the disbanding of governments, the emotional ramifications of tracking the youngest "normal" person, and the annihilation of the hope that keeps us moving forward are hard to watch even as past events, but Dietzel writes so matter-of-factly and compellingly that each memory becomes the ultimate example of how our very human curiosity forces us to ogle unfolding tragedy.
There are a few weak spots in what is an otherwise impressive debut novel. The greengrocer's apostrophe -- my sworn enemy -- popped in to say hullo a few times ("Dalmatians and Rottweiler's united"; "if the Johnson's just now decided...") and there were a few homophone issues, like "feint breaths," "slightly older then myself" and "faired better," that drove me a little batty. Less frequent were simple editing issues, such as "the last four decades years" and "He couldn't help but be letdown." Aside from a comparatively few lapses in mechanics, the biggest problem I had with the story itself was the government's Survival Bill, which "provided the last generation of functioning adults with resources to take care of themselves and their Block relatives." As a reader, it sometimes seemed like an easy way to sidestep the survival issues a vulnerable society would face in a more brutally overt end-world scenario; as a writer, though, I understood that tacking on the additional responsibility of a people left to fend for themselves without food, electricity and a reliable internet connection in increasingly hostile terrain would only detract from story Dietzel wanted to tell.
But for every one pitfall, The Man Who Watched the World End had a dozen more successes. It shows an incredible awareness of the human condition, of how loneliness and constant reminders of our fading presence in a world we once lorded over can affect everything from a single man to an entire desperate, dying species. The metaphors were resoundingly spot-on: I couldn't help but read the Block phenomenon as a cautionary tale foretelling the long-term dangers of what happens when children of Helicopter Parents grow up without any idea of how to function outside their protective bubbles, and having the narrator reside in Camelot -- a name nearly synonymous with so much promise and so much lost -- was a subtle yet effective touch.
The Man Who Watched the World End is a tribute to humanity's prodigious knack for optimistic denial and its inability to believe that its end is not only possible but also inevitable. It is fraught with hopefulness and helplessness, a celebration of how the past and present can be powerful motivators in the absence of a future, and a touching example of how the strength of family in all its incarnations can often be enough to keep an individual going against the harshest of odds.
August 6, 2021
I loved this book, and I listened to it as an audiobook. It's not an action packed adventure filled destopian, but extremely powerfull nevertheless. How human kind slowly dies out as every child that's been born in a very long time, is a block. Unable to think or function like those before them. They don't grow up to repudorce or move the world forward and therefore the human kind is slowly dying out and we follow the narrator, an old man that lives with his younger block brother. Such an intense and sometimes beautiful story.
May 25, 2013
THE MAN WHO WATCHED THE WORLD END
Chris Dietzel
One man’s thoughts as remains in his home secluded from the rest of the world except for his brother. Living in a healthy body but not able to express his thoughts, run, laugh, move or ever speak one man would become his caregiver and the other his only hope for survival. Two men each caught up in their own private thoughts, world and waiting for their lives to end. One remembering the world before it all comes to a close and the other just sitting in his chair never really knowing that life passed him by. An earthquake, nuclear war or even a tornado does not mark the end of the world so destructive that it left nothing in its wake. People live longer but the younger generation that is described within the diary or journal of this main character as he nears death, is simply what is left of the only two humans within this community that are still alive. The other inhabitants of the place called Camelot are gone and one old man and his wheelchair bond brother are forced to live in a house that they can no longer leave. Outside within the confines of the forest that faces the outer rim of his house or almost like a private gate of trees that surrounds the perimeter of his old home, animals such as dogs, cats, bears and wolves have staked their territory leaving these two battle worn old men to survive within the walls of what is left of their home. Just trying to empty the garbage can be dangerous is the old man encounters a bear or a wolf hungry for flesh. The last humans or neighbors left two weeks before and the population has vanished due to a strange syndrome that attacked newborn children. Each child born to families when this man was only seven, suffered from a serious brain disease which caused each child to just remain stationary and not able to move, talk, eat, respond or react. They called them Blocks. A large piece of hard or solid material like a rock, stone or wood with a flat surface on each side is the definition of a block. Blocks have no movement that is hard, they are not pliable. Imagine your brain. Imagine the confines of your brain as solid rock. Rocks or blocks cannot react to anything neither can his brother or hundreds of other children born during this time. The result is that populations dwindled, hospitals closed, doctors could not find the cure although they knew the cause and many parents placed these children in homes and some even, hoping for a normal child, had more.
As we learn more about this man and his brother Andrew, we learn about his true feelings about his brother when he was younger, his parent’s reasons for keeping him at home, having him experiencing life like he did and the final outcome that teaches readers, let’s hope young adults and teens the importance of family, love, devotion and what really matters in life. With few material things, his family flourished. As this older man relates to readers the world through his eyes, the conditions he is forced to deal with and his lonely existence, we hear and understand that although Andrew cannot respond and understands nothing, he is the one person that never failed him, left him and his only source of company and reason to live.
Imagine what would happen if the government took action to create a Survival Bill making certain jobs obsolete but giving the remaining population the tools and implements needed to survive for long periods of time. Imagine your home with a built in incinerator, generator, enough food for forever and a food processor that has settings to create whatever you want. Imagine being so self -sufficient that engineers, teachers, electricians were no longer needed and their skills were put to use in any places. Imagine so many people just living their lives hunkered down either in homes that they could not leave because the animals took over their communities or having to live in a bomb shelter in order to stay alive. What would happen if you thought you were the only person left? How does this man manage to survive and stay sane? The Man Who Watched the World End: Just how, why and the end result remains to be seen as the author describes in vivid terms the outer rim of his home, the dilapidated and rundown conditions that can never be repaired, the leaks that come from the roof and the hope that no animal will find its way in to invade him privacy and his life. Imagine living alone, being responsible for another person who is helpless, yet still in every other sense of the word alone. Would you want to survive? Would you want your existence to be limited to reading, watching old movies and writing a daily journal to chronicle how it all went down? What would happen when someone finds it? Will they understand?
Listening to the voice of this 82-year old man we learn more about his true feelings about his younger brother, the responsibility he had to undertake after his parents passed away, the limitations placed on his life and the hope that someday his brother would talk, move or maybe just once there would be a miracle. The story might be able the world fading away and the fact that he has no idea if anyone else is alive or where they might be but it is about family, responsibility, loyalty, love and faith.
Remembering the past and then flashing to the present the author presents two worlds in which this man lived: one filled with hope, with family, with friends and love. The second: despair, endless quiet, snakes, bugs, vermin, infections, lack of communication with the outside world although his computer provided him so knowledge of where others might be living but that could change so fast at times he did not even bother to find out. Would he leave Camelot? Camelot: A place when pictured within your mind would be associated with glittering romance, optimism, and great happiness. The opposite of which would be a fool’s paradise or a dystopia. Imagine living in a beautiful home, the outside is filled with greenery, the air is fresh, the scene is colorful and the flowers create a perfume scent within your garden. Imagine the smell of rotting leaves, dead animals, weeds, moldy air, musty odors and brown everywhere. Close your eyes: Which world would you want to live in? Think about where this man is and wonder: why did he stay? Living in a house where everything was burned out, enslaved on your own because the outside world is too dangerous, the smell of fire is everywhere. De-evolution is what he calls it. Nothing changes, no hope for the future, nothing will grow, the world will just disappear as it had for many years when the Blocks were the only children born and the need for more services gone and the world you might say turning from colors to grey and then black. But, lighting a fire outside what his therapy you might say hoping that someone would see it and find him or her. The cruelty of some people and their treatment of those that are helpless are no different in some respects as today. When someone is different and people do not understand or want to take responsibility for someone who is disabled or needs care often the alternative is what you will learn when you read what some people did to so many Blocks and the end result for others.
Could you survive in a world filled with decay, wild animals, no source of company and knowing that the rest of your community or others lacked someone like Andrew had that showed some type of compassion and understanding. Even the prisons were abandoned, the prisoners provided with whatever they needed to become self-sufficient on their own. Some even escaped and infiltrated the general population. As you learn what happens to the two Block Sisters that lived next door you wonder what has become of the human race. Was it a touch of humanity, cruelty or indifference that caused people to end the lives of others that could not defend themselves in such a gruesome way? So, why does this man feel guilty? Why does he feel it’s his job to give so many just a drop of dignity?
As the ending of his journal and writings come to a close you begin to realize that some of his thoughts might be realities that he created in order stay sane. Inventing friends, situations, to protecting Andrew and sharing his every thought this book gives readers much pause for thought. What would happen if this were your reality? What would happen if you had to care for someone like Andrew?
An ending quite powerful and the final outcome you have to decide for yourself. What would happen if you watched the world coming to an end? Read the diary shared by our narrator and realize that this is a true wakeup call to everyone. Luxuries are great, food, water, shelter is necessities but family loyalty, and the bonds we have with those we love are memories that will never fade. Camelot: Not the most precious place for these two to live out their lives but it them it was everything. One story told by our 82 year old narrator that will keep you glued to the printed page hoping and praying for a miracle. What happens you decide? Was he right to remain while others left? One powerful novel with many unanswered questions.
Fran Lewis: Reviewer
Chris Dietzel
One man’s thoughts as remains in his home secluded from the rest of the world except for his brother. Living in a healthy body but not able to express his thoughts, run, laugh, move or ever speak one man would become his caregiver and the other his only hope for survival. Two men each caught up in their own private thoughts, world and waiting for their lives to end. One remembering the world before it all comes to a close and the other just sitting in his chair never really knowing that life passed him by. An earthquake, nuclear war or even a tornado does not mark the end of the world so destructive that it left nothing in its wake. People live longer but the younger generation that is described within the diary or journal of this main character as he nears death, is simply what is left of the only two humans within this community that are still alive. The other inhabitants of the place called Camelot are gone and one old man and his wheelchair bond brother are forced to live in a house that they can no longer leave. Outside within the confines of the forest that faces the outer rim of his house or almost like a private gate of trees that surrounds the perimeter of his old home, animals such as dogs, cats, bears and wolves have staked their territory leaving these two battle worn old men to survive within the walls of what is left of their home. Just trying to empty the garbage can be dangerous is the old man encounters a bear or a wolf hungry for flesh. The last humans or neighbors left two weeks before and the population has vanished due to a strange syndrome that attacked newborn children. Each child born to families when this man was only seven, suffered from a serious brain disease which caused each child to just remain stationary and not able to move, talk, eat, respond or react. They called them Blocks. A large piece of hard or solid material like a rock, stone or wood with a flat surface on each side is the definition of a block. Blocks have no movement that is hard, they are not pliable. Imagine your brain. Imagine the confines of your brain as solid rock. Rocks or blocks cannot react to anything neither can his brother or hundreds of other children born during this time. The result is that populations dwindled, hospitals closed, doctors could not find the cure although they knew the cause and many parents placed these children in homes and some even, hoping for a normal child, had more.
As we learn more about this man and his brother Andrew, we learn about his true feelings about his brother when he was younger, his parent’s reasons for keeping him at home, having him experiencing life like he did and the final outcome that teaches readers, let’s hope young adults and teens the importance of family, love, devotion and what really matters in life. With few material things, his family flourished. As this older man relates to readers the world through his eyes, the conditions he is forced to deal with and his lonely existence, we hear and understand that although Andrew cannot respond and understands nothing, he is the one person that never failed him, left him and his only source of company and reason to live.
Imagine what would happen if the government took action to create a Survival Bill making certain jobs obsolete but giving the remaining population the tools and implements needed to survive for long periods of time. Imagine your home with a built in incinerator, generator, enough food for forever and a food processor that has settings to create whatever you want. Imagine being so self -sufficient that engineers, teachers, electricians were no longer needed and their skills were put to use in any places. Imagine so many people just living their lives hunkered down either in homes that they could not leave because the animals took over their communities or having to live in a bomb shelter in order to stay alive. What would happen if you thought you were the only person left? How does this man manage to survive and stay sane? The Man Who Watched the World End: Just how, why and the end result remains to be seen as the author describes in vivid terms the outer rim of his home, the dilapidated and rundown conditions that can never be repaired, the leaks that come from the roof and the hope that no animal will find its way in to invade him privacy and his life. Imagine living alone, being responsible for another person who is helpless, yet still in every other sense of the word alone. Would you want to survive? Would you want your existence to be limited to reading, watching old movies and writing a daily journal to chronicle how it all went down? What would happen when someone finds it? Will they understand?
Listening to the voice of this 82-year old man we learn more about his true feelings about his younger brother, the responsibility he had to undertake after his parents passed away, the limitations placed on his life and the hope that someday his brother would talk, move or maybe just once there would be a miracle. The story might be able the world fading away and the fact that he has no idea if anyone else is alive or where they might be but it is about family, responsibility, loyalty, love and faith.
Remembering the past and then flashing to the present the author presents two worlds in which this man lived: one filled with hope, with family, with friends and love. The second: despair, endless quiet, snakes, bugs, vermin, infections, lack of communication with the outside world although his computer provided him so knowledge of where others might be living but that could change so fast at times he did not even bother to find out. Would he leave Camelot? Camelot: A place when pictured within your mind would be associated with glittering romance, optimism, and great happiness. The opposite of which would be a fool’s paradise or a dystopia. Imagine living in a beautiful home, the outside is filled with greenery, the air is fresh, the scene is colorful and the flowers create a perfume scent within your garden. Imagine the smell of rotting leaves, dead animals, weeds, moldy air, musty odors and brown everywhere. Close your eyes: Which world would you want to live in? Think about where this man is and wonder: why did he stay? Living in a house where everything was burned out, enslaved on your own because the outside world is too dangerous, the smell of fire is everywhere. De-evolution is what he calls it. Nothing changes, no hope for the future, nothing will grow, the world will just disappear as it had for many years when the Blocks were the only children born and the need for more services gone and the world you might say turning from colors to grey and then black. But, lighting a fire outside what his therapy you might say hoping that someone would see it and find him or her. The cruelty of some people and their treatment of those that are helpless are no different in some respects as today. When someone is different and people do not understand or want to take responsibility for someone who is disabled or needs care often the alternative is what you will learn when you read what some people did to so many Blocks and the end result for others.
Could you survive in a world filled with decay, wild animals, no source of company and knowing that the rest of your community or others lacked someone like Andrew had that showed some type of compassion and understanding. Even the prisons were abandoned, the prisoners provided with whatever they needed to become self-sufficient on their own. Some even escaped and infiltrated the general population. As you learn what happens to the two Block Sisters that lived next door you wonder what has become of the human race. Was it a touch of humanity, cruelty or indifference that caused people to end the lives of others that could not defend themselves in such a gruesome way? So, why does this man feel guilty? Why does he feel it’s his job to give so many just a drop of dignity?
As the ending of his journal and writings come to a close you begin to realize that some of his thoughts might be realities that he created in order stay sane. Inventing friends, situations, to protecting Andrew and sharing his every thought this book gives readers much pause for thought. What would happen if this were your reality? What would happen if you had to care for someone like Andrew?
An ending quite powerful and the final outcome you have to decide for yourself. What would happen if you watched the world coming to an end? Read the diary shared by our narrator and realize that this is a true wakeup call to everyone. Luxuries are great, food, water, shelter is necessities but family loyalty, and the bonds we have with those we love are memories that will never fade. Camelot: Not the most precious place for these two to live out their lives but it them it was everything. One story told by our 82 year old narrator that will keep you glued to the printed page hoping and praying for a miracle. What happens you decide? Was he right to remain while others left? One powerful novel with many unanswered questions.
Fran Lewis: Reviewer
December 5, 2013
This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!
I've never read a dystopian like The Man Who Watched the World End, one that is set after the post apocalyptic events have occurred and not amidst the action. There are no other living humans in sight, aside from the narrator and his brother, and they are both old men nearing the end of their lives. In his somber, quiet and watchful existence, this man writes journal entries every day about living out the rest of his life.
The concept behind the end of the world is a new one, explored in great detail throughout the man's accounts of the past (we never learn his name). The Great De-Evolution is the event where humans have devolved, and all newborn babies were born as comatose 'blocks', without the ability to think, move or speak. The gestation rate for these babies became to climb and soon, all babies that were born became blocks. Humans began to slowly fade out, as these new blocks could not attend school, couldn't reproduce, or even think for themselves.
The narrator's only company is his brother Andrew, a few years his junior who is a block. Every day, he speaks to his brother as if he was a walking, talking human being, and acts as his care taker. In his heartfelt and touching journal entries, he reminisces about how his parents ushered him to treat Andrew with love and respect as an equal, even though Andrew isn't like him. Even in his old age, you can see the love that this old man has for Andrew, and how appreciative he is of his brother keeping him company until the end.
Despite the narrator's fixation to his house, never really going anywhere else, the book holds your interest with his stories about the end of the world. The world building is in-depth and extensive, as he covers everything from the last cricket game, prejudice against those who gave birth, blocks being maltreated and the declining importance of higher education and even religion. Other countries dealt with the de-evolution in differing ways, although the outcome was the same. This is the end of the world as we know it, with scientists failing to figure out a way to create test tube babies that were healthy and 'normal' humans dying out.
All types of food could be created out of a magical food processor that makes food out of nothing, which was a bit of a convenient way to cover that issue. The aging man doesn't need to hunt, cook or capture anything so he stays in his house and watches DVDs with Andrew. Not to mention the dangers of going outside - since humans devolved from being the dominant species, all types of animals went to fend for themselves in the wild, with some more successful than others. Animals post a constant threat to the man which is why he chooses to be holed up instead of leaving the town of Camelot and joining a colony further south.
While the concept of The Man Who Watched the World End was definitely interesting and covered in depth, there isn't much to be achieved by an old man that refuses to leave his house or look for other chances of survival. He often regrets that he didn't leave and join a colony sooner when he still had his health, and also thinks about his neighbours leaving him alone without saying goodbye. There's quite a lot of repetition throughout the book about this, and about his block brother not being able to do anything - after the 30th time of explaining why his block brother couldn't' react, couldn't move a muscle, couldn't think and speak, I thought the book could have benefited from a bit of editing.
Despite these minor issues, I quite enjoyed this book as a unique, well thought-out dystopian that is so different than any other I've read. It's more about a heart felt story about mortality, regrets and the deep bond of family love. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a different dystopian with excellent world building in the place of action.
I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I've never read a dystopian like The Man Who Watched the World End, one that is set after the post apocalyptic events have occurred and not amidst the action. There are no other living humans in sight, aside from the narrator and his brother, and they are both old men nearing the end of their lives. In his somber, quiet and watchful existence, this man writes journal entries every day about living out the rest of his life.
The concept behind the end of the world is a new one, explored in great detail throughout the man's accounts of the past (we never learn his name). The Great De-Evolution is the event where humans have devolved, and all newborn babies were born as comatose 'blocks', without the ability to think, move or speak. The gestation rate for these babies became to climb and soon, all babies that were born became blocks. Humans began to slowly fade out, as these new blocks could not attend school, couldn't reproduce, or even think for themselves.
The narrator's only company is his brother Andrew, a few years his junior who is a block. Every day, he speaks to his brother as if he was a walking, talking human being, and acts as his care taker. In his heartfelt and touching journal entries, he reminisces about how his parents ushered him to treat Andrew with love and respect as an equal, even though Andrew isn't like him. Even in his old age, you can see the love that this old man has for Andrew, and how appreciative he is of his brother keeping him company until the end.
Despite the narrator's fixation to his house, never really going anywhere else, the book holds your interest with his stories about the end of the world. The world building is in-depth and extensive, as he covers everything from the last cricket game, prejudice against those who gave birth, blocks being maltreated and the declining importance of higher education and even religion. Other countries dealt with the de-evolution in differing ways, although the outcome was the same. This is the end of the world as we know it, with scientists failing to figure out a way to create test tube babies that were healthy and 'normal' humans dying out.
All types of food could be created out of a magical food processor that makes food out of nothing, which was a bit of a convenient way to cover that issue. The aging man doesn't need to hunt, cook or capture anything so he stays in his house and watches DVDs with Andrew. Not to mention the dangers of going outside - since humans devolved from being the dominant species, all types of animals went to fend for themselves in the wild, with some more successful than others. Animals post a constant threat to the man which is why he chooses to be holed up instead of leaving the town of Camelot and joining a colony further south.
While the concept of The Man Who Watched the World End was definitely interesting and covered in depth, there isn't much to be achieved by an old man that refuses to leave his house or look for other chances of survival. He often regrets that he didn't leave and join a colony sooner when he still had his health, and also thinks about his neighbours leaving him alone without saying goodbye. There's quite a lot of repetition throughout the book about this, and about his block brother not being able to do anything - after the 30th time of explaining why his block brother couldn't' react, couldn't move a muscle, couldn't think and speak, I thought the book could have benefited from a bit of editing.
Despite these minor issues, I quite enjoyed this book as a unique, well thought-out dystopian that is so different than any other I've read. It's more about a heart felt story about mortality, regrets and the deep bond of family love. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a different dystopian with excellent world building in the place of action.
I received a review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.
January 17, 2015
I liked this one overall.
Action fans will definitely not. Literally the only action in the book involves the narrator venturing out of his home to take a walk down the street (now overrun with wild cats, dogs, and bears). But the book isn't really about that, it's about how the world got to this point, and how the main character relates to that and to his brother. The author does an excellent job establishing mood, and when I read this, I really felt what it might be like to hang on in his "world dying with a whimper," and I felt like I knew the main character too. I also appreciated the change of pace from the overdone "we have to escape all the killer zombies" post apocalyptic books out there.
Here and there I had some technical issues with the plot, where I would be thinking hmmm, I'm not sure this would really happen this way in real life. For example, certain things with society fall apart, but others, like power generators, food processors, and the internet all keep working. But these were minor points, and the writing is interesting, and the author definitely knows how to put you in a scene. There is a lot of great imagery and symbolism in this book.
It's thought provoking as well, and the author has a conclusion that he's working towards that you'll see in the end. I didn't agree with all of the main characters opinions along the way, but I'm not sure I was supposed to, and I like that this made me think. So this book is definitely worth a read.
Action fans will definitely not. Literally the only action in the book involves the narrator venturing out of his home to take a walk down the street (now overrun with wild cats, dogs, and bears). But the book isn't really about that, it's about how the world got to this point, and how the main character relates to that and to his brother. The author does an excellent job establishing mood, and when I read this, I really felt what it might be like to hang on in his "world dying with a whimper," and I felt like I knew the main character too. I also appreciated the change of pace from the overdone "we have to escape all the killer zombies" post apocalyptic books out there.
Here and there I had some technical issues with the plot, where I would be thinking hmmm, I'm not sure this would really happen this way in real life. For example, certain things with society fall apart, but others, like power generators, food processors, and the internet all keep working. But these were minor points, and the writing is interesting, and the author definitely knows how to put you in a scene. There is a lot of great imagery and symbolism in this book.
It's thought provoking as well, and the author has a conclusion that he's working towards that you'll see in the end. I didn't agree with all of the main characters opinions along the way, but I'm not sure I was supposed to, and I like that this made me think. So this book is definitely worth a read.
April 19, 2013
This is the diary of an aging man, practically alone, facing daily challenges to care for himself as well as his unresponsive brother. His personal struggles include dealing with the emotions of his decisions, of being responsible for another life, and encountering the dangers of wild animals that were once domesticated pets.
The book was billed as "science fiction", but the author presents scenes that appeal to both fans of sci fi as well as people like me, who just want a good story. This book definitely leaves an impression, making you think about what your actions would be if you were the last person in your community.
I enjoyed the tales of the “final events” like the last baseball game or the last flight. Very thought-out and precious moments of everyday life that we take for granted. I was impressed with the realistic daily activities and challenges of this man’s last days. I found the story very entertaining and well written. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending was perfect, incredibly satisfying.
The book was billed as "science fiction", but the author presents scenes that appeal to both fans of sci fi as well as people like me, who just want a good story. This book definitely leaves an impression, making you think about what your actions would be if you were the last person in your community.
I enjoyed the tales of the “final events” like the last baseball game or the last flight. Very thought-out and precious moments of everyday life that we take for granted. I was impressed with the realistic daily activities and challenges of this man’s last days. I found the story very entertaining and well written. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending was perfect, incredibly satisfying.
January 12, 2015
The world is in decay. The narrator is resentful. The narration is first person (journal entry format) and the main character is emotionally stunted, unreliable, highly opinionated, and regularly crude.
Simply, the tone and style of this book made it a hard read for me.
Despite that, the author managed to paint a vivid picture of the setting in my mind, and the writing was artful.
Simply, the tone and style of this book made it a hard read for me.
Despite that, the author managed to paint a vivid picture of the setting in my mind, and the writing was artful.
June 12, 2018
I first read The Hauntings of Playing God a few years ago and was struck by how unusual a book it was among post-apocalypse novels. It left a lasting impression, and I recommended it to all and sundry. I'm not sure why I waited so long to read the others in the set, but I'm glad I finally did.
There is no huge catastrophe in Dietzel's books: no drought, no radiation, no rival warring tribes, no government guilty of misprision, no starvation, no battle against the elements. There is only homo sapiens winding to a slow end, only a lone survivor meditating on what matters when everything is gone. In each of the novels a solitary narrator wrestles with the choices he or she has made, with love and loyalty, grief and anger, regret and hope, and ultimately the question of what gives life meaning.
You might think that an author would have trouble crafting a solid and engrossing story out of such a simple premise, yet Dietzel does it not once but three times. In The Hauntings of Playing God, the lone survivor was an old woman left to care for the last few insensible remnants of humanity; the theme of that one seemed to be the call of duty, the desire within each of us to do what we can to the best of our ability. A Different Alchemy centers on a man whose wife has done the unthinkable; the theme of that one, I think, is regret.
In this book, an old man is left with his unresponsive brother in a decaying subdivision called Camelot; the theme of this one I would say is love. The photo albums that he pages through with his silent brother, the memories he recounts, the movies they watch together (his turning Andrew's chair so that he doesn't have to see unpleasant scenes) -- even though Andrew is utterly incapably of any response whatsoever, that doesn't stop the narrator from wanting both to be a brother and to have a brother. In the end, what matters isn't Andrew's response (or lack thereof) but the narrator's desire to cherish his family. The action is its own reward. That his end ultimately comes from the simple reaching out to touch another living creature is both ironic and fitting, since the world as it is no longer recognizes that connection.
There is no huge catastrophe in Dietzel's books: no drought, no radiation, no rival warring tribes, no government guilty of misprision, no starvation, no battle against the elements. There is only homo sapiens winding to a slow end, only a lone survivor meditating on what matters when everything is gone. In each of the novels a solitary narrator wrestles with the choices he or she has made, with love and loyalty, grief and anger, regret and hope, and ultimately the question of what gives life meaning.
You might think that an author would have trouble crafting a solid and engrossing story out of such a simple premise, yet Dietzel does it not once but three times. In The Hauntings of Playing God, the lone survivor was an old woman left to care for the last few insensible remnants of humanity; the theme of that one seemed to be the call of duty, the desire within each of us to do what we can to the best of our ability. A Different Alchemy centers on a man whose wife has done the unthinkable; the theme of that one, I think, is regret.
In this book, an old man is left with his unresponsive brother in a decaying subdivision called Camelot; the theme of this one I would say is love. The photo albums that he pages through with his silent brother, the memories he recounts, the movies they watch together (his turning Andrew's chair so that he doesn't have to see unpleasant scenes) -- even though Andrew is utterly incapably of any response whatsoever, that doesn't stop the narrator from wanting both to be a brother and to have a brother. In the end, what matters isn't Andrew's response (or lack thereof) but the narrator's desire to cherish his family. The action is its own reward. That his end ultimately comes from the simple reaching out to touch another living creature is both ironic and fitting, since the world as it is no longer recognizes that connection.
June 15, 2016
This book is guaranteed to get you right down.
It's hard to describe this story without giving away too much.
An old and nameless man tells the story in the form of a daily diary, which spans three months. He takes care of his younger (but still old) comatose brother. The two of them are the last residents of a neighborhood called Camelot. In the course of the diary memories of past times, childhood, parents and former neighbors are disclosed.
All on his own and surrounded by wild animals, the man observes his environment from inside his house, which serves as the last frontier between humanity and the dog-eat-dog life in the wilderness.
This novel fits well on a shelf with other dystopian books I've read like Blindness or The Wall. Elements of both appear here, but the story is original and deserves its own place.
Inevitably, you will be remembered of your own aging and mortality, while reading this book. A fate we all share in one way or another.
It's depressing and shocking in some places, and there is no real pleasure to read this book. But where is it written that good books are there for fun and entertainment only?
If you consider that this is a debut novel, I can only say: Well done!
Rating 4¾ of 5 stars.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
It's hard to describe this story without giving away too much.
An old and nameless man tells the story in the form of a daily diary, which spans three months. He takes care of his younger (but still old) comatose brother. The two of them are the last residents of a neighborhood called Camelot. In the course of the diary memories of past times, childhood, parents and former neighbors are disclosed.
All on his own and surrounded by wild animals, the man observes his environment from inside his house, which serves as the last frontier between humanity and the dog-eat-dog life in the wilderness.
This novel fits well on a shelf with other dystopian books I've read like Blindness or The Wall. Elements of both appear here, but the story is original and deserves its own place.
Inevitably, you will be remembered of your own aging and mortality, while reading this book. A fate we all share in one way or another.
It's depressing and shocking in some places, and there is no real pleasure to read this book. But where is it written that good books are there for fun and entertainment only?
If you consider that this is a debut novel, I can only say: Well done!
Rating 4¾ of 5 stars.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
March 14, 2014
In this novel, the world doesn't end with a big bang or drama, it ends slowly with a whimper. Children start being born with no awareness of the world. they simply exist and need others to take care of them. These "Blocks" as they are known, area totally dependent. So the world ends as the population dies off.
This story is told by journal entries of an old man who is caring for his Block brother in an empty subdivision called Camelot. Where wild animals from the forest are the only other things living there. His entries reflect on his life, the Blocks, how society addressed the situation and the importance of family.
Very compelling and sad and so very honest. Loved it.
This story is told by journal entries of an old man who is caring for his Block brother in an empty subdivision called Camelot. Where wild animals from the forest are the only other things living there. His entries reflect on his life, the Blocks, how society addressed the situation and the importance of family.
Very compelling and sad and so very honest. Loved it.
June 15, 2016
I read this book before, about three years ago. Now I listened to the audio-book. And if they ever make a film out of it, I’m sure I’m going to watch that too. Although I can hardly think of how they’re going to do it. Making a film, I mean. But they did it with The Wall, and it turned out great, so why not here as well.
This is an old man’s journal, in which he describes his life in an abandoned neighborhood. The center of his life is taking care of his brother Andrew, who is only a few years younger than him. Andrew is a “Block”, a person exactly like you or me, except Blocks don’t move, don’t talk, don’t do anything, except performing bodily functions that ensure to keep them alive as long as they are provided with enough food and water. You might wonder why this old man, who is anything but spry himself, takes the burden upon himself. Why is he staying in a place which once was a sprouting community (with an 18 hole golf course) and is now rapidly fading after everyone else has gone and which nature is reclaiming for itself? The answer to this question is in the book, and it has a lot to do with what makes us human in the end, or at least I hope it still does…
The audio-book of The Man Who Watched The World End is quite new. I don’t have a lot of experience with this form of “reading”, and hardly any base for comparison. I just can say that the narrator, Ray Chase, did a fine job here. The reading pace is just right for me, and the voice mimicked that of an old man pretty nicely.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
October 21, 2016
This was the dullest end of the world story I've ever read. And the conditions described in the book that allow people to live their lives uninterrupted are ludicrous. The government invented a machine that creates food on demand? And you don't have to put anything into it to get it to work? Magic! And generators that keep the power going, without any fuel to operate them. Ridiculous! And people just decided not to fight with each other anymore, because humans were dwindling en masse, so there were no more wars. Fantasy! And the government just easily transitioned people whose jobs were displaced (teachers, etc.) instantly into other professions. Utopia! Probably a little overkill here, but my eyes were constantly rolling at the "convenient" plot elements being used. And beyond that, there was not much "there" there, the story was incredibly dull, rambling and ultimately pointless.
September 2, 2017
The idea of the book is enthralling, but I thought the execution lacked excitement. The narrative felt very repetitive and the repetition was not caused by the small space the main character occupied, but more by how the author chose to tell the story. In addition, some of the elements of the narrative just weren't plausible in the world end scenario that was being described.
March 5, 2014
After reading action packed dystopia book after action packed dystopia book after action packed dystopia book after action packed dystopha book (you get the idea), I picked up The Man Who Watched the World End expecting, well - an action packed dystopia book.
And it was not.
And that is actually wonderful.
Here is how I imagined the man who is watching the world end would look:
As it turns out, the man who is watching the world end is A) much, much older and B) not quite so sensitive. Quick summary: an older gentleman (I use gentleman because he certainly seems like hs is one) lives with his brother and writes in a diary. Everyone else around him has either left or passed away. His neighborhood is empty, and although there may still be people out there, he does not have access to them. His brother does not speak, react, or do much of anything (this is explained much further, but I don't want to spoil anything). Animals have taken over the outdoors, which is awesome. Let me clarify that this is not awesome for the characters, but it was awesome for me. One of the things that drew me to this book was the cover; I was fascinated to read how the animals adapted and went back to their natural instincts.
Still with me? Old man with diary and mute brother. Empty neighborhood. Feral former house cats.
FROM THIS:
TO THIS:
No big deal.
There are some tense moments in the book. There is some back story to explain how the world ended up this way without getting too scientific (and honestly, I am ok with not having every single detail explained). But the real "meat and potatoes" of this is the not the experiences but the thought process. The "I coulda shoulda woulda" thoughts. Regrets and not knowing if the right decisions were made at the time they were made. Our MC is past the point of panic and is instead both reflective and utterly depressing. There were some complaints about parts being repetitive, which is true. I didn't mind this because I think that an old man with very little to do day after day after day would be repetivie; his thoughts would cycle over and over again.
This was very well written - beautiful even. For not being action packed, I couldn't put it down because I was simply hypnotized. Original ideas, lovely writing, and while I didn't particulary care about the characters, I did find that I was constantly putting myself in their shoes.
4.5 Stars
Rounding to 5 because I am in a good mood even after reading something quite depressing.
And it was not.
And that is actually wonderful.
Here is how I imagined the man who is watching the world end would look:
As it turns out, the man who is watching the world end is A) much, much older and B) not quite so sensitive. Quick summary: an older gentleman (I use gentleman because he certainly seems like hs is one) lives with his brother and writes in a diary. Everyone else around him has either left or passed away. His neighborhood is empty, and although there may still be people out there, he does not have access to them. His brother does not speak, react, or do much of anything (this is explained much further, but I don't want to spoil anything). Animals have taken over the outdoors, which is awesome. Let me clarify that this is not awesome for the characters, but it was awesome for me. One of the things that drew me to this book was the cover; I was fascinated to read how the animals adapted and went back to their natural instincts.
Still with me? Old man with diary and mute brother. Empty neighborhood. Feral former house cats.
FROM THIS:
TO THIS:
No big deal.
There are some tense moments in the book. There is some back story to explain how the world ended up this way without getting too scientific (and honestly, I am ok with not having every single detail explained). But the real "meat and potatoes" of this is the not the experiences but the thought process. The "I coulda shoulda woulda" thoughts. Regrets and not knowing if the right decisions were made at the time they were made. Our MC is past the point of panic and is instead both reflective and utterly depressing. There were some complaints about parts being repetitive, which is true. I didn't mind this because I think that an old man with very little to do day after day after day would be repetivie; his thoughts would cycle over and over again.
This was very well written - beautiful even. For not being action packed, I couldn't put it down because I was simply hypnotized. Original ideas, lovely writing, and while I didn't particulary care about the characters, I did find that I was constantly putting myself in their shoes.
4.5 Stars
Rounding to 5 because I am in a good mood even after reading something quite depressing.
November 1, 2015
This was a really interesting story. It is very mellow, but very thought provoking.
This story is written as diary entries from an old man, describing how the world's babies began being born completely healthy aside from almost no brain function. Called Blocks, they had to be completely taken care of, and it wasn't long until 100% of babies born were a Block. People began moving to warmer climates, joining communities, and soon most neighborhoods were returned to the wilderness and the animals that inhabit them. Domesticated animals were also having to relearn how to live in the wild or die. Slowly but surely everyone left this man's neighborhood, and it wasn't until he no longer had the option to leave that he started to question his decision to stick it out with his Block brother in their house.
This story really makes you wonder what you would do if you had to take care of someone else completely, until the day you (or they) died, with no hope of the world returning to normal. With everyone left around either leaving town or dying themselves. How many people around you go crazy? At what point would you start to go mad? Would you even want to keep on trucking at that point?
Even with almost no action, this story was quite the read that kept me intrigued all the way through.
This story is written as diary entries from an old man, describing how the world's babies began being born completely healthy aside from almost no brain function. Called Blocks, they had to be completely taken care of, and it wasn't long until 100% of babies born were a Block. People began moving to warmer climates, joining communities, and soon most neighborhoods were returned to the wilderness and the animals that inhabit them. Domesticated animals were also having to relearn how to live in the wild or die. Slowly but surely everyone left this man's neighborhood, and it wasn't until he no longer had the option to leave that he started to question his decision to stick it out with his Block brother in their house.
This story really makes you wonder what you would do if you had to take care of someone else completely, until the day you (or they) died, with no hope of the world returning to normal. With everyone left around either leaving town or dying themselves. How many people around you go crazy? At what point would you start to go mad? Would you even want to keep on trucking at that point?
Even with almost no action, this story was quite the read that kept me intrigued all the way through.
July 12, 2013
This is a very well told story of one's mans activities and thoughts as he deals with his old age in a post-apocalyptic world. After reading a few pages though, I realized that this really could be the story of many old people who live totally isolated from society, struggling to care for a family member whose needs exceed their ability to provide. The threats outside this man's door are gangs of animals, but some old people today have to worry about other gangs--just as vicious. Does it really matter to this man trapped at home as a caregiver whether the world's population is dying? If you don't access to medical care does it matter that there are no doctors or hospitals in the world? The unnamed man carries on alone, living only to take care of his brother--knowing he will inevitably die. His death will be his own private apocalypse. Despite this inevitability the man maintains a sense of optimism: "Yes, I'm older. Yes, I'm alone. ... (but) the power of mankind has always been in overlooking the finality of things and holding onto optimism even when doing so seems foolish."
This is a very thought-provoking book, I highly recommend it, and look forward to reading more by Chris Dietzel.
This is a very thought-provoking book, I highly recommend it, and look forward to reading more by Chris Dietzel.
March 24, 2014
Picked up the sample because the cover caught my eye when I was purchasing some books on Amazon. It is a post-apocalyptic tale that had a few deviations from the norm for the genre. The most important one being the age of the protagonist. The book was well formatted and GSP (grammar, spelling, punctuation) gets an A+.
That is what worked for me, however, I won't be purchasing. The mechanics of the actual tale didn't gel. We are down to the last handful of aged survivors in a world where humans cannot produce viable spawn, yet everything works perfectly... water, electricity, etc. It doesn't work for me with how the author wants to stress the flora and fauna have taken over.
I might pick it up if were free, but won't spend money on it.
October 19, 2015
This was a poignant look back on the end of civilization, and the modern world. No zombies, no horrific apocalypse, just the slow eventual decline and one man's experience throughout. Just the change of pace was wonderful, and the story itself was super. Slow at times, but well worth the read. More Quiet Earth than 28 Days Later.
May 19, 2014
I have read so many books about the world ending - wars, aliens, crazies with intriguing weaponry, etc. I went with it, after all I knew when I picked the book the world was in trouble. These all remained "stories". Then I read this book.
A growing number of babies were born "without significant brain activity". They did not move, eat, talk, hear, see, respond in any way, they were Blocked. Over several years all births resulted in Blocks. The result of this phenomena was obvious - the last generation humanity produced would never learn to walk, talk, go to school, learn a trade, marry, have children, run the government. They would simply, well, be (as long as there was someone to care for them). When this book begins, the population of the earth averages somewhere around 80 (I think). The book centers on an elderly man, his Block brother and his daily struggle to care for them both. In a subdivision called Camelot (originally a golf-type community), they are virtual hostages to bears, wolves, wild packs of dogs and cats - all manner of critters that have long since gone wild and are simply following their own survival instants. Too real.
The fact is that this elderly man lovingly cares for his brother, filling nutrition bags, cleaning him and changing diapers, repositioning to avoid bedsores - basically caring for his brother as if he was compromised infant, not a full grown man in his later 70's. He did it out of love. His parents always included his brother in everything they did - even a trip to the beach. Reports of people setting Blocks on fire, abandoning them by the side of the road, sexual slavery - these left the man shuddering - he sheltered his brother from this type of information. When he discovers good people, normal people (not monsters) having to "deal with" Block relatives he wishes he would have travelled to a final settlement where he could place his brother in a Block group home insuring his care. But it is too late now, he can no longer even move his brother off the couch and the roads are so deteriorated his car would not make it one-half a mile down any road.
I wanted to breach reality and wrap this man in my arms trying to fill him with strength and love. I wanted to talk to him so he could hear another voice in his void. I wanted to share some 'processor' wine and remind him dogs were wild. I wanted to venture into the woods and gather him some firewood without worrying about animal attacks. I wanted to talk to him about family. I wished I could swoop in and save him.
This book is epic. Read it. Understand the old man, the circumstances, the varying viewpoints. This feels more real (and frightening, frustrating, futile) than any zombie or alien fabrication. It feels more human, partially because it is so real, partially because it revolves around our basic unit - family. I hope it isn't prophetic. Read This Book!
A growing number of babies were born "without significant brain activity". They did not move, eat, talk, hear, see, respond in any way, they were Blocked. Over several years all births resulted in Blocks. The result of this phenomena was obvious - the last generation humanity produced would never learn to walk, talk, go to school, learn a trade, marry, have children, run the government. They would simply, well, be (as long as there was someone to care for them). When this book begins, the population of the earth averages somewhere around 80 (I think). The book centers on an elderly man, his Block brother and his daily struggle to care for them both. In a subdivision called Camelot (originally a golf-type community), they are virtual hostages to bears, wolves, wild packs of dogs and cats - all manner of critters that have long since gone wild and are simply following their own survival instants. Too real.
The fact is that this elderly man lovingly cares for his brother, filling nutrition bags, cleaning him and changing diapers, repositioning to avoid bedsores - basically caring for his brother as if he was compromised infant, not a full grown man in his later 70's. He did it out of love. His parents always included his brother in everything they did - even a trip to the beach. Reports of people setting Blocks on fire, abandoning them by the side of the road, sexual slavery - these left the man shuddering - he sheltered his brother from this type of information. When he discovers good people, normal people (not monsters) having to "deal with" Block relatives he wishes he would have travelled to a final settlement where he could place his brother in a Block group home insuring his care. But it is too late now, he can no longer even move his brother off the couch and the roads are so deteriorated his car would not make it one-half a mile down any road.
I wanted to breach reality and wrap this man in my arms trying to fill him with strength and love. I wanted to talk to him so he could hear another voice in his void. I wanted to share some 'processor' wine and remind him dogs were wild. I wanted to venture into the woods and gather him some firewood without worrying about animal attacks. I wanted to talk to him about family. I wished I could swoop in and save him.
This book is epic. Read it. Understand the old man, the circumstances, the varying viewpoints. This feels more real (and frightening, frustrating, futile) than any zombie or alien fabrication. It feels more human, partially because it is so real, partially because it revolves around our basic unit - family. I hope it isn't prophetic. Read This Book!
December 22, 2013
I was excited to read this story and I quite liked the premise of there (possibly) being only a handful of people left in the world.
The story started out promisingly. An old man and his incapacitated brother are forced to watch the world (as they know it) end. But it doesn’t really end, it is simply reclaimed by the animals. I almost feel as if the title should have been: ‘The man who watched the human world end’, because there is nothing dead about the world surrounding him.
His incapacitated brother is known as a ‘block’ and the man must look after him, even though he is an old man and incapable of doing it alone. But he does it, because he loves his brother. Blocks cannot walk, talk or move. They can’t feel, communicate or blink. But they can breathe on their own. I had a minor issue with this scenario.
When I think of people who are able to breathe but not communicate, I think of locked-in syndrome or coma patients. But blocks are not active, physically or mentally. Those people would be in a vegetative state and would need to be hooked up to a machine to help them to breathe. The body cannot live without the mind. The mind controls our core bodily functions and tells us when to breathe so our heart can beat. Without it, without artificial assistance, we are dead.
The story is told in the format of daily diary entries and I wondered several things as I read: are there still people in the world? Will his brother ever respond to him? Will anyone try to find him? Will he ever talk to another human being again?
I won’t ruin it by answering any of those questions, but I will say that the diary entry grated on me a little towards the end because of the singular point of view. Occasionally danger appeared, but every experience was a recap of events that had already happened. Those precious moments of danger seemed to pass quickly and a little too easily.
I’m giving this book three and a half stars because no matter what issues I had with it, the book was well written and the idea was interesting enough for me to pick it up to read it. But be warned: it’s not a light hearted read.
The story started out promisingly. An old man and his incapacitated brother are forced to watch the world (as they know it) end. But it doesn’t really end, it is simply reclaimed by the animals. I almost feel as if the title should have been: ‘The man who watched the human world end’, because there is nothing dead about the world surrounding him.
His incapacitated brother is known as a ‘block’ and the man must look after him, even though he is an old man and incapable of doing it alone. But he does it, because he loves his brother. Blocks cannot walk, talk or move. They can’t feel, communicate or blink. But they can breathe on their own. I had a minor issue with this scenario.
When I think of people who are able to breathe but not communicate, I think of locked-in syndrome or coma patients. But blocks are not active, physically or mentally. Those people would be in a vegetative state and would need to be hooked up to a machine to help them to breathe. The body cannot live without the mind. The mind controls our core bodily functions and tells us when to breathe so our heart can beat. Without it, without artificial assistance, we are dead.
The story is told in the format of daily diary entries and I wondered several things as I read: are there still people in the world? Will his brother ever respond to him? Will anyone try to find him? Will he ever talk to another human being again?
I won’t ruin it by answering any of those questions, but I will say that the diary entry grated on me a little towards the end because of the singular point of view. Occasionally danger appeared, but every experience was a recap of events that had already happened. Those precious moments of danger seemed to pass quickly and a little too easily.
I’m giving this book three and a half stars because no matter what issues I had with it, the book was well written and the idea was interesting enough for me to pick it up to read it. But be warned: it’s not a light hearted read.
July 24, 2014
In this book, much like Children of Men set another generation down the road, the world is going out with a whimper and not a bang. No zombies, no plague, just a big lack of healthy babies, which eventually reduces the world population to a few doddering old men and a bunch of hungry wild animals.
The story of those last few dwindling old survivors would have made for a great book. But the author takes a significant turn by introducing the Blocks. See, humanity didn't just become sterile. In the span of five years, all babies were born alive and healthy but essentially comatose or fully paralyzed and unable to communicate. Blocks. And in the world of this book, the population of Blocks grew to the millions and billions, most growing to ordinary adult age and cared for by their aging families - with the exception of a small percentage who were abandoned or killed in large groups.
Now, I realize people would not instantly stop having sex once it became clear that any resulting baby would be born a Block. Or that most Blocks born to a loving family would continue to be cared for by that family. Or even that a small minority of people would continue trying to conceive in the vain hope of producing a normal baby.
But a world where Blocks became the majority of the population and the primary resource drain of the world? I just don't see it. I just don't see that many people continuing to have (and keep) children, knowing the consequences. I just don't see the world's healthy population using all its resources in the final 30 or so years of human life on Earth to care for millions of fully paralyzed people. Or that attempts to wipe out the Blocks would be limited to a few isolated cases, to which the rest of the world recoils in horror. I get that the author is trying to show the vast majority of people are full of love and capacity for self-sacrifice. But I think he's being way too optimistic.
So, this aspect of the plot interfered with my enjoyment of the book, and my ability to escape into its post-apocalyptic world, enough to knock my grade down two stars.
The story of those last few dwindling old survivors would have made for a great book. But the author takes a significant turn by introducing the Blocks. See, humanity didn't just become sterile. In the span of five years, all babies were born alive and healthy but essentially comatose or fully paralyzed and unable to communicate. Blocks. And in the world of this book, the population of Blocks grew to the millions and billions, most growing to ordinary adult age and cared for by their aging families - with the exception of a small percentage who were abandoned or killed in large groups.
Now, I realize people would not instantly stop having sex once it became clear that any resulting baby would be born a Block. Or that most Blocks born to a loving family would continue to be cared for by that family. Or even that a small minority of people would continue trying to conceive in the vain hope of producing a normal baby.
But a world where Blocks became the majority of the population and the primary resource drain of the world? I just don't see it. I just don't see that many people continuing to have (and keep) children, knowing the consequences. I just don't see the world's healthy population using all its resources in the final 30 or so years of human life on Earth to care for millions of fully paralyzed people. Or that attempts to wipe out the Blocks would be limited to a few isolated cases, to which the rest of the world recoils in horror. I get that the author is trying to show the vast majority of people are full of love and capacity for self-sacrifice. But I think he's being way too optimistic.
So, this aspect of the plot interfered with my enjoyment of the book, and my ability to escape into its post-apocalyptic world, enough to knock my grade down two stars.
October 10, 2016
In a world where Dystopian Fiction is currently very popular, this book, brings an entirely refreshing twist to the topic. Typically, the "world" has been destroyed and is near the end due to some war, nuclear explosion, or something of that nature. In this book, everything falls apart very differently -- the world is bare and empty due to all children being born with a severe lifeless medical condition. I probably enjoyed this book more than the average person because I have two auto-immune diseases. I often think about what is causing so many people to be diagnosed with medical conditions and cancer at such an alarming rate. This intrigues me so I had a personal attachment to the story.
The story is definitely a somber one but well-written. The details are specific and it's very easy to feel for the characters. I think the key to a good book is feeling like you are invested in the story and the characters lives. I definitely felt that way when reading this book. You can't help but wonder how you would react if you were in their situation. Very thought-provoking. This book was perfect for me as I love story development over action. There definitely is a limited amount of action but a few scenes end up making up for that. The reader holds hope until the very end of this book.
And a very fun part of this book is how some of the technology works in a world full of nothing. - How they get their food, how they get rid of their trash, etc. - Very futuristic and interesting. Keep in mind, you have to be able to hold a little suspension of disbelief!
Overall, a well-written, unique, and deep story built on love and family.
The story is definitely a somber one but well-written. The details are specific and it's very easy to feel for the characters. I think the key to a good book is feeling like you are invested in the story and the characters lives. I definitely felt that way when reading this book. You can't help but wonder how you would react if you were in their situation. Very thought-provoking. This book was perfect for me as I love story development over action. There definitely is a limited amount of action but a few scenes end up making up for that. The reader holds hope until the very end of this book.
And a very fun part of this book is how some of the technology works in a world full of nothing. - How they get their food, how they get rid of their trash, etc. - Very futuristic and interesting. Keep in mind, you have to be able to hold a little suspension of disbelief!
Overall, a well-written, unique, and deep story built on love and family.
March 20, 2014
Possibly Spoilers!
I'm not very eloquent so please excuse me, I also do not write many reviews but I have to make the exception for this book.
I read a lot of end of the world books but this one is different no bombs, aliens or government plots just one old man and his 'block' brother.
I enjoyed how nature had taken over animals no longer the friendly pets they used to be but predators even the cute cats! It was also refreshing that no cure was found at the last minute.
It's not the easiest to read and I know some people will say it is bleak but come on it's not going to be a happy time when you only have your memories and a brother who for all intense and purposes is a lifeless as a mannequin for company.
I spent most of the book asking what I would have done given the narrators predicament and I honestly still do not know if I would have stayed to look after my brother rather than running off to be with others. The reader also has to remember that the narrator is in his 80's and not a young man able to run around looking for a solution. Especially after the 'neighbours' move out.
Some have stated that the story just ends but do wonder who they expected to finish the story when the last man on earth has gone.
For me this book will haunt me and will pop into my head at random times for a long time to come. 5*
I'm not very eloquent so please excuse me, I also do not write many reviews but I have to make the exception for this book.
I read a lot of end of the world books but this one is different no bombs, aliens or government plots just one old man and his 'block' brother.
I enjoyed how nature had taken over animals no longer the friendly pets they used to be but predators even the cute cats! It was also refreshing that no cure was found at the last minute.
It's not the easiest to read and I know some people will say it is bleak but come on it's not going to be a happy time when you only have your memories and a brother who for all intense and purposes is a lifeless as a mannequin for company.
I spent most of the book asking what I would have done given the narrators predicament and I honestly still do not know if I would have stayed to look after my brother rather than running off to be with others. The reader also has to remember that the narrator is in his 80's and not a young man able to run around looking for a solution. Especially after the 'neighbours' move out.
Some have stated that the story just ends but do wonder who they expected to finish the story when the last man on earth has gone.
For me this book will haunt me and will pop into my head at random times for a long time to come. 5*
August 11, 2014
Contains spoilers!
What happens when the brain doesn’t develop fully at birth? Chris Dietzel explores the concept in his first dystopian novel "The Man Who Watched the World End". The world has been plagued with babies whose brains fail to form properly because of an amino acid deficiency. These babies, known as Blocks, are like paraplegics. Humanity can no longer produce healthy offspring and the Great De-evolution commences. Personally, I loved the Block idea and the interpretation of how the world would move forward under such conditions.
More an inward exploration into the narrator’s past, his Block brother Andrew, and story of the evolution to the narrative present, the action picks up when the old narrator ventures out into the neighborhood which has been overrun with wild packs of animals. His obsession to figure out what happened at the Johnson residence would help explain why they disappeared without a goodbye. Risking his life, he discovers an atrocity at the Johnsons' residence, and must confront the morality of such a gruesome act. A story exploring the lonely existence as one of the last people alive on earth along with the narrator's sacrifice to be caretaker to his Block brother, the novel is both touching and thought provoking.
What happens when the brain doesn’t develop fully at birth? Chris Dietzel explores the concept in his first dystopian novel "The Man Who Watched the World End". The world has been plagued with babies whose brains fail to form properly because of an amino acid deficiency. These babies, known as Blocks, are like paraplegics. Humanity can no longer produce healthy offspring and the Great De-evolution commences. Personally, I loved the Block idea and the interpretation of how the world would move forward under such conditions.
More an inward exploration into the narrator’s past, his Block brother Andrew, and story of the evolution to the narrative present, the action picks up when the old narrator ventures out into the neighborhood which has been overrun with wild packs of animals. His obsession to figure out what happened at the Johnson residence would help explain why they disappeared without a goodbye. Risking his life, he discovers an atrocity at the Johnsons' residence, and must confront the morality of such a gruesome act. A story exploring the lonely existence as one of the last people alive on earth along with the narrator's sacrifice to be caretaker to his Block brother, the novel is both touching and thought provoking.
April 8, 2014
The Man Who Watched the World End is a huge detour from your typical dystopian novels. Instead of nuclear war, DNA munipulation, or zombies, evolution simply backpedels on itself in the case of the human race. The Old Man is forced to watch as society literally dies. While living in town called Camelot, he watches as people slowly ebb and flow through his neighborhood while on the hunt for a more establised community of people. In the end he is left old, defenseless and caring for his invalid brother who is a "Block". The entire story is told through his thoughts and diary he leaves even though he understands that once the population is gone there will be no one left behind to read it. He is left with an aging brother, essentially trapped inside the house by the wildlife that is unmonitored and left to overtake Man's world. While I felt The Man Who Watched the World End drug in a few spots, overall it is a hauntingly sad account of one man's thoughts and views as he knows eventually there will not be anyone left on Earth.
September 30, 2015
The plot was interesting and a novel approach to the end of all things human. The writing was articulate. The scenes easily visualized. As I'm not a young man any more, I may have a little more affinity for the protagonist than others had, however I do agree that the novel probably would have been better if the length was cut down about 25%. Toward the end, I found myself skipping pages and scanning for the meatier sections.
Overall, it was an enjoyably depressing novel. It provides an excellent counterpoint to many of the dystopian novels and video currently in the market. There were enough ethical questions raised within the novel to fill an undergrad seminar.
Overall, it was an enjoyably depressing novel. It provides an excellent counterpoint to many of the dystopian novels and video currently in the market. There were enough ethical questions raised within the novel to fill an undergrad seminar.
October 31, 2013
I loved the concept but the story literally went nowhere. Many areas it seemed to drone on and on without grabbing the reader. Sadly, that is the way the story ended. I found myself disappointed after turning the last page and seeing the acknowledgement section...thinking, "that's it?" I'm sorry, I really wanted to love this book :(
November 1, 2013
This story should have been right up my street; however, despite liking the idea and the concept I found the narrative repetitive. I suppose that is what is likely in a diary entry but I found myself skipping pages looking for the history of the dystopia rather than the current. Nicely written with descriptive prose but left me in the end unfulfilled.
November 23, 2013
I would give it 4 stars for its depiction of society, loneliness, and family. It was hard to ignore the lack of logic behind the survival.
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