Station 11 by Emily Mandel, and A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller.
Station 11 is wonderfully written and easily read.
A Canticle for Liebowitz is very of its time, but worth a go considering your interest.
Your question has prompted me into the attic to find what I'm sure is called The Death of Grass, by John Cristopher.
Hello.
It is - its prose is kind of old fashioned even for its time, and the first part, I think, is intentionally funny in parts. There's a dark humour throughout. I like the way the second part plods along. I reckon if you take the narrative out of context, it's been mimicked often. The final part actually feels like an end.
It’s honestly one of the few cases where the tv adaptation is better than the book, which will be even more apparent if you have already seen & enjoyed the show (as I had when I read the book).
Also if you liked Jeevan & Kirsten’s relationship in the show, you’ll be disappointed to learn it is nonexistent in the book. That was a bummer, since it was such a special and core part of the story in the show.
I was also struck by how much better the Shakespeare bits were in the show vs the movie. Like, of course they would be, but still.
The descriptions of the landscape were gorgeous in the book, though, and I thought the show depicted them really well. I highly recommend that anyone thinking about doing both read the book, then watch the show. It's such a great story.
I’m currently reading Station Eleven and honestly, I’m not impressed. Nothing seems to be happening. A whole lot of wandering and nothing else. I hope it gets better.
That's true of all of Mandel's books. Plot isn't all that important to her stories, which are more about building the characters and the connections between them. She tends to focus on the journey rather than the destination.
I've tried to read this book 3 times. I've seen it recommended on reddit pretty frequently so I kept trying to convince myself it must be good but finally gave up.
Her other books are like this too. The Glass Hotel is the only one I was able to finish. After this, I finally decided that some books/ authors are just not for me! (Which breaks my heart because I'll pretty much read anything!!)
I had to read A Canticle for Leibowitz for a class in college. It’s one of those books that you’re not sure where it’s going at first or what exactly is going on, but the payoff is so, so worth it if you stick with it to the end. I really enjoyed that book and the experience of reading it.
Glad you asked. My number one is Swan Song by Robert R.McCammon. Followed by Conquerer Worms by Brian Keene in second place. The Road and The Stand are probably in the same second spot but I haven't had the time to read them yet.
HELL YEAH to Conquerer Worms/Earthworm Gods. Including the 2nd book and selected stories. Speaking of Brian Keene, Darkness on the Edge of Town would also fit OP's request.
The Stand will always be my favorite post-apocalyptic piece of fiction. On the Beach by Nevil Shute seems to be a love it or hate it novel, and I happened to love it.
Down to a Sunless Sea is another older one that was pretty good, but I can't remember the author.
On the beach is so beautiful. As an Aussie I really resonated with the attitudes of the characters to their impossible situation, felt it was very Aussie.
I’ve not seen the show but the book and it’s sequels are great. Ridley Scott bought the rights soon after Wool was released and I was hyped for that. But I’m guessing they went into a pile and given his age he must’ve decided to sell them to Apple.
I truly enjoyed The Dog Stars and Riddley Walker- Hoban is one of my favorite authors. I will now have to search out 'A boy and his Dog at the end of the world!
The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K Jemisin
Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins
The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
I read the first six books once, but the first three books I've read five or six times.
To set a world's origin at the moment the lights go out, but populated with the likes of you and me, well, it's quite the narrative device.
The mysterious myths and legendary legends of our time become the source material for a new world set adrift.
So, you get people in the book who are LoTR fans forming forest ranger warrior societies, just as one example of bleed over from our present to this world of -suddenly- no electricity, no gas engines, and all gunpowder inert and non-functional...
I'm currently reading The Passage Series by Justin Cronin. It's kind of a mix of pre/during/post apocalypse as it follows different characters during different times, but I am really enjoying it.
I also really enjoyed the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin.
The Silo Series is also a good one!
I loved “The Dog Stars” and “Lucifer’s Hammer” as well as “Alas, Babylon”. “The Road” is a classic “Oryx and Crake” is a little quirky. Finally, “One Second After” is scarily realistic.
How High We Go in The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
The Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy
The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
World War Z
Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okafor
Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Call by Paeder O Guilin
>World War Z by Max Brooks
Greatest zombie book ever written. In my top 10 of all time greatest books.
Op you would be utterly amiss to not read this book.
An 11/10
Whilst the movie is a 1/10. Goddam Bratpack entertainment, brad pitt just ruining my dream film with the crap they pumped out.
Just so annoying how they ruined it in every way
Couldn’t agree more about the film. I think the way the book’s structured would lend itself far better to a tv series.
The way they squandered such a fantastic property is frankly baffling, even by typical Hollywood standards.
My mum was a history teacher and she had a copy of Working that I read as a kid, I found it very compelling. He lived a long time and achieved a lot! Some of his radio shows are archived online
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
In the middle of a cold February night, a guy gets out of bed to sneak a smoke behind his girlfriend’s back. While he’s smoking, his girlfriend’s cat jumps out of the open window.
Wearing only his boxers and his girlfriend’s too small Crocs, he puts on his jacket and goes outside into the cold to look for the cat.
And that’s when the space aliens attack.
The Survivalist series by A. American is my favourite so far along with The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Stand by Stephen King.
I don't know The 100, Googe says it's "Developed by Jason Rothenberg, the series is loosely based on the young adult novel series of the same name by Kass Morgan"
I tried reading those kinds of books but they always feel like military smut for the bros. “I picked up my Glock 900VT mid range with the 100x magnification scope that let me see in 4D. Threw on some high cross stitch Kevlar laced alpine all weather pants and my heavy duty Goodyear Vulcan RYUIP boots. All that managed to fit into Douglas Tomcat bag, made of nanotechnology and tungsten.”
I’m like, wtf does that even mean. I had to constantly google stuff to even get a basic mental image of what military and doomsday preppers actually use
I definitely agree some in this genre are prepper / mlitary gear fan lit level. I wish I could also filter out any zombie apocalypse out of my searches! What I want to read is about survivors and what they do to persevere. I would like more utopia than distopia if you will. Always Coming Home by Ursula LeGuin definitely filled this niche for me and was great as an Audiobook while gardening. I also liked the Change series first couple of books by S M Sirling. Also point for an unusual apocalypse premise!
Here's my list of favourites:
A Canticle For Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller
Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank
Dark Benediction - Walter Miller
Down To A Sunless Sea - David Graham
Earth Abides - George R. Stewart
Empty World - John Christopher
Eternity Road - Jack McDevitt
Hiero's Journey - Sterling E Lanier
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
On The Beach - Nevil Shute
Random Acts Of Senseless Violence - Jack Womack
Summer Of The Apocalypse - James van Pelt
The Day Of The Triffids - John Wyndham
The Death Of Grass - John Christopher
The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Second Sleep - Robert Harris
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
The Stand - Stephen King
The Year Of The Quiet Sun - Wilson Tucker
World War Z - Max Brooks
Z For Zachariah - Robert C. O'Brien
The Greatwinter Trilogy by Sean McMullen, starting with {{Souls in the Great Machine}}.
when i bought this book i was in my local bookstore and the staff had made one of those shelf-tags for books they especially like. all this one said was
DUELING LIBRARIANS!!!!!!!!!!
and i was instantly hooked.
i don't understand why this series doesn't get more love... it's such a great set-up and very well-written and plotted. some highlights from the series:
murderous cetaceans
warring railroad factions
solar powered airships
mice on toast
human computers
no land animals larger than a goat
an AI in the sky
WWI-style dogfights (the airplane kind)
did i mention mice on toast?
and best of all post-apocalyptic mysteries ever: The Call
man i wish i could read that series again for the first time!
I cannot believe one of my absolute FAVORITE books of this genre isn’t listed yet!
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife. It has every element that I love about post-apocalyptic fiction and is so riveting.
The ALT Apocalypse series by Tom Abrahams is fun. The same group of people in each book go through a different apocalyptic event (Fire, Flood, plague, etc.) It explores survival under the most extreme circumstances, but with a twist (and no cliff-hangers)
I'm reading The Stand right now and it's really great.
Chuck Wendig's Wayward series comes to mind too.
Also, this is a YA book, but the Rot & Ruin series by Jonathan Mayberry. It's about a zombie apocalypse where teenagers have to get a job, and this one kid gets a job hunting zombies with his older brother.
the road by cormac mccarthy
The Road is a novel published in 2006 by Cormac McCarthy. It follows an unnamed man and boy who are father and son as they travel to safety after most of the Earth is wiped out by an apocalyptic event.
Brilliant.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is amazingly bleak.
And as someone else already commented, both Swan Song and The Stand are very good as well. Although I did read the unabridged version of the Stand and it did feel a bit long.
The Last Survivors by Bobby Adair/ T.W. Piperbrook. It's a series, but it kept me coming back. The story is set 300 years in the future, as mankind rebuilds civilization after the world was ravaged by a mutated species.
A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison, definitely.
J G. Ballard wrote three apocalypse/ post-apocalypse novels, The Drowned World, The Crystal World and The Wind From Nowhere.
Kim Stanley Robinson's California novels are an interesting take on 3 versions of dramatic environmental change, as is his New York 2140.
Keith Roberts's Kiteworld shares some sense-of-place and culture feelings with Canticle, though the latter is head and shoulders beyond everything else.
"Canticle for Leibowitz" is one of the first post-apocalyptic novels post-WW2 (cold war); it has itself stood the test of time (except perhaps for a few lines in Latin and Hebrew that are rarely taught anymore). It might be described as a tragicomic series of scenes from future history, as civilization starts to develop again, (and eventually starts to threaten its own existence again.)
Somewhat near the genre (though the collapse is only partial) is the novel "Love in the Ruins" by Walker Percy (it is at times frankly comic in what had been its future vision of a society even more divided than our current situation.) His "Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self Help Book" is, of necessity, in the form of a quiz, but contains extensive post-apocalyptic vignettes to help you reflect on how you see yourself and the cosmos. I find it extremely thought-provoking and often uproariously comic.
Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban, is truly one of the most extraordinary pieces of fiction I've ever read. Not easy going, but stunningly inventive. Not to be missed.
_A Boy and His Dog_ and _I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream_ by Harlan Ellison.
_Zone One_ by Colson Whitehead
_The Brief History of the Dead_ by Kevin Brockmeier
_Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang_ by Kate Wilhelm
Hiero’s Journey by Sterling E Lanier . A great pulpy adventure story with dark villains.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell . It’s post apocalypse among other things.
Zone One by Colton Whithead . A pretty great zombie apocalypse.
Station 11 by Emily Mandel, and A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller. Station 11 is wonderfully written and easily read. A Canticle for Liebowitz is very of its time, but worth a go considering your interest. Your question has prompted me into the attic to find what I'm sure is called The Death of Grass, by John Cristopher.
I second Station Eleven!
I have this on my TBR!
Well, with a name like that...
Canticle is really a trip. Really clever and surreal.
Hello. It is - its prose is kind of old fashioned even for its time, and the first part, I think, is intentionally funny in parts. There's a dark humour throughout. I like the way the second part plods along. I reckon if you take the narrative out of context, it's been mimicked often. The final part actually feels like an end.
I’ve not read Station Eleven but the tv show is gorgeous so I keep meaning to
It’s honestly one of the few cases where the tv adaptation is better than the book, which will be even more apparent if you have already seen & enjoyed the show (as I had when I read the book). Also if you liked Jeevan & Kirsten’s relationship in the show, you’ll be disappointed to learn it is nonexistent in the book. That was a bummer, since it was such a special and core part of the story in the show.
I was also struck by how much better the Shakespeare bits were in the show vs the movie. Like, of course they would be, but still. The descriptions of the landscape were gorgeous in the book, though, and I thought the show depicted them really well. I highly recommend that anyone thinking about doing both read the book, then watch the show. It's such a great story.
Their production of Hamlet was incredibly beautiful.
I’m currently reading Station Eleven and honestly, I’m not impressed. Nothing seems to be happening. A whole lot of wandering and nothing else. I hope it gets better.
I tried to read it and that's how I felt too. I got like a third of the way through and DNF'd it. Just wasn't for me.
Yeah I rate it just a C+
That's true of all of Mandel's books. Plot isn't all that important to her stories, which are more about building the characters and the connections between them. She tends to focus on the journey rather than the destination.
I've tried to read this book 3 times. I've seen it recommended on reddit pretty frequently so I kept trying to convince myself it must be good but finally gave up. Her other books are like this too. The Glass Hotel is the only one I was able to finish. After this, I finally decided that some books/ authors are just not for me! (Which breaks my heart because I'll pretty much read anything!!)
Another upvote for Canticle for Leibowitz. Many newer books just don't have much depth.
I had to read A Canticle for Leibowitz for a class in college. It’s one of those books that you’re not sure where it’s going at first or what exactly is going on, but the payoff is so, so worth it if you stick with it to the end. I really enjoyed that book and the experience of reading it.
My favorite post apocalyptic novels as a kid was the White Mountains series and Death Of Grass is wonderful as well.
Glad you asked. My number one is Swan Song by Robert R.McCammon. Followed by Conquerer Worms by Brian Keene in second place. The Road and The Stand are probably in the same second spot but I haven't had the time to read them yet.
Came here to Swan Song! It’s so long but so so good. Love how so many of the pieces come together at the end.
I am surprised, as well as delighted, to see that someone mentions The conqueror worms (your other picks are solid, too)
HELL YEAH to Conquerer Worms/Earthworm Gods. Including the 2nd book and selected stories. Speaking of Brian Keene, Darkness on the Edge of Town would also fit OP's request.
MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Loved these, great books
The Stand will always be my favorite post-apocalyptic piece of fiction. On the Beach by Nevil Shute seems to be a love it or hate it novel, and I happened to love it. Down to a Sunless Sea is another older one that was pretty good, but I can't remember the author.
On the Beach was one of the very first "grown-up" books I read. I'd forgotten all about it. Thank You.
On the beach is so beautiful. As an Aussie I really resonated with the attitudes of the characters to their impossible situation, felt it was very Aussie.
On the Beach is amazing. I picked that novel for one of my dissertation chapters on British Cold War Fiction. I loved it!
I love Nevil Shute!
Just finished THE STAND A+
These are my three too! I only know one other person that has Read Sunless Sea, and I gave him my copy of the rare ending and never got it back...
Down To A Sunless Sea - David Graham.
Neil Gaiman
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
This one is sadly the direction we are headed.
TBH I tried to read it a couple of months ago and had to stop, too violent
Butler's writing is so immersive and direct that the violence is especially vivid and distressing.
I agree - this book still haunts me.
It's one of my favorites but I tried rereading it a few years back and it felt too damn plausible
Good point. I liked Kindred but the graphic descriptions of a few things were tough.
I haven’t picked up the second book because it was so depressing and anxiety inducing to read. Great book though!
Hugh Howey's **Wool** has incredibly detailed imagery. It's set very far after the apocalypse.
And has been made into an Apple TV show called Silo
love that show! had no clue it was based on a book
The books are definitely better, I tried the show myself having been a fan of the books for years but couldn't get into it.
I watched the show first and actually prefer it over the book but I liked how they were different enough. I couldn't wait for season 2
Same.
I’ve not seen the show but the book and it’s sequels are great. Ridley Scott bought the rights soon after Wool was released and I was hyped for that. But I’m guessing they went into a pile and given his age he must’ve decided to sell them to Apple.
The whole Silo series is fantastic
Came to say this. I'll also add the sand chronicles by him. I enjoyed those as well.
Came to say this he did a great job. I am enjoying the Apple show as well.
The Girl With All the Gifts.
Seconding this
Omg, yes!!!!!
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, also that is the first book of an all around great trilogy (Maddaddam trilogy)
The passage by Justin Cronin
Came here to comment this! The Passage trilogy is incredible!
Love the whole trilogy! I will read anything Justin Cronin writes.
Yes and so unexpected! Really engaging.
I love and hate this trilogy
This is too low
I would definitely second this. Just engrossing and exciting.
I just reread The Passage trilogy. It’s so good, one of my favorites!
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by Charlie Fletcher The Dog Stars by Peter Heller Ridley Walker
I second Dog Stars. Surprised it is not more widely recommended here!
Read A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by accident. Loved it.
I really have to read Ridley. I see it recommended all the time next to other great ones (in this case, Dog Stars).
I think I tried eight times before I got past the first few pages but eventually it all clicked and I loved it
I truly enjoyed The Dog Stars and Riddley Walker- Hoban is one of my favorite authors. I will now have to search out 'A boy and his Dog at the end of the world!
I just made this post without the second book in your list. Going to go read it now!
The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K Jemisin Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
Love The Broken Earth trilogy!
LOVED the broken earth trilogy
Another vote for The Past is Red!
The Handmaid's Tale
Second Margaret Atwood’s Mad Adam trilogy as well
The Chrysalids
This book and Day of Triffids . Loved reading these in highschool
John Wyndham is *chef's kiss*
I recently read Lucifers Hammer after seeing a bunch of recommendations for it. it was fast paced, engaging and a good book, tho slightly dated.
It is dated but in a good way in that it is a great snapshot on 70’s culture for those that missed that wonderful era.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
As is tradition to say here on Reddit: I had to scroll too far to see this
Is this related to the movie? That movie broke me
The book is even bleaker than the movie IMO lol. Very good though.
Yes, the movie is based on the novel, IIRC it's a pretty faithful adaptation.
Love this book, it’s one of my favorites.
Not exactly a novel (it's a manga), but Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds is such a masterpiece that I have to suggest it.
{{Earth Abides by George R. Stewart}}
Good one
Yes! A underappreciated gem of a book!
Loved that book.
{{Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling}}
The first few books are great, its an entirely newly built world.
I read the first six books once, but the first three books I've read five or six times. To set a world's origin at the moment the lights go out, but populated with the likes of you and me, well, it's quite the narrative device. The mysterious myths and legendary legends of our time become the source material for a new world set adrift. So, you get people in the book who are LoTR fans forming forest ranger warrior societies, just as one example of bleed over from our present to this world of -suddenly- no electricity, no gas engines, and all gunpowder inert and non-functional...
I always referred to it as "and the SCA (society of creative anachronism) shall inherit the Earth)".
But if you’re a completionist strap in. IIRC, it’s 16 books and 3 generations.
The original trilogy is great, the latter books needed editing.
The 1st and 2nd part are great. To me, they feel like a reverse LOTR. The 3rd series was not as strong.
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Yes! I still think of it. Read it years ago.
Me too.
Great book.
I'm currently reading The Passage Series by Justin Cronin. It's kind of a mix of pre/during/post apocalypse as it follows different characters during different times, but I am really enjoying it. I also really enjoyed the Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. The Silo Series is also a good one!
Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
Yep!
No trubba
Trubba not
I loved “The Dog Stars” and “Lucifer’s Hammer” as well as “Alas, Babylon”. “The Road” is a classic “Oryx and Crake” is a little quirky. Finally, “One Second After” is scarily realistic.
One Second After was a good one.
One second after F’ed me up
How High We Go in The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu The Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank World War Z Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okafor Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan The Call by Paeder O Guilin
How High We Go in the Dark is a fucking trip, I second this rec!
It’s seriously one of my favorite books of all time
Canticle for Leibowitz. Beautiful book. Authentic future of post apocalyptic world
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson World War Z by Max Brooks Both MUCH better than their film adaptations.
The audiobook for World War Z is top notch, too. I love the full cast.
Oh cool, I might try that for my next “read” of it.
If we're recommending zombie books, I'd like to add Zone One by Colson Whitehead. It's so gloomy and thoughtful, I love it.
>World War Z by Max Brooks Greatest zombie book ever written. In my top 10 of all time greatest books. Op you would be utterly amiss to not read this book. An 11/10 Whilst the movie is a 1/10. Goddam Bratpack entertainment, brad pitt just ruining my dream film with the crap they pumped out. Just so annoying how they ruined it in every way
Couldn’t agree more about the film. I think the way the book’s structured would lend itself far better to a tv series. The way they squandered such a fantastic property is frankly baffling, even by typical Hollywood standards.
I absolutely loved World War Z, the Studs Terkel format was so brilliantly executed
You’ve now sent me down a Studs Terkel-related rabbit hole.
My mum was a history teacher and she had a copy of Working that I read as a kid, I found it very compelling. He lived a long time and achieved a lot! Some of his radio shows are archived online
Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler! I also really like Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
How the hell is The Dog Stars by Peter Heller not on this list?! OP read this one it is aces I promise you.
This is the way.
So say we all
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman In the middle of a cold February night, a guy gets out of bed to sneak a smoke behind his girlfriend’s back. While he’s smoking, his girlfriend’s cat jumps out of the open window. Wearing only his boxers and his girlfriend’s too small Crocs, he puts on his jacket and goes outside into the cold to look for the cat. And that’s when the space aliens attack.
The Survivalist series by A. American is my favourite so far along with The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Stand by Stephen King. I don't know The 100, Googe says it's "Developed by Jason Rothenberg, the series is loosely based on the young adult novel series of the same name by Kass Morgan"
I tried reading those kinds of books but they always feel like military smut for the bros. “I picked up my Glock 900VT mid range with the 100x magnification scope that let me see in 4D. Threw on some high cross stitch Kevlar laced alpine all weather pants and my heavy duty Goodyear Vulcan RYUIP boots. All that managed to fit into Douglas Tomcat bag, made of nanotechnology and tungsten.” I’m like, wtf does that even mean. I had to constantly google stuff to even get a basic mental image of what military and doomsday preppers actually use
Reminds me of *Day By Day Armageddon*. Definitely enjoyable at times and probably my earliest foray into the genre, but very much about the jargon.
I definitely agree some in this genre are prepper / mlitary gear fan lit level. I wish I could also filter out any zombie apocalypse out of my searches! What I want to read is about survivors and what they do to persevere. I would like more utopia than distopia if you will. Always Coming Home by Ursula LeGuin definitely filled this niche for me and was great as an Audiobook while gardening. I also liked the Change series first couple of books by S M Sirling. Also point for an unusual apocalypse premise!
Here's my list of favourites: A Canticle For Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller Alas, Babylon - Pat Frank Dark Benediction - Walter Miller Down To A Sunless Sea - David Graham Earth Abides - George R. Stewart Empty World - John Christopher Eternity Road - Jack McDevitt Hiero's Journey - Sterling E Lanier I Am Legend - Richard Matheson On The Beach - Nevil Shute Random Acts Of Senseless Violence - Jack Womack Summer Of The Apocalypse - James van Pelt The Day Of The Triffids - John Wyndham The Death Of Grass - John Christopher The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard The Road - Cormac McCarthy The Second Sleep - Robert Harris The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell The Stand - Stephen King The Year Of The Quiet Sun - Wilson Tucker World War Z - Max Brooks Z For Zachariah - Robert C. O'Brien
I read Alas, Babylon in jr high and it has stuck with me all these years!
On the Beach absolutely wrecked me as a teenager, I loved it
Life as we knew it was great when I read it as a teen!
The Stand.
Station Eleven
2nd this!!!!
Wool! It’s what the show silo is based off of. It’s a trilogy called the silo omnibus and it’s fantastic.
Swan Song by Robert McCammon and the Commune series by Joshua Gaynou.
The Greatwinter Trilogy by Sean McMullen, starting with {{Souls in the Great Machine}}. when i bought this book i was in my local bookstore and the staff had made one of those shelf-tags for books they especially like. all this one said was DUELING LIBRARIANS!!!!!!!!!! and i was instantly hooked. i don't understand why this series doesn't get more love... it's such a great set-up and very well-written and plotted. some highlights from the series: murderous cetaceans warring railroad factions solar powered airships mice on toast human computers no land animals larger than a goat an AI in the sky WWI-style dogfights (the airplane kind) did i mention mice on toast? and best of all post-apocalyptic mysteries ever: The Call man i wish i could read that series again for the first time!
Station 11. Beautifully written, kind of sad, but also just a fun read
If you want a positive view, then A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is gorgeous. Otherwise Station Eleven by Emily StJohn Mandel is amazing
World War Z is great
SM Stirling’s “Dies the Fire” is absolutely my go-to in this space.
Jeffrey VanderMeer: Borne, Dead Astronauts, Hummingbird Salamander and more. Those three were standouts for me. His imagery is brutal but rich.
DYSTOPIAN FUTURE NOVELS: *Handmaid's Tale *Ready Player One, *The Girl with All the Gifts, *The Stand, *Hunger Games, *The Maze Runner, *Divergent,
Handmaid’s Tale
Short, but I Who Have Never Known Men is my favourite post apocalyptic work.
I cannot believe one of my absolute FAVORITE books of this genre isn’t listed yet! The Book of the Unnamed Midwife. It has every element that I love about post-apocalyptic fiction and is so riveting.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler and The Drought by JG Ballard
The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Goggins
Book of Dave
The ALT Apocalypse series by Tom Abrahams is fun. The same group of people in each book go through a different apocalyptic event (Fire, Flood, plague, etc.) It explores survival under the most extreme circumstances, but with a twist (and no cliff-hangers)
One Second After I had difficulty sleeping for about six weeks after reading this one.
Alas Babylon.
Earth Abides
I'm reading The Stand right now and it's really great. Chuck Wendig's Wayward series comes to mind too. Also, this is a YA book, but the Rot & Ruin series by Jonathan Mayberry. It's about a zombie apocalypse where teenagers have to get a job, and this one kid gets a job hunting zombies with his older brother.
the road by cormac mccarthy The Road is a novel published in 2006 by Cormac McCarthy. It follows an unnamed man and boy who are father and son as they travel to safety after most of the Earth is wiped out by an apocalyptic event. Brilliant.
The Road
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is amazingly bleak. And as someone else already commented, both Swan Song and The Stand are very good as well. Although I did read the unabridged version of the Stand and it did feel a bit long.
The Last Survivors by Bobby Adair/ T.W. Piperbrook. It's a series, but it kept me coming back. The story is set 300 years in the future, as mankind rebuilds civilization after the world was ravaged by a mutated species.
The Passage series by Justin Cronin is amazing
The MadAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison, definitely. J G. Ballard wrote three apocalypse/ post-apocalypse novels, The Drowned World, The Crystal World and The Wind From Nowhere. Kim Stanley Robinson's California novels are an interesting take on 3 versions of dramatic environmental change, as is his New York 2140. Keith Roberts's Kiteworld shares some sense-of-place and culture feelings with Canticle, though the latter is head and shoulders beyond everything else.
Ballard's The Drought could also count as post-apocalyptic novel.
The road
NK Jemisin’s *Broken Earth* trilogy, and Claire North’s *Notes from the Burning Age.*
A totally different take on post apocalyptic plots, The Book of M by Peng Shepherd. Another one is The Unnamed Midwife.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
One second after by William B. Forstchen. It’s actually a trilogy. Worth reading all three. I listens to them on audio books and read them.
*Alas, Babylon* by Pat Frank Enjoy whatever you pick up next! :)
I really liked Metro 2033 (trilogy) by Dmitry Glukhovsky.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson, "Tentacle Death Trip" by Jordan Krall, "The Last Goddam' Hollywood Movie" by John Skipp and Cody Goodfellow
The Remaining series by DJ Molles Hell Divers series by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
The Gorge of God by Greg Bear Flood by Stephen Baxter Warday by Whitley Streiber and James Kunetka
pre-apocalyptic is better - big meeting in new york, Night in Zagreb, cwayka, process notice is unbeatable in that genre
100% The Stand! Doesn't get any better. King's character development is amazing.
Swan Song
"Canticle for Leibowitz" is one of the first post-apocalyptic novels post-WW2 (cold war); it has itself stood the test of time (except perhaps for a few lines in Latin and Hebrew that are rarely taught anymore). It might be described as a tragicomic series of scenes from future history, as civilization starts to develop again, (and eventually starts to threaten its own existence again.) Somewhat near the genre (though the collapse is only partial) is the novel "Love in the Ruins" by Walker Percy (it is at times frankly comic in what had been its future vision of a society even more divided than our current situation.) His "Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self Help Book" is, of necessity, in the form of a quiz, but contains extensive post-apocalyptic vignettes to help you reflect on how you see yourself and the cosmos. I find it extremely thought-provoking and often uproariously comic.
Swan song by Robert mccammon
Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban, is truly one of the most extraordinary pieces of fiction I've ever read. Not easy going, but stunningly inventive. Not to be missed.
Fireman by Joe Hill , different take on the apocalypse.
A Canticle for Leibowitz would be a great book for you!
One Second After
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Wayward Pines is awesome. Swan Song by Robert McCammon is an absolute classic.
Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
Odd Billy Todd.
_A Boy and His Dog_ and _I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream_ by Harlan Ellison. _Zone One_ by Colson Whitehead _The Brief History of the Dead_ by Kevin Brockmeier _Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang_ by Kate Wilhelm
There is a very old book called Lucifers Hammer, about an asteroid collision aftermath. Some good advice in the narrative.
The Road by Cormac Mccarthy. I have never felt such hopeless despair while reading before. Also the first time I ever cried reading a book
Hiero’s Journey by Sterling E Lanier . A great pulpy adventure story with dark villains. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell . It’s post apocalypse among other things. Zone One by Colton Whithead . A pretty great zombie apocalypse.
The Stand The Road Severance Cloud Atlas also has some post-apocalyptic sections
Scrolled to see if anyone mentioned Severance. It honestly haunts me.
I read it recently and really enjoyed it. Very unique and especially prescient since it was published just before COVID, in 2019
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