Stunningly prescient

I’ve listened to numerous apocalyptic stories but none move me like this one. I first read this in my teens and it drew me into the genre. You won’t find many better stories out there and you certainly won’t find a better story teller than John Christopher. This is genuinely haunting in its accurate observations and I fear it could one day be truly vatic in its prophecy.

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Not my thing, but made it to the end!

Where does The Death of Grass rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book was recommended by a friend and so was not the sort of book I listen to. The book is increasingly depressing and highlights the worst parts of human nature. I did however, make it to the end...just.

I can't say I enjoyed this book but that may just be due to personal preference. If you like books that have little light in them, I am sure that you will like this.

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Great audio version of a great story

I remember getting this book at a second hand bookshop decades ago. 1950s post war British sci-fi is not necessarily what people are looking for when they go to the sci-fi part of the store - but perhaps they should. With its tight focus on just a handful of characters as they make their way across England to hoped for safety and then occasional allusions and asides to give a hint of the scale of the global disaster, this book keeps pulling you in while simultaneously horrifying you with the brutal reality of a world falling apart. William Gaminara does a wonderful job as narrator, showing great sympathy to the text. Highly recommended.

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1 person found this helpful

A grim tale well told.

Day of the triffids meets Lord of the Flys as we watch our hero’s becoming severe distortions of their former civilised selves.
Excellent performance.

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Nice quick listen

It is a bit dated, it's a bit too stiff-upper-lip to be believable in a lot of ways, but the foundations of the story are very well done,

It's essentially trying to reveal what human morality is in a society that cannot sustain itself, and the reversion to tribalism that will exist if a group wishes to survive in such an environment. (There's implied rape and accepted commodification of a teenage girl, it's not "nice" story)

Where it kind of falls short is the main character doesn't really seem thoughtful, he just kind of feels a bit carried along, with everyone but his sniper-"buddy" seeming utterly undemanding, I think a modern take might have expanded on these characters as they went along their journey to introduce a bit more dimension and humanity.

Definitely worth reading though, kind of a take on Day of the Triffids from the perspective of the "Bad-Guys"

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Overall a good read

The writing style is showing its age, this book lacks any science and its very old fashioned, however I quite liked the book overall.

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3 people found this helpful

William Gaminara is great reader.

If you could sum up The Death of Grass in three words, what would they be?

An interesting yarn

What three words best describe William Gaminara’s performance?

Really very good

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending - a bit shocking

Any additional comments?

A great tale. Not quite as good as The Tripods. But nonetheless worth a listen

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1 person found this helpful

loved it

I have listened to this several times
it is very well told and I like the fact that it is a family with others joining.

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Forgotten Goodness.

It is many many years since I first read this story - and had forgotten what a cracking tale it is. It is a great story telling tale- an ideal audible book!
Of course it's grim, it's dated and many of the characters are a bit shallowly defined and even caricatured - but it fair moves along and holds the attention as a story.
The speed and scale of the social breakdown is undoubtedly exaggerated though as is the rapid slip of the characters moral sense - a bit far fetched in my opinion.

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Good timeless story, I kept forgetting it wasn't a modern story.

The story is good it flows well but I was left a little let down with the ending not so great.

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