The Postman by David Brin

First published in 1985

In a post-apocalyptic future, Gordon Krantz is something of a nomad, drifting from village to village, acting out one-man plays in exchange for food and shelter.  While evading bandits he stumbles upon an old postal truck.  Krantz takes the dead letter carrier's uniform and, helping himself to the mailbag, begins playing a new role:  that of a postman dispatched by the reconstituted government to reestablish delivery routes.  There is no new government but villagers fighting for survival and fending off tribes of marauders are desperate to believe him.  The question is whether Krantz will live up to the illusion he's invented.

I'm a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction in general, but I approached this novel with the thought that it might not live up to its hype. I was mistaken. Brin created a credible future world, and the concept of a survivor feeling compelled to deliver the mail (even if he stumbled onto the idea for reasons that were far from altruistic) is brilliant: mail delivery becomes not only a means of stitching together a torn nation, but a powerful symbol of national unity and pride. Gordon Krantz, the main character, is more than a bit torn himself, a man of less than heroic stature who, by the novel's end, has grown into not just a hero, but an icon of heroism. Krantz is a fully developed character (a rarity in sf), and his personal transformation is inspiring. The supporting characters are also solid and purposeful. The Postman is a strongly plotted, well written novel, in many ways better than another, more celebrated version of a post-apocalyptic future:  The Road.

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