I was really looking forward to reading this book. Lots of hype about the story. I thought it was a let down. It would probably be good for a pre-teen. The writing style was very hard to follow. Hope his follow on books were better. I love post apocalyptic stories but this one just does not cut it.

I'm amused at the bad reviews, particularly one from a 'Zora' claiming it is unreadable.
The writing style was done intentionally, and was a form of shorthand for the protagonist.. the intelligence I doubt is not of the character Candy, but of the readers who cannot grasp the concept and read through it.
The book is definitely aimed at the YA audience, and I originally read it soon after it was written but it had such an effect on me that I thought of it again recently an have been looking for a copy. Not recalling the title I turned to Reddit, and someone quickly pointed me to it.

The story is very well written, and once you get over the initial shock of the 'telegraph' style shorthand that Candy writes her journal in, you will glide through.. this was a 'could not put down' book for me, and as soon as I find a copy I'll read it again and again.

17/50
In 2023 I am going to dust off and read fifty books from my to-read list.

Yes I’m aware I’m falling behind.

Context for this line: a young girl, a savant of the highest order, believes she is the last person left living in the world. So she considers the issue of starting a new civilization ‘single handedly’ and ultimately says:
“Not keen on singlehanding part, however; sounds lonely. Besides, know nothing about Applied Parthogenesis; not merit-badge topic in scouts. [Only memory of subject’s discussion concerned related research - was no-no; leader claimed caused myopia, acne, nonspecific psychoses.]”

For all the faults Emergence has (hyper specific obsession with aeronautics in second half, mildly overdone obsession with a child’s sexuality, totally unique narrator voice bordering constantly on self-parody, bizarre late-stage narrative arcs, using word we no longer use) - for all those faults, that’s still the funniest line I’ve read in a decade.
I have zero memory of why I wanted to read this - I think potentially a comparison to Resnick’s Soothsayer trilogy - but I’m glad I finally did. Certainly not for everyone, but if you smirked at the line above there’s plenty more to smirk at in these pages.
Oh also the main character’s name is Candy which would usually be unforgivable. You’ll look past it! I’m serious!

A wonderful adventure story with one of the most engaging protagonists ever. It helps that I was her age when I read this and fell truly, deeply, madly in love. But even now, years later, it's a truly enjoyable read.

Really great story.

REREAD #2: 21 June 2019 - 2 July 2019 (9/10)

This has just been republished as an ebook, which was perfect for my planned reread in 2019. I loved all over again, again. It would be interesting to compare the text now with my friend's original paperback to see what, if anything, has been updated. But really, I just enjoyed the story. I'd forgotten some bits and remembered others, if not that this was the book they were in. Overall, it was a very satisfying reread.


REREAD #1: 8 July 2008 - 20 July 2008 (10/10)

This post-apocalyptic tale was published in 1985. Sadly, it is now out of print and both hard and expensive to find. However, Palmer has a "sequel" currently being published over three issues of Analog magazine. Having loved the book when I read it at the behest of a friend a number of years ago (thank you Alison!), as soon as I heard this I rushed off to Fictionwise and bought the first Analog issue. Before starting reading (something I still haven't done as I'm tossing up between reading part 1 soon or waiting to have all three parts before beginning) I decided to reread Emergence.

I'm so glad I did as I loved it all over again. All the same, it's a slightly odd book and any reader should go into it ready for something a little different. Emergence is written as a journal kept by 11 year old Candy Foster-Smith. As it begins, the reader slowly discovers that she has begun writing while in a bomb shelter, waiting for the immediate effects of a bio-plague to pass so she can go outside again. She is highly intelligent and later discovers she is one of a new species of human being - tougher and smarter than old homo sapiens, who have apparently all been wiped out anyway.

She is trying to be as efficient in her writing as possible, supposedly using Pitman shorthand and a terse, almost choppy style that leaves out any extraneous and unnecessary words. It takes a few pages to get used to, but it generally easy to read all the same.

Candy eventually emerges from the shelter, finds everyone in her small town has died and goes looking for other post-human survivors. She continues to write everything down for History (with a capital H), in a chatty, informal style that quickly makes the reader feel like she is a familiar friend.

Palmer has clearly put a lot of thought into the "what ifs" required for his story. He's considered the implications of his apocalypse and the situations and conditions Candy faces generally feel realistic and plausible (although the power did seem to stay on a lot longer than I would have expected without anyone to run the power stations). Candy's solutions to her dilemmas are well worked out to be consistent with a highly developed mind but the body and physical resources of an 11 year-old. She's a precocious 11 though (especially with regard to the eventual need to repopulate the planet) and I often found myself thinking of her as being 13 and finding myself surprised when her real age was mentioned.

As I said, I loved reading this book all over again and I highly recommend it to anyone. I'm sorry it is so hard to find, as that means lots of people are missing out on an excellent read. Do check your library catalogue in case they have a copy. And/or try to next story in Analog.

Emergence
David R. Palmer
10/10

Excellent.

Candy Foster-Smith is narrating to us in a very clipped manner. The use of some metaphors made me wonder at the incongruity until she tells us that she's saving time and space in this journal by cutting out unnecessary words and writing it in Pitman shorthand. Candy is an eleven year old girl being raised by Dr. Foster after her parents died when she was very young. Mrs. Foster died when she was she was five. At nine years old Soo Kim McDivott moved in next door. He started teaching karate and Candy became his star pupil, she thereafter referring to him as Teacher.

Candy is a genius, but her father is trying to give her a normal life. When he goes to Washington Candy takes the opportunity to sneak into the bomb shelter and start reading all the materials that are there, which seem to be everything. While she is just deciding what to read first an alarm sounds. The war has started. She finds out that a biological weapon has been released and it won't be safe to come out for a couple of months. This is when she starts her journal for posterity. She finds it therapeutic. I haven't mentioned Terry yet. Candy refers to the macaw as twin, bird-brained brother and more.

Candy after the waiting period plus safety margin decides it's time to leave the shelter. Making forays into town, decides to get a farm up and running. Then goes into Teacher's house and finds a note. She is Homo Post Hominem. There are probably 150,000 alive, divided into groups which he calls AA and AB. The AA's are h. post hominems that have been brought up with directed education, etc. AB have been brought up as normal children. Teacher gives Candy a list of AA addresses and she sets off to find them.

I had a little trouble believing that the electrical grid and phone system would remain active for months with no supervision and on the other hand almost all bridges were down or impassible, but it's his world and those were kind of minor. The story was great, the characters likeable and pretty humorous. The climax was very exciting, between lack of sleep, the sun and the story I had tears streaming out of my eyes.

Wtf.... Eyes pained, spinning grey matter, dropped, stopped, unfinished, banished.

When I first read this back in 1983, I would have given it 5 stars. I was around 16 or 17 then. Now, thirty-plus years later, I have to give it only 3 stars because of the inconsistent 'male gaze' aspect, some weird sexual matters, and black-and-white view of the world. Homo post hominem, IF AA, perfect. If AB (or is that BA), all sociopaths, Russians all bad guys.

Emergence is an interesting twist on post-apocalyptic science fiction. There are about fifty pages that take an abrupt and bizarre turn, but all felt right on concluding, which was something of a relief. I felt my reviewer's lens getting a bit cloudy and distracted... but then the focus returns, and I began enjoying things again. Huzzah! - it's an excellent narrative, that felt like it should have gone somewhere else, but still works on reaching an ending. The writing is consistent at least, which saves it from losing me - I think I could have set it down and never looked back if the "Intrepid 11-Year Old Saves Civilization!" bit had been any stranger or written any differently. But, I didn't have to; made it through the bumpy parts, and it's still great overall. Make sense? I'm rambling while trying not to spoil the odd parts - sorry 'bout that.

Onward.

One other thing that throws me a bit is the preoccupation with sex - the main character's being an 11-year old girl slightly unbelievable, given the frequent references back to re-population of the planet, having babies, and speculation about relationships, marriage, and sex. Lots and lots about sex. Is that really accurate, for an 11-year old girl?

Scientifically, I'm curious how the mind and body react in a situation where the future of the race is threatened. Do survival-based behaviors take over? Does the body (male or female) become suddenly healthier, a virtual baby-making machine? Related: does the mind fixate on sex and partners and how soon one has to begin popping out kidlets in order to carry on?

Because if none of that stuff actually happens... I'm more inclined to think that Candy, and all of the other characters in the book, would be a little more interested in finding/establishing a community to combat the awful loneliness, and to start restoring all of the aspects of civilization (all of the cushiest, most comfortable aspects, of course... and the practical stuff, duh). Hormonal kid aside, don't think sex is really going to be up there on priorities. But, whatever.

Have to say - the [tiny] cast of characters is a pretty likable and relatable bunch. I dig that. Palmer writes writes warm, considerate, smart-as-hell characters, and it makes the reading a pleasurable experience. It also makes what could have been a very dark and gloomy narrative into a pretty positive, optimistic one. Even in the midst of horrible trauma and pain, the characters don't ever seem to lose hope or motivation. Realistic? Maybe not entirely. But, a much better reading experience than it could have been with a bunch of glum, depressed fuckers, right? Right.

This is a fun read, and I really liked the main character. As short as it is, and enjoyable to boot, it's definitely to be recommended.

Setting aside. Very odd writing style that I cannot continue reading. First person main character is writing a journal in shorthand. Short, truncated partial sentences. Nope.

It takes a bit of perseverance to get used to the voice and style chosen for the main character, but if you hang in there Emergence ends up being worth it.