20230206 - A Boy and His Dog [ Book Review / Analysis / Summary / Essay ]

...

Survival is not \\ knowing when to kill; rather, \\ knowing what love is.

#HAIKUPRAJNA - A Boy and His Dog [II] 

Read online [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2023/02/20230206-boy-and-his-dog-book-review.html ]

...

Hello readers, 

I need to read the rest of the stories related to “A Boy and His Dog” by Harlon Ellison [Eggsucker, “Run, Spot, Run”, and the collected “Blood’s a Rover”].

As I referenced in the previous review, the title is deceiving, as this post-apocalyptic survival fiction story is R-rated with its descriptive gunfights, told from the protagonist’s point of view, and with its casual nudity, sex and social depravity.

I have read online that these stories served as inspiration for other nuclear wasteland franchises, such as the Fallout games, with shared features including gangs that upkeep local services, cutesy killer robots, nighttime nuclear monsters and an attention to epic gunfights or combat in a literary sense.

“A Boy and his Dog” followed Vic, a Solo from such gangs, who formed a pact with Blood, a telepathic dog; together, they were sniffing out Quilla June, a girl from a suburban downunder, which Vic later was lured into and was itching to escape from. Blood's pride in his telepathic parentage, and everything Vic learned from him, was a good way to provide readers with backstory and world-building.

Vic and Blood followed Quilla to an abandoned YMCA, but she was as depraved as him, highlighting the genre and setting through the conflicts of man vs self and nature. Blood's suggestion of burning down the YMCA, when they figured they were outgunned, was a great dramatization of this. 

Quilla later escaped, so Vic planned to chase her for revenge, and he fought Blood reasoning for them to tend to their wounds. 

Alone, Vic went downunder, where prewar suburban society had been frozen and bottled up, stopping progress. He realized Blood was right, that he was being lured into a trap. It is revealed to Vic that the men were impotent downunder and were in need of Vic.

An important aspect of the story is how resources, supply and demand, command not just one's impulsive desires, but also one's survival. 

Anyway, Vic schemed to abuse their hospitality in order to escape after killing Quilla.

But, when he had his chance, the two found she and he were legit in love. So, they teamed together to escape, killing her 'pa and fighting other townsfolk along the way out.

The line where they were climbing, where he kept telling her he loved her, was genius for being both true and for continuing the thematic thread of love being a universal idea, an evolutionary survival outline. 

When they got up top, Vic found Blood was still waiting, wounded and hungry. This was a complex situation; both Quilla June and Blood were fearful for their mortal wellbeing--both were dependent on Vic for their present situation. But Vic had to choose one of them, and choosing Blood was a given for Vic. Vic had picked both at different points in time, but he knew Blood was right about being lured, about love and history, since his love for Blood was stronger, despite the difficulty of feeding his dog. 

"A Boy and His Dog" is about, of all things, how it means to love something, the effects of love and the lengths one will go for the ones they love most.

Previous review [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/2021/01/20210102-wip-update-boy-and-his-dog.html ]

Thank you for reading.

Please share your thoughts in a comment.

Allen W. McLean 

...

Need more Bite-sized Insights to relieve your stress and suffering?

Banner : Tomothy and the Overseer of the Forest

Connect via email or social media [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/follow-on-social-media.html ]

Readers are gifted a Kindle eBook on Fridays and Mondays--short story selection rotates every few weeks, so follow via email or visit My Author Profile [ https://www.amazon.ca/Allen-W-McLean/e/B0867C5D24 ]

I write mindfulness meditation scifaiku and haiku poetry on my book reviews and on previews of my metaphysical stories, such as "Escape Perennial City". Learn more about my reviews here [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/book-review-summary-study-notes.html ]

Read the latest Project Roadmap [ https://medium.com/haikuprajna/20221230-my-year-in-reviews-project-roadmap-2022-12-6b6c671e575 ]

Thanks to you, over ONE-THOUSAND (1000!) readers have joined us on Medium! Need to stay in the Medium Partner Program? Please follow and turn on email notifications; I will follow you back! "Ado the Owl" and "Hector Blake" are available to read, right now, on Medium. [ https://haikuprajna.medium.com/subscribe ]

April's psychedelic music videos, art and poetry is available on all streaming platforms; Electric Armchair - One Hook Hooker (Official Animated Lyrics Music Video [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4oadYIAjBI ]

Electric Armchair - Amorphous I (FULL ALBUM) [ https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/electricarmchair/amorphous-i ]

"Falgara the Giant" is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Add to Goodreads and learn more [ https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/falgara-giant.html ] 

Support by buying a sticker [ https://haikuprajna.redbubble.com ]

Kindle ebooks can be read on any device at www.read.amazon.com

These poems will be collected in future editions of the HaikuPrajna Collection.