World Made by Hand: World Made By Hand 01 by James Howard Kunstler

From The Week of October 31, 2010

I have, for years, been searching for apocalyptic fiction to rival Lucifer's Hammer, that 1977 classic which I consider to be the best post-armageddon book I've ever read. Mr. Kunstler, an author and theorist, does not quite reach the Hammer's lofty heights, but he comes impressively close, closer certainly than any other piece in recent memory.

In the near future, peak oil has come and gone, leaving in its wake every bit of the ruin promised by its forewarners. The absence of widespread fossil fuels has reverted transportation to 19th century modes, wagons and horses. Naturally, the global economy has collapsed and returned humanity to intensely localized living where foreigners are few and far between and dependence on ones neighbors is all-but absolute. In spite of this backslide, the people have a 21st century knowledge base and so innovative solutions are found to harness electricity and perform surgery, but will that knowledge base be handed on to the next generation now that all the institutions of learning have drifted into decay?

Robert Earl, once a man of computers and now a man of carpentry, struggles with the dislocation of trying to fit his old life, his before life, into this new world. His wife is dead, his son gone to see the world and he has very little left to live for. But just when Earl seems ready to slide into an eclipsing depression, a young man in his town he knows and likes is senselessly murdered right in front of him. The event sparks an anger in Earl who, at the prodding of his friend and Reverend, sets about trying to bring some element of justice to his decaying world. But bringing a murderer to justice isn't easy in this new world, not when might makes right. Earl doesn't have much more than will behind him, will and outrage. He may not be ready to pay justice's price.

Fiction is, in many ways, a reflection of what is important to us, both what we desire and what we fear. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise to anyone that widespread, societal collapse is a trendy theme in science fiction. We stand at the doorstep of a quantum leap forward in our understanding of everything from physics to genetics, all this fuelled by the ever-expanding power of technology. Yet, for 50 years now, various existential threats have been vying to end us before we can transit to that new, glorious understanding. Mr. Kunstler has fingered peak oil as his pet threat, arguing that our world's dependence on fossil fuels will eventually lead to the collapse of the global economy if an alternative isn't soon found. Though some seem to revel in this notion, arguing that such a collapse will return us to a more natural state wherein the strong and the smart will flourish over the weak and the slow, Mr. Kunstler is right to point out that the collapse will bring with it a return of all manner of terrors held at bay, from resurgent diseases to destructive feudalism. But while his critiques seem sound, it's the absence of pontificating here which is most gratifying. Mr. Kunstler has strong opinions on the subject of our dependencies, but he has the skill and the wisdom to gracefully imbed them into a sensible, heartfelt story. This is admirable work. (4/5 Stars)