First published 1974
Len and Esau grow up in a world where nuclear war has shattered civilization. Their community forbids large towns and treats technology as forbidden knowledge. The rulers enforce a simple farming life, but the young cousins dream of something beyond their fields and restrictions. Stories circulate about Bartorstown, possibly the final city still standing somewhere in the wasteland. The boys decide to leave everything they know and search for this legendary place. Their quest becomes more than a physical journey across dangerous territory. They must confront the beliefs their society has drilled into them since birth. The search for Bartorstown forces both cousins to examine their own values and decide what kind of future they want to build.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, coming-of-age, post-apocalyptic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Bartorstown
Period: Post-Nuclear War
262 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Ballantine Books