Profoundly depressing after-the-bombs-drop novel about a damaged missile man trying to get to his family in a ruined America. Very well written. Took me years to find in hardcover. ( )

Dark December by Alfred Coppel was an excellent post-nuclear war story about one man’s travels through the devastated West Coast in search for his family. Along the way he sees the devastation both of the world, of civilization, and of the people he meets. Coppel does an excellent job of presenting the true horror of war and its aftermath. In a time when combat is often glorified and cries to wipe another group of people off the face of the planet are rampant, Dark December is a refreshing look at the true reality of what nuclear war really would mean.

The one question that the protagonist tackles and should be asked of anyone in a war is the question of whether or not it was worth it. Was anything gained by all the killing, was it worth it in the end? These questions need to be asked because as Coppel shows us, war is not pretty for the survivors. ( )

The aftermath of World War III shows life in the Western US after the big one falls.