Riddley Walker is a novel by Russell Hoban, first published in 1980. It is generally regarded as science fiction and won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best science fiction novel in 1982, as well as an Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award in 1983. Russell Conwell Hoban (born February 4, 1925) is an American writer of fantasy, science fiction, mainstream fiction, magic realism, poetry, and childrens books. ... See also: 1979 in literature, other events of 1980, 1981 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel has been awarded every year since 1973, except in 1994. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Though its premise is similar to other post-apocalyptic novels such as A Canticle for Leibowitz, Riddley Walker is unusual in its style and focus. The narrator, Riddley, speaks in a devolved form of English, the spelling of which has changed considerably and in which many modern words (especially technological and religious terms) have changed in meaning; many of the place names are puns, such as "Dog Et" for Dargate, and "Do It Over" for Dover. While the unfamiliar language is a projection of how historical linguistics might apply in the future, it also provides clues to the nature of life in Riddley's world (e.g., being "et" by wild dogs is a common fate), and creates suspense as the reader gradually comes to understand some of the references of which Riddley is unaware. Religious philosophy and the supernatural are also central to the novel, elements which are also present in Leibowitz but which Hoban treats in a more allusive, mystical sense, drawing on elements of many religious traditions. Hoban also draws on the history of his adopted country, including Celtic mythology and Punch and Judy. Apocalyptic science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization, through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. ... A Canticle for Leibowitz A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Walter M. Miller, Jr. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Historical linguistics (also diachronic linguistics or comparative linguistics) is primarily the study of the ways in which languages change over time. ... A Canticle for Leibowitz A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Walter M. Miller, Jr. ... Mysticism (ancient Greek mysticon = secret) is meditation, prayer, or theology focused on the direct experience of union with divinity, God, or Ultimate Reality, or the belief that such experience is a genuine and important source of knowledge. ... This article is about the European people. ... A stained glass illustration of Mr. ...

Hoban began writing the novel in 1974, inspired by the medieval wall painting of the legend of Saint Eustace at Canterbury Cathedral. It is his best-known adult novel, and a unique departure from his other work although he has continued to explore some of the same themes in other settings. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... On a wing of the Paumgartner Altarpiece, Albrecht Dürer painted Lukas Paumgartner with the banner of his patron St Eustace, in the contemporary armor of a landsknecht. ... Canterbury Cathedral, N.W., ca. ...

The novel is set at an unspecified time, at least two thousand years from the present, after a nuclear war has destroyed our civilization. The novel's characters live a harsh life in a small area which is presently the English county of Kent, and know nothing of the world outside of "Inland" (England). Their level of civilization is similar to England's prehistoric Iron Age, although they do not produce their own iron but salvage it from ancient machinery. Church and state have combined into one secretive institution, whose mythology, partly based on misremembered stories of the war, is enacted in puppet shows. The main action of the story begins when the young narrator, Riddley, stumbles upon efforts to recreate a weapon of the ancient world. Nuclear War is a card game designed by Douglas Malewicki, and originally published in 1966. ... Kent is a county in England, south-east of London. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st... Iron Age Axe found on Gotland This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age, for the mythological Iron Age see Iron Age (mythology). ... The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μυθος mythos, a story or legend, and λογος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... A puppet is any controlled character, whether formed by a shadow, strings, by the use of a glove, by direct mechanical contrivance (for example a cable-controlled figure for film or TV) or electronic guidance (such as a radio or infrared remote controller). ...

External links

• Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker
• Riddley Walker Annotations