Product Description

The world will end in just 10 hours.

After Sean graduates from college, he is ready to begin his life. Silly him for assuming he will have one. Word gets out that humanity is doomed: a giant meteorite has been headed toward the Earth for decades, and the government is ill-equipped to stop it. On the final day of human life, Sean must decide who to spend his precious time with. When he opts to hit the road and reunite with a lost love, he encounters a mad society that is rapidly shredding the trappings of civilization.

It's Only Temporary is a fevered tour of a world on fire. Throw your bookmark away; you will not be able to put this story down...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #239997 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 108 pages

Review
It's Only Temporary is, perhaps, the best "End of the World" story I’ve ever read. -- Horror of Buried.com

An apocalyptic masterpiece: harrowing, hilarious, disturbing, heartfelt, and suspenseful. Not to be missed! -- James Rollins, best-selling author of Map of Bones

If I gave ratings to the books I review, this one would romp home with five stars. -- Tregolywn Book Reviews

Its powerful, stylish writing and raw emotion will stay with you for a long, long time. -- Tim Lebbon, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Desolation

Visceral. Intense. Edgy. Amazing. -- Fantastica Daily

About the Author

Eric Shapiro's wide array of fiction and nonfiction pieces have appeared in over 75 publications, in print and on the World Wide Web, including The Elastic Book of Numbers (Elastic Press) and Fedora IV (Betancourt & Co.).

Eric's debut, Short of a Picnic (2002), a radical fiction collection about mental illness, enjoyed critical and commercial success, and his screenplay Male Revenge Fantasy received a national award from the International Radio & Television Society in 1998.

Eric lives in Los Angeles with his wife Rhoda. He will not be satisfied with his fiction until the pages literally catch fire . . .

Customer Reviews

A great, quick read...
The premise of Eric Shapiro's It's Only Temporary is pretty simple, and to be honest, not terribly original. A giant space projectile (a "rock...far too giant for words" according to our first-person narrator) is hurtling towards Earth and is going to destroy
99.9999% of life on the planet. The story's been done in novel and movie form many, many times over. Or at least, that's how it appears on the surface.

Shapiro's novel grabs you initially by placing the action at just 10 hours before impact (as it is, society at large was only forewarned about its imminent extinction six weeks prior). Our protagonist, Sean, has decided that he wants to be with his ex-girlfriend, Selma, when the world ends. Good news is, it's only a 3 hour drive away. But of course, if the story was all good news for him, there'd be no fun in reading.

Sean takes off to see his girlfriend, who knows he's coming and eagerly waits his arrival. Along the way, Sean bumps into various other characters, all trying to cope with the impending catastrophe, and has some heart-thumping misadventures. He does some growing up, some flashing-back, some philosophizing, scrutinizing, heroism and selfish thinking.

This story has a wealth of emotion in just 108 pages that most "end of the world" stories can't squeeze into 300+. At times it almost becomes melodramatic, but thankfully manages not to cross that line, leaving you feeling genuinely touched, not manipulated. The lightning pace means things never get boring, although some chapters felt rushed (an animal attack near the climax--though given a unique approach--in particular felt too short). In a story like this, where we're residing in one character's head for the duration, it is important for the protagonist to be someone we can identify with and care about that. Sean is a character that you come to root for, who even in his less than stellar moments is still someone you want to see victorious. He's the star of the show, if his character weren't endearing you wouldn't make it past Chapter 1, but no worries in that regard, because Sean is a complete, honest and very human hero.

Different Take on the End of the World
Hours before the world ends, Sean decides to take the three hour drive to his former girlfriend's house so he can die in her arms. He says goodbye to his parents, takes his dad's gun, and drives off towards his girl's house. He makes some stops that aren't necessary, such as to his favorite diner, where the proprietor shoots at him for walking out with a glass. People act in unbelievable manners at times in this book, and the narrator's description of his mother was a bit offputting.

Then he encounters some villians straight out of Mad Max who are throwing women out of a camper van. He picks up one of the women and they go after the two crazy men. After that situation is dealt with, they go to a house in search of a car (his Explorer ran out of gas) and end up helping a couple deliver a baby. These are a few of the things he stalls around with as he makes his way to his ex.

Along the journey he does plenty of drugs, thinks back to his time dating the girl, and gets in a car wreck. After the wreck, there is a brief "anti-psychotic episode" and the story gets back on track only to get bogged down in a rediculous subplot about wild lions.

Will he make it to the girl's house? You will have to read it to find out. It is a very short book and the print is pretty big, so it won't take long to finish and it is quite entertaining. Except for the part about the lions, which made you wonder if the whole thing was a dream. Shapiro is an author I would check out again.

What a Ride
I started this story about Two hours ago, and I just got finished. I read it in one sitting. I could not tear myself away from it. It grabbed me by the throat on the first page, and I am still trying to catch my breath.

The story takes place on Humanity's last day. A Meteor is heading straight for Earth, and nothing can be done to stop it. The story follows a young man named Sean, and his struggles. His physical struggle to reach is ex girlfriend before the Meteor hits, and his mental struggle to find God, and the meaning of Life. You witness the worlds last few hours through his eyes.

This story made me laugh, almost cry, and laugh some more. It was a true pleasure to read. I have to say that this is one of the best Apocalyptic stories I have ever read. I hated to see this book end. Eric is one heck of a Storyteller. He knows how to write a story that will stay with you long after you finish it.

I recommend Its Only Temporary to anyone that wants to read a adrenaline packed story that is at the same time very deep and beautiful.

It will stay with me for a very long time.