This book is named as one of the top five SF novels people pretend to have read. Well, I'm glad I made the effort to read it. Beautifully written with a simple premise. I enjoy classic SF that keeps things narrowly focused. There is no need to explain everything just try to answer/question one possible scenario. There is a lot of religious fervor but it's done without preaching to the reader. It's the direction Brackett chose in this instance. The book's theme and morals are still valid today 60 years later.

Written in 1955, this is the post-apoco novel that started it all. I picked it up because I'm interested in the history of genres and post-apocalyptic is one of my favorites. Unlike other science fiction novels, TLT does not show its age. Focusing on the lives of two young boyhood friends, the story follows them from their "idyllic" hometown to a legendary place called Barterstown where technology and free-thinking are still allowed.
As I said, the story is still fresh today because she doesn't focus on the traditional tropes - radiation, mutants, etc. - but on the effect of a world event on the relationships and beliefs of everyday people. There is little here that is new but that isn't the point. This was one of the first books of its kind and its influence is obvious if you look at the bookshelves of sci-fi today.

Not what I expected but an excellent read. Not like other 'apocalypse' books ... Refreshing!

While this was supposed to be science fiction, it's primarily dystopian. The writing is good, but most of the story is more general fiction than a scifi. I'm not a big fan of dystopian fiction, so just not my style.

3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

Generations after global war, the United States has banned cities, and people live in small, self-sustaining communities with limited trade. Len Colter and his cousin Esau feel constrained by the strict rules of their New Mennonite community, and eventually break away, looking for the legendary Bartorstown, said to retain knowledge of science and technology.

I haven't read a lot of Leigh Brackett - an adventure novel or two. I think of her as a solid, but uninspiring pulp author. The Long Tomorrow changed some aspects of my view.

The writing is stronger than I anticipated/remembered, and Brackett does a nice job of concisely conveying an interesting post-apocalyptic world, and of creating credible, engaging characters to follow. She does a great job of showing us Len's moral and emotional struggles, with turning him into a caricature. While Len is the core character, Esau gets fair treatment as a secondary character, and the two are interesting throughout. There's a fairly strong Tom Sawyer feel throughout, though of course the plots are entirely different.

The book was written well over half a century ago, but stands up remarkably well, in most ways. While the concept is by now a very familiar one,the focus here is on Len and his maturation. Where Brackett fails substantially (though slightly mitigated by the book's age) is in the treatment of women. While there are important female characters, they're entirely designed as plot mechanisms, rather than real people. Both of the boys' love interests are manipulative and needy. It makes a little sense in the male-dominated world of the book, but it's still unpleasant to read. Pretty much the only positive female characters occur early in the book, in the form of standard mother and grandmother types. Given the quality of the rest of the writing, it gives the feel of a writer trapped in the pulp conventions of the time, or unwilling to fight against them.

Despite its flaws, this is an interesting book deserving of a read.

This is well written and has an interesting start, however I struggled to find the third part interesting and feel like the idea was better than the execution.

Overall, I’m quite meh about The Long Tomorrow (and I never really connected with the characters) but Leigh Brackett is an excellent writer, and I’m glad I read this.

When first published, this was probably amazing. Today it just doesn't hold up and the second half of the book never finds it's footing.