GEORGE R. STEWART (1895-1980) Was an American novelist, toponymist, and professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His entire SFF output consisted of one Science Fiction novel Earth Abides (1949) and two mainstream novels with fantastic elements. Earth Abides is set in a post-apocalyptic landscape and depicts the remnants of humanity recovering from a global environmental disaster. A year after it was published it was turned into a two-part radio drama for the program Escape. It also served as inspiration for Stephen King‘s The Stand. Two of Stewart’s other novels (Storm and Fire) have elements of Fantasy (eponymous anthropomorphized characters). The former features a Pacific storm named Maria as its protagonist. This indirectly lead to the curious practice of the American National Weather Service using personal names to designate storms.
Commercial Audiobooks:
Earth Abides: The 60th Anniversary Edition
By George R. Stewart; Read by Jonathan Davis
Audible Download – Approx. 15 Hours 4 Minutes [UNABRIDGED]
Publisher: Audible Frontiers
Published: April 21, 2009
A disease of unparalleled destructive force has sprung up almost simultaneously in every corner of the globe, all but destroying the human race. One survivor, strangely immune to the effects of the epidemic, ventures forward to experience a world without man. What he ultimately discovers will prove far more astonishing than anything he’d either dreaded or hoped for. Winner of the 1951 World Fantasy Award. Includes a special introduction written and read by Connie Willis.
Radio Drama:
Escape – Earth Abides
Based on the novel by George R. Stewart; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 1 Hour [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: CBS Radio
Broadcast: November 5 & 12, 1950
Provider: Archive.org
A post-apocalyptic Earth has been devastated by an unknown airborne plague that has wiped out all but a few small pockets of humanity.