Sheltered Lives

by Charles Oberndorf

Book Overview

With the government incarcerating citizens in concentration camps in order to stop the spread of the sexually transmitted disease called ""hives,"" Anna Baxter's new relationship with a male... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055329248X
• ISBN13: 9780553292480
• Release Date: February 1992
• Publisher: Spectra Books
• Length: 450 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Sci-Fi with a social conscience.

I agree with the last reviewer. This book is distinct from the broad sci-fi genre because its firmly grounded in reality, while possessing a compelling, thought provoking storyline. One of the qualities gives it a realistic texture, is the setting of the story, Cleveland, the author's hometown. His intricate knowledge of the city and the 'burbs there give the book a natural flow, often not present in a great deal of literature (Mr.O could be compared to Faulkner in this regard). Oberndorf is a thinker, and at the time I read the book, I was impressed with the choice of issues on which he focused. It would be interesting to see what kind of sci-fi he's writing in this post September 11th world.

Science fiction's most unsung masterpiece.

The first time I read this book was around 1994 and I thought at the time that it was one of the two best books I had ever read in my life (the other being John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany). A couple weeks ago I decided to read it again and my opinion hasn't changed: it's still a page turner. Honestly, that this book was virtually ignored by the science fiction community is a crime, especially now when you consider that in a genre that is way too infatuated with computers and virtual reality, Charles Oberndorf is creating honest and provocative speculation and new ideas. Sheltered Lives has suspense and intrigue, realistic dialogue, emotion, intellect; I could go on and on but I'll let the book speak for itself. The best part of this novel, though, is the protagonist, Rod Lawrence, who is one of the few completely realized characters that I have ever encountered in a work of fiction. This may sound funny, but Rod Lawrence is both the hero and anti-hero of this novel; he's both a good and bad person, compassionate and selfish. Anyway, I've read Charles Oberndorf's other two books and have been waiting anxiously for another to be published; hopefully he is still plugging away. If you happen to be fortunate enough to run across a copy of Sheltered Lives in a used bookstore, grab it; I promise, you won't be disappointed.