The Amtrak Wars: Cloud Warrior Bk. 1

by Patrick Tilley

Book Overview

Hundreds of years after civilisation has been destroyed by nuclear war, the Earth is divided between the Trackers of the Amtrak Federation - a community living in vast subterranean cities - and the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0722185162
• Release Date: January 1983
• Publisher: Sphere Books, Limited
• Length: 311 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

5 star series, 1 star ending (No Spoilers)

Having just read all 6 books for the first time, you can imagine my howls of frustration on discovering that the series is left unfinished. If it had been wrapped up (at all) this would definitely have been a contender for a 5 star rating as the story is quite amazing and imaginative but leaving his fans hanging with no conclusion to the story is unforgivable. I can only hope that Mr. Tilley plans on a book 7.

The Best Series Yet

I was in the library one day at my school trying to find a science fiction book to read for one of my subjects. I love books but i hadn't read for a long time. Suddenly a teacher came to me and suggested the Amtrak Wars. I was very curious. So I started to read, and I couldn't stop! The book was so great with so many things happening and so many great characters I really couldn't stop. Every free moment I had I read the book. The story tells a war story from two different views. One is of the mutants who live on the surface of Earth and the other the Amtrak Federation, an advanced society of Humans living underground. The setting is 10 centuires in the future after a war that has wiped off life as we know it. The story is fantastic with excellent description. I couldn't believe how good and easy I could imagine the events using the words the writer choose. I recommend this book to anyone interested in a original intresting future world epic! I'm definatly going to read the rest of the series, and so should you!

Intricate post-apocalyptic storyline is a winner!

I started reading this series at school as it was coming out, so when the new book was released there was a huge fight amongst friends as to who would get it. I have since read the 6-book series once every year (at least 6 times) and it never gets dull! I still love reading it. The plot is literally mindblowing as it reaches a crescendo and you feel incredibly attached to the characters. A top contender for a Lucas or Spielberg treatment (hint, hint).SummarySet after WWIII, this book focuses on two groups. The first, the Amtrack Federation is descendant from military personnel who survived underground. The second (Mutes) developed from holocaust srurvivors who reverted back to tribal status and are considered non-human by the Federation, and are in the process of being exterminated.Steve Brickman, a brilliant young pilot with the AF, and with all it's prejudices crashes and finds himself rescued by a clan of mutes and held captive. Whilst there, he realises that he feels more at home in the 'overground' than in the underground cities of the Federation. And what about Steve's telepathic connection with his sister which makes them outsiders in a world of conformity? And are they the only two races left on earth? Read on my friend and enjoy the ride!

Good till almost the end.

I was engrossed in the series from the first chapter. A real page turner. I was able to picture everthing as it unfolded. The plot is good. I nice mix of action, drama, cross-cultural relations. I loved the ideas about how the races followed slightly historical paths (as with the feudal Japanese "Iron Masters"). Book six was a let down as Mr. Tilley seemed to be in a hurry to finish the story. But this is the only downside to an otherwise masterful tale. Anyone who reads this series should try and get the follow up art book based on the series, as it shows portraits of all the main characters, the different clan colorings, the Amtrak Federations vehicles. To name just a few of the images. A must-have for any sci-fi lover.

A moving and vivid tale

Patrick Tilley has created a post-apoclaypse America where the human race has moved underground. Quite a few people didn't and now they have seperated themselves into two seperate races and waged a bloody war with each other. The humans underground are very advanced but there are serious flaws in there society. The 'mutants' as the underground people call them rely on no technology but have magicians and live in brutal tribes where if someone trespasses or invades another tribes teritory they cut off their scalps. One man from underground who has joined the air-force crashes down and is rescued from his burning veichle by mutants. The first book is based mainly on him much to his surprise falling in love with a mutant and then trying to realise that they are still people even if they have adapted to the poisonous atmosphere. I was so caught up in this amazing story-line which is basically about racism I read this book for countless hours on end. The only problem which might not appeal to some readers about these books is the way Tilley describes the deaths of soldiers and tribesmen. Reading about someone spraying some sort of liqued napalm on to a group of people and then being told the way the flesh burned off is not my idea of fun. Altogether one of the most excellent science fiction books I have ever read but I only reccomend it to people who don't mind being shocked