My Favorite Book of All Time!

I originally read this book back in the late 80’s or early 90’s, and it became my favorite book. It still is. There is so much information, humor and good feels in this book, and for a post-apocalyptic novel that is rare. The heroine, an 11 year old genius and her side-kick, a very smart hyacinth macaw, named Terry are not only brave intrepid explorers, but the funniest duo of characters left on earth. You’ll enjoy the humor, but you’ll positively love the characters, while being highly entertained by the story. Be ready to binge read this one, as it’s difficult to put down.

I found this book extremely frustrating. It's rare that I run across a book that I find so interesting on one hand and so annoying on the other.

First, the writing style. The shorthand, diary format was appealing in that it lent itself to speed-reading, which I generally avoid unless I need to cram a lot of information quickly and am willing to expend the energy and concentration necessary. I found that I almost had to speed-read this book to enjoy it. Nevertheless, the not-uncommon clunky sentence or phrase had me re-reading to make sure I was parsing the author's meaning correctly. Although the style was good for general description and narration, it was almost universally horrible for action scenes. The only two that were passable were when she took down Rollo and during the final descent.

I was somewhat mystified by the occasional word correction / cross-out that showed up on my kindle. Presumably, they were there to lend verisimilitude to the diary format, but they were infrequent and random enough that I didn't gain anything by them.

Second, the protagonist. We've got a genius among geniuses put in an extraordinary situation and being expected to fix things. Weaknesses: youth, inexperience, and ideas picked up from her childhood. Youth is fine. It's a trope we see often but has been better executed by skilled YA authors (e.g. Ender's Game, Ocean at the End of the Lane, Dianna Wynn Jones). As best as I can tell, instead of giving Candy aspects of actual childhood (lack of understanding, knowledge, not knowing what one doesn't know), he saddled her with a streak of hubris a mile wide that undermined what I would have expected from her given her genius, general sociability, and wide reading. Then, he sets her up with relationship expectations out of the pre-80s (because everyone should plan on manipulating their oblivious, fragile egoed, male romantic partners into getting what they want out of the relationship). Her ideas about gender roles were period-appropriate, but couldn't he have found something else to talk about?

Finally, the plot points were predictable. It was fun seeing Candy learn from her peers (e.g. the car on rails). It was not fun seeing her miss all of Rollo's cues, the entirety of the hominem's ignoring their gut-feeling about Kyril, or the amount of angsting it took Candy to find her method of descent at the conclusion.

Palmer got a lot of the novel almost right. The characters were entertaining, the pacing was good, and the premise was interesting if not exactly believable. I won't read a sequel, but I don't exactly regret reading this one.

Immune to the effects of a bionuclear war that wipes out most of humanity, an 11-year-old girl sets out in search of other survivors.

I added this book as to-read in November 2011, almost five years ago! Thanks Mom and Dad for the birthday present that is helping my to-read list come true! I'll let you know how it is.

Emergence was not really as I expected it to be, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The main character is an exceptionally talented, extremely intelligent eleven year old girl. This has the potential to be very annoying, but the author manages to make her more likeable using her humorous self-deprecating narration style.

The book is essentially a survival story, with Candy using her brains, as well as her martial arts training, to get through a nation ravaged by panic-stricken millions as they succumb to a human engineered plague. There are a lot of other elements that you'll discover if you read the book, as well as an explanation for why Candy is so talented, strong, and intelligent.

The most interesting aspect was the narration style, which Candy describes as "Pitman Shorthand." There are no complete sentences, just the bare bones of whatever she's trying to say, so the book really comes across as a sort of stream of consciousness. This was an interesting read - odd, but interesting. It's probably not one that I'd read more than once, but it was worth the time.

Just can't get past the writing style. Not pleasurable to read. Not engaging enough. Tried hard to persevere but only got about halfway through book.

The book was a little hard to get started because of the writing style. It's supposed to be a journal (diary) and is missing pronouns etc. However, after getting used to it the reading was fine. Overall, it was an excellent book. Humorous yet serious also.

3.5 Stars

I have read this book so many times that its cover is coming off. I would to have a hardcopy version of this book. This book is part of my "Comfort Reading" shelf -- books that are like old friends and need revisiting at least once a year or whenever I'm feeling off-kilter for whatever reason.

I truly enjoyed this imaginative and ambitious classic post-apocalyptic novel. It's plot-driven in the extreme, but that plot is rarely dull. Our narrator, an eleven year old girl named Candy, is not always the most likable character but ultimately we want to see her succeed and thrive. At the outset of the novel, Candy finds herself (and her pet bird) in an underground shelter after the apocalypse. She then must discover the truth about herself and why she survived, and set out to find others like her. The biological/genetic/evolutionary basis of the premise is impossible, so a willing suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader is absolutely necessary. In the end, though, the plot is enough to keep the reader entertained and engaged, wondering what comes next.

Hallelujah!!!

I read Emergence that first year it came out while traveling on a Greyhound bus across Ohio. I LOVED that book. Years later, when I wanted to read it again, it had gone out of print, but I'm not easily stopped - I ordered it as a used paperback. Then my youngest son read it and loved it, too. He is the lucky one to have both Emergence and Threshold in paperback.
Every now and then I look to see if the status of Emergence has changed and LO AND BEHOLD, it's now available as an ebook!!
Yup, ordered that baby in just one click!!!
You should, too. Best book ever!!!

Loved this book!

There are some interesting things going on here (child genius, the perfect apocalypse bunker, the perfect apocalypse, an amazing daredevil tree crash!, a parrot that knows too much...!), but ultimately this book is very much of its time and has ***not*** aged well. There is a truly disturbing, bizarre, and out-of-place discussion of child slavery that... comes down on the side of that being okay? in 1980? what? (?!!!!!)

i'm (kinda?) glad i read it, since i was really into apocalypse fiction for awhile, but this is eminently skippable for anyone who is not an end times fiction completion-est.

Read Earth Abides or On the Beach instead. What this novel does right, it shares with those novels, and neither of those have as much disturbing/random asides.