too "clever" and too much bad allegory ( )

This was not a good book. The introduction which consisted of about a third of the whole book was interesting but got to be repetitive about half-way through. The stories were a slog with the last two being somewhat tolerable however the second to last, the Little Puppy that Could, had points that bogged it down and had a confusing ending. The only stories that had much to do with a nuclear Apocalypse aside from just using it as a background that contributed nothing to the story were the last two. It was a quick read but I cannot recommend this book, it sucked. ( )

A slightly hit-and-miss collection of stories - and an excellent opening essay - on the nuclear reality of the 1980s. ( )

I know a rating of two stars is not enough to make you want to run out and grab the nearest copy of [b:Einstein's Monsters|10155044|Einstein's Monsters|Martin Amis|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41iB3nJLHzL._SL75_.jpg|2502955]. It's not exactly an enthusiastic recommendation for sure. I only hope that if you happen upon it in your local library you'll feel an irrational need to pick it up and read the introduction....because it is amazing.
The author's opening essay "Thinkability" is all about nuclear weapons and the absurdity of nuclear deterrence. It turned out to be both the best and the worst possible way to open this book. It sets the reader in the right frame of mind. It plants the seed that grows into unwieldy thoughts of nuclear winters and bleak postwar futures. Unfortunately, the stories that follow pale in comparison. I really only enjoyed reading the last two: "The Little Puppy That Could" and "The Immortals." Everything else was eh. ( )

Martin Amis has written a collection of five stories about lving with the threat of, or after, a nuclear war.

In two of the stories, the existence of nuclear weapons is a backdrop for the anxieties and behaviour of characters. These were my favourites, with a strength of language and imagery that literally made me pause and reflect mid-paragraph at times.

The other three stories could more easily fit the science-fiction genre since they take place after nuclear war has destroyed the world as we know it. Even in these, Mr. Amis's focus is on people: these aren't stories about war and technology, but about what they do to humanity. ( )