Level 7
Level 7 is the diary of Officer X-127, who is assigned to stand guard at the "Push Buttons," a machine devised to activate the atomic destruction of the enemy, in the country’s deepest bomb shelter. Four thousand feet underground, Level 7 has been built to withstand the most devastating...
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Level 7 is the diary of Officer X-127, who is assigned to stand guard at the "Push Buttons," a machine devised to activate the atomic destruction of the enemy, in the country’s deepest bomb shelter. Four thousand feet underground, Level 7 has been built to withstand the most devastating attack and to be self-sufficient for five hundred years. Selected according to a psychological profile that assures their willingness to destroy all life on Earth, those who are sent down may never return. Originally published in 1959, and with over 400,000 copies sold, this powerful dystopian novel remains a horrific vision of where the nuclear arms race may lead, and is an affirmation of human life and love. Level 7 merits comparison to Huxley’s A Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984 and should be considered a must-read by all science fiction fans.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780299200640 (0299200647)
Publish date: June 24th 2004
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Pages no: 200
Edition language: English
My dad had this book from the scifi bookclub - from when he was a teenager, I think. I borrowed it from him this summer and just finished it. While I was reading it, it scared the hell out of me. It gave me my best understanding of what it must have been like to live under the threat of nuclear war ...
Reads like an old school utopia novel -- the kind that's more explaining what the utopia's going to be like, rather than the kind with a... y'no, plot.
"I am the god who pushed the buttons," says the narrator, a dull nuclear weapons technician who happens to be the proximate cause of starting World War III. Later, he apologizes for this atypical and unprofessional lapse into poetry.
A plausible portrayal of the last war and its aftermath. Read the preface last - it spoils the ending. The annotated bibliography is a treat for fans of post-apocalyptic fiction. Also included is The Politics of Ratology, a forgettable short story.
Bleak. With no chance of redemption whatsoever. If you like happy endings, you might want to stay away from this book. This book is quiet similar to [b:On the Beach|38180|On the Beach|Nevil Shute|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327943327s/38180.jpg|963772] and [b:Alas, Babylon|38169|Alas, Babylon|Pat ...