TY - ABST T1 - "The Descent Into Silence" Y1 - 1984 A1 - G[arvin] R[obert] Gilbert (b. 1917) KW - Aotearoa New Zealand author KW - Male author AB -

Dystopian novel set after a nuclear war. Set in the 1940s with New Zealand collapsing, reverting to savagery. Initially the government establishes an Office of Public Co-ordination (OPC) with powers equivalent to the government to ensure the continued functioning of New Zealand, but it fails and moves to a military base where military dictatorship is established in the surrounding area. The protagonist leaves the military area and ends up joining a group of religious tribes which is also presented in dystopian terms. The manuscript is accompanied by correspondence with Wren Green, the project leader and principal author of the New Zealand Planning Council report "New Zealand After Nuclear War". Green agreed to read the novel and reported back to Gilbert in 1987 that it was an accurate reflection of the issues New Zealanders would face. See the note at 1952 Gilbert.

PB - G. R. Gilbert Papers CY - Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury ER -