"Anyone Read Post Apocalyptic Novel "The Road" (2006)?" Topic

Beware. There may be spoilers in some sections of these links:

link
link
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road

If so, what Post Apocalyptic gaming scenarios did you get out of it?

Thanks.

CC
PS. I just got a copy of it. Plan to start reading it this week, so don't give me too many spoilers (I read some of the reviews – but not the plot summaries provided). :)

By the way, it seems to be the basis for the October 2009 film by the same name, starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron.

Here's the official trailer. Too many spoilers, I think. But you may have seen that trailer or others on TV already:

YouTube link

Either way, it's got some nice shots of Post Apocalyptic scenery that may inspire terrain building too.

CC

There is not an overwhelming amount of conflict-driven interaction in the book (only a handful of scenes, really, although they are intense). The narration is very minimal and the real strength of the book lies in the powerful way in which McCarthy hints at the desolation around the father/son and, of course, the way he explores the relationship between those two.

Great book!

It's going to be very low level skirmishes, no more than 8-10 per side. Very limited ammunition, use of bows and crossbows and improvised melee weapons, extremely limited vehicle use.

Mostly you would have the good guys trying to evade the bad guys. Could have different bands of survivors fighting for resources or protecting what little they have. Slave raids and ambushes are another possibility.

It would make an interesting campaign as you try to get your group of survivors down the Road.

So, perhaps have the "good guys" attempt to cross the long side of the gaming board without being taken over?

CC

I would think it would be too brutal and realistic for much gaming.

Mutants, zombies and hot-rods are all more fun than running away from people who want to sodomize and eat you.

One of the best books I've ever read also.

LOL. Zombies? I am more inclined to go realistic PA, so it's gotta be "ragers" for me.

CC
TMP link

Its a good, but bleak book. As stated previously, there isn't alot to hang your hat on as far as skirmish gaming goes. Maybe the food riots and other events that would happen immediately after the "event". Otherwise you have gangs of nasty people (cannibals, truck people, other random survivors) just doing each other in, taking their stuff and eating the remains. Not very pleasant.

If you want to make The Road into a solo game, I recommend playing Chainsaw Warrior instead. You have just as likely a chance of succeeding and may actually have some fun doing it.

Oddly enough this book 'cured' me of the desire to game post-apocalypse stuff. I don't think I've even played Fallout 3 since I read it.

Rich

Rich,

Wow. That bad?

CC

I'm with Rich, The Road, and a few other books I have read lately certainly cured any desire I had to do post-apocalyptic gaming. Sticking with good ole' hard sci-fi instead, much more upbeat. BTW, if anyone enjoyed The Road, there is a French film you should look for if you haven't already seen it called Le temps du loup (Time of the Wolf), also very realistic and unsettling:

imdb.com/title/tt0324197

Paul

Ooo..that's going on the Netflix list. Thanks, Cold Warrior.

I read The Road and World War Z in a row. That was depressing. To cure you of your sad, pessemistic views of the armageddon, I recommend "Go Go Girls of the Apocalypse" by Victor Gischler (spelling his name wrong I think).

You've got go-go girls, opposing factions, trains powered by guys on steroids, cowboys, yuppie cannibals, an isolated mental hospital run by the inmates, and more go-go girls. It's hilarious.

Sounds like a hoot.

I read The Road, thoroughly enjoyed it (although that sounds odd), but I didn't see it as a good candidate for gaming.

However, there are fleeting glimpses of what could pass for armies. Really nothing more than mobs of half-starved cannibals that might bump into each other on their sweeps of the road and fight it out with the few makeshift weapons at hand. Definitely not up to Road Warrior status and guaranteed to leave all of the players in a deep depression due to the absolute bleakness of it.

But there are also a couple of brief references to blood cults that once dominated the area. I get the impression that immediately following the disaster, but before the events of the book, there were at least some organized groups following some type of ideology who warred with one another and probably killed each other off. So, based on those few sentences, I think your best bet would probably be to set a game in that earlier time period. I can see rival groups of survivors fighting each other over supplies of canned food or over human "cattle" to cannibalize and enslave. They'd be dressed in rags to keep out the cold and face masks to protect their breathing. Their weapons would be a few low-tech firearms and most of the rabble armed with things like axes and clubs. Most would be in a perpetual state of starvation, except for the leaders and a few of the stronger members. As a result, the melee value of most of them would suck. possession of bodies, regardless of which side they started on, would count for VP since they would be dragged off and eaten. To get the right spirit of the game, you'd want to use a grey mat and no vegitation except burned and dead trees. Lots of derilict cars and ransacked buildings on the table, too.

Man, I'm getting depressed just thinking about it!

Completely agree with Zagloba and Hexxenhammer. The Road is not a genre book, which are good for what they are but The Road is beyond that. It is an unremitting nightmare tale for a parent in which a child who could easily be yours is placed in peril that is all the more appalling because it is all too real. It's like gaming the Holocaust, IMO.

Yeah, it really points out how inadequate of a provider you'd be for your children if it ever hits the fan. Loved the book, but as much as I'd like to see the movie I don't think it will be a pleasant night out for me. I feel sorry for anyone who is fooled by the trailer and goes in expecting 'Mad Max.'

Rich

Well, that's why I said I didn't see it as a good candidate either. It's not a "fun" book at all, and it's not really something I can picture on a gaming table.

I did enjoy the book apart from that, though. I'm a dad, and the story made an impact on me on that level, far more than it would have if I read it before my son came along, which I think was the author's intent. As a parent, I found the story unrelentingly terrifying. But I did find the end somewhat uplifting. Relatively, anyway. The story really stayed with me for a while.

Me too, Mero. And when I was done reading it, I instinctively went round checking on all my kids. It's not a fun book. It is a powerful experience, though. Actually I'm dreading the movie. When I heard that a Hollywood hunk was cast as the man, I cringed.

Vigo is not a typical hollywood hunk. And the director is an associate of Nick Cave, the most depressing musician in history. I have good feelings about the movie. By which I mean that I will feel bad when I leave the movie.

As others have said, it is a very well written but very bleak book. Very depressing to me, especially as a father.

The "child in peril" aspects of the book actually reminded me very much of Stephen King's "Cujo" (the book, not the movie).

Haven't read it but I suppose I should. The Finnish translation won a local top scifi award just the other day. Been putting it off as I often find scifi books written by mainstream authors lack in the ideas department even tho they often are better written than your regular scifi author could manage.

I am going to read it now sounds very disturbing. After reading the post I looked into the book I have not seen it or read it yet but I am really disturbed by what others have said. i am also watching the discovery channels show the Colony I wonder if they will go cannabal (wink) or if the hosts of that show will bring that up.

tnjrp, it's not really a scifi book, so it's a little ironic that it won a scifi award. seriously, this is not a book that can be filed in any genre. If you want the book to be full of imaginative ideas like a Larry Niven book, it's not the book for you.

When I heard that a Hollywood hunk was cast as the man, I cringed.

Hunky? You decide:

picture

While it is well written, The Road is easily the most depressing book I have read this year

I just found a review of the movie (already!) by Esquire magazine. The reviewer got to watch the final cut with one of the Weinsteins. The reviewer said the same things about the book that we did here and said it all applied to the movie as well. Everything in the movie is in the book, but that the movie can stand alone. He said it's the kind of movie you will tell people to see but won't be able to articulate why.

But if you see a preview with a bunch of expository news casts and that makes it look like an action movie, don't be surprised. The news reports aren't in the movie, and they didn't make it into an action movie. Previews always lie.

Link here:

link

No spoilers.

No desire to read it, no desire to watch it.

Crusty chic!

I finished it just before Historicon. Very depressing book. The story actually kind of sucks. But they atmosphere Mcarthy paints is very realistic. And depressing as hell.

Frankly without major changes, I don't see how this would be worth a movie that didn't make you want to kill yourself.

Cheers, Xin

khurasanminiatures 28 Jul 2009 5:45 a.m. PST

it's not really a scifi book, so it's a little ironic that it won a scifi award

That would I think somewhat depend on what one means with science fiction… OTOH examples of the former recipients of the said price are Stepan Chapman, J. G. Ballard, Stefano Benni and Flann O'Brien, so I suppose the jury does play it a little loose.

Never heard of this, but have just ordered it from Amazon due to you guys recommendations.

"The Ruins" had a similar effect on me. Very bleak, very depressing. They changed the ending in the movie (slightly), but it still tanked.

That was a great film. Well not great but very enjoyable.

The Road was a very good read. I was on the city bus going to my Biology class when I finished it. I felt like crying.. Sad ending.

Otto
noizehive.blogspot.com

Given that the same author wrote "No Country for Old Men", it shouldn't surprise anyone that it doesn't have a feel-good ending. That was another movie that I liked, except for the last five minutes.

Never got started reading the book, but watched the 2009 film tonight (with Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron):

link

I guess that, for the movie at least, it would be a simple obstacle race, with PA cannibals on the hunt.

Dan

That book was so depressing. I watched it, cleaned my guns, drank Jack from the bottle and listened to Patsy Cline, then cried myself to sleep…

I know this is a Modern Board, but if you like Cormac McCarthy as an author, read "Blood Meridan." It is regarded as his masterpiece. If involves bounty hunters fighting Commanches and basically everyone else (Mexican presidiales, townspeople on both sides of the border, US cav., etc). It is a great read with a ton of western skirmish scenarios.

A warning: it's not for the squeamish. It makes "The Road" or "No Country for Old Men" (another McCarthy novel)seem like Disney stories.

"it would be a simple obstacle race, with PA cannibals on the hunt"

Sounds like a great post apocalyptic game to me!

"I know this is a Modern Board, but if you like Cormac McCarthy as an author, read "Blood Meridan." It is regarded as his masterpiece. If involves bounty hunters fighting Comanches and basically everyone else (Mexican presidiales, townspeople on both sides of the border, US cav., etc). It is a great read with a ton of western skirmish scenarios.

A warning: it's not for the squeamish. It makes "The Road" or "No Country for Old "Men" (another McCarthy novel)seem like Disney stories."

…sounds even better!

Wait a minute…no mutants? grrrr :)

I have to say i don't understand the fuss over this book. The prose is awful, the characters two-dimensional and lacking any engaging features. I really didn't care for this book and was glad to get rid of it asap.

Mel, it's how McCarthy writes. I happen to like his style very much, but tastes differ.

Zardoz, you are absolutely right! I loved that book! It was the first book I've read that actually made Indians on the warpath sound utterly terrifying. But in the interest of keeping thread genres segregated, that's all I'm gonna say.

I enjoyed the book for what it was worth. Hell, I started it at 6:30PM one night and finished it up at around 5:40AM the next morning, so there must have been something to it that engrossed me. Must have been the "what's gonna happen next" anticipation that McCarthy managed to achieve so well.

In any event, I can't see it making for good gaming scenarios under any circumstances; if in the end there's no hope, why bother?

I saw the movie but have not read the book. The movie was excellent but very dark as expected. Viggo did a great job in this movie. If you skip this movie because it is dark and depressing you will be missing out on a great film. Saving Private Ryan was depressing also…

I will need to get a copy of this book and read it.

A slight deviation from the topic…it is interesting to see the ebb and flow of the form and structure of what makes a post apocalyptic setting over the years; even considering the stories from way before my time.

Certainly the political and social issues of the day affect the direction of the writer/film maker when processing these literature/media projects.

Wars/conflicts, severe political upheaval, AIDs/bird flu/etc., and even the general opinion of the social machine as a whole…all this and more are measured and balanced to create a dish that is more or less palatable to the reader/viewer depending on the age, social status, and other variables.

Look at some of the iconic post apocalyptic books/movies.

Time Magazine notes these ten books as the best post apocalyptic offerings: link
The Road
The Stand
The Last Man (graphic novel)
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Drowned World
The Passage
World War Z
The World Without Us
The Day of the Triffids
The Last Man

As far as movies, there was no agreed upon top ten to fall back on anywhere…with weird B-movies and pet favorites falling alongside the iconic ones…so I will just take a shot at it to continue the thought.

Mad Max/Road Warrior/etc.
I am Legend
Planet of the Apes
The Time Machine
The Postman
THX-1138
12 Monkeys
Matrix
Akira
Reign of Fire

Now there is plenty of room for argument and issue to be had with these and anyone's list of ten…I chose these for familiarity and the variety of apocalypse…this list should include many other movies that had a special message, or meaningful direction…but all that said, as noted above it is all a measure of the potential for hope.

With out any reasonable hope then there is no balance.

A world consumed by zombies…everyone who dies becomes a zombie, any fresh dead pop back up, etc. this is a nightmare that explores the fear of mortality…without faith in something beyond the mortal presence there is only the flesh, which in this case sticks around to remind you of this fact.

The various stories of 99% of the world's population is gone in a blink (insert your reason of choice), again we are exploring the morality but this time as a species…it is usually our fault in some measure and the 01% are left to consider the folly of the human race…most often a thinly veiled message of the need to hug rainbows, to abandon technology, and just make dirt angels in fields of wild flowers (did I mention having to grow up under a pair of hippies…I would have preferred otherwise).

And so forth.

We see the current strain of post apocalypse stories and movies to be overwhelmingly bleak. Is this the logical end result of our current collective social situation?

Most if not all post apocalyptic stories pick one small point to spin the story…world flu, water rising, natural disaster, lack of fossil fuels, reduced birth rate…with some being reasonable in potential and others not so much.

But all of these situations are gamable if there is some hope…ruin the world but let it recover quickly, at least in some areas…the world gets colder but there is warmth along the equator…zombies are all around but there is a cure, something that is achievable like a cocktail of antibiotics (which kills the contagious aspect of being a zombie)…too much dry or too much wet, but there is still a bright location in the horizon.

*****

So back to The Road. For a pickup game, the gauntlet is a tried and true formula for a fun game…RPG or skirmish…but the whole point of a gauntlet is the challenge and that it ends, a goal.

The Road…run the obstacle course, fight off the rape gangs and cannibals, all in an effort to reach the great fort/vault/walled town/protected island/etc.

In the end there must be a reasonable bright light at the end of the tunnel.

The movie missed the entire point of the book. The book is about the relationship between father and son travelling an emotional wasteland. The movie wallows in the realities of a physical post-apocalyptic wasteland. The book is not depressing.

#6, I read an interview with McCarthy once, in which he said that he developed the idea for this soon after the birth of his son. most sci-fi/fantasy stories are a metaphor for something occurring in the real world, and he said that he meant this to be a metaphor for how he saw parenthood. Since he was fairly old when his son was born and probably won't see his son all the way to adulthood, that air of impending mortality plays a critical part in the story.