Post-Apocalyptic Fiction - Best Post Apocalyptic Books
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Post-Apocalyptic Books
Ahhh, the apocalypse! The Post-Apocalyptic genre is one of my favorites -- whether its the world ending by nuclear war, disease, pestilence, zombies or environmental destruction. It can all end in so many glorious ways and it's usually up to a small band of humans to rebuild society.
Of course, complications always ensue. Either the zombies are still out to get you, or a rival band of humans has decided this would be a great opportunity to become dictator of the Universe. Either that, or the devil's come to Vegas and he's ready to recreate hell on earth.
There are literally hundreds of books and movies that deal with the post-apocalyptic theme, as well as post-apocalyptic video games, but I definitely have my favorites, so let's take a look at some novels first, and then, in my next hub, film.
And I'm limiting this list to stuff I've actually read, so some obvious stuff like Cormac McCarthy's The Road is missing because I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
 | This is one of my favorite books of all time. If you like this genre you will enjoy this book. Buy it! Amazon Price: $5.99 List Price: $14.99 |
 | This is a sequel to Canticle written 30 years after the original book. It was completed by Terry Bisson after Walter Miller died. I have not read it, but reviews suggest it is not anywhere near the caliber of Canticle for Liebowitz, so... for completists only. Amazon Price: $14.52 List Price: $23.00 |
A Canticle for Leibowitz
First published in 1960, A Canticle for Leibowitz is set in a Roman Catholic monastery located in the American Southwest. This is my favorite book in the entire genre, so it's getting the biggest write-up here.
Canticle is broken up into three sections, with the first taking place about 600 years after the world has essentially been destroyed by nukes and the society that survived the aftermath destroyed all their technology and their books. Sections 2 and 3 of the book take place 600 years after the preceding section.
As members of the order founded by the electrical engineer, Leibowitz, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, the monks spend their time caretaking and finding the lost texts, called Memorabilia, from before the nuclear event and working on having their founder canonized a saint by the Church. One of the novices spends his entire life creating an illuminated manuscript of one of the original blueprints drawn by Leibowitz that is found in the rubble.
Part 2 of Canticle for Leibowitz takes place 600 years later as the world gradually moves into a new rennaissance and by the time we reach part 3, the world has once again come full circle and in the aftermath of a new nuclear war, the Abbey is a refuge for refugees of the nuclear fall-out.
While A Canticle for Leibowitz is often remarkably depressing, it is one of my favorite books of all time and is one of the most significant books in the post-apocalyptic and sf canon.
Post-Apocalyptic Short Fiction
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Eternity Road
This is another of my all time favorites, as is everything Jack McDevitt writes. Humanity has been all but wiped out by plague and the only thing left of us in the future is the roads that we built. A small band of explorers journey from the former Memphis to the East Coast to find a mythological town known as Haven (New Haven, CT??), where technology is suppose to have survived. Love this book.
 | Amazon Price: $8.80 List Price: $11.00 |
Alas, Babylon
The story is about a small group of survivors in a small town in Florida in the aftermath of a nuclear war. This book is a little "Rah, Rah, we can win it!" for some people's tastes, but still depressing as all hell *g*
 | Amazon Price: $377.65 List Price: $12.95 |
On the Beach
Basically, everyone in this book is either waiting to die of radiation poisoning or elects suicide, which the Australian govt conveniently promotes by way of cyanide pills and injections. Happy happy fun times for everyone!
 | Amazon Price: $4.50 List Price: $8.99 |
The Stand
After virtually everyone dies of the Super Flu, the survivors all find themselves curiously drawn to either a small community in Colorado or the bright lights in Vegas. They are all lining up for one big showdown between good and evil. One of Stephen King's best books.
 | Amazon Price: $4.33 List Price: $7.99 |
Lucifer's Hammer
Welcome to the Ice Age! After a giant comet hits earth, the earthquakes and tidal waves that ensue make sure we're all good and screwed beyond hope.
 | Amazon Price: $3.47 List Price: $7.99 |
The Postman
Yes, restoring the US Postal Service can bring society back after total destruction. You just may need to wait a few years to get your mail.
 | Amazon Price: $4.00 List Price: $15.99 |
I am Legend
Great book by a great writer. I am Legend has now been adapted to the screen three times, but I love the book the best. A virus has turned everyone except Robert Neville into a creature resembling a vampire. He spends his days in a monotonous daily routine of securing his home against the ravenous vamps and looking for a way to cure the disease.
Movies! Apocalypse! Zombies! War!
So many movies about the end of the world, but the world will have ended by the time I get to them all. In some ways, I almost like post-apocalyptic film more than the books because the visual images are so incredibly striking -- everything from the image of the Statue of Liberty at the end of Planet of the Apes to the eerily empty streets of New York City and London in I am Legend or 28 Days Later, respectively.
Be sure to check out my Post-Apocalyptic tv series hub and then visit my Post-Apocalyptic Movies hub!
More Doom and Gloom
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More Books for You to Read
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 | I still have not gotten around to reading The Road. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Cormac McCarthy. I have heard that this is a great book however and it is being made into a movie starring Viggo Mortensen. Amazon Price: $2.99 List Price: $15.00 |
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I love this stuff so I sure don't think it's bad *g* I like a mix of SF too, but I think some pretty interesting world-building comes out of the post-apocalyptic stuff.
I will definitely be doing tv! I'll do the tv and movies together. There's some great examples from television - Jeremiah, Jericho, etc. Maybe Odyssel 5 too, since I think that pre-apocalyptic/time travel stuff like Terminator fits well.
I don't think Lost makes it into this genre. When the show first started, I was thinking that it was going to turn out that they were living in some post-death limbo (like purgatory?), but I think it is becoming clearer that the Island in Lost is something of an alternative/parallel reality due to time travel or some type of time/space continuum gap or something.
Thanks for commenting! I should have the next hub up in a few days!
Ooh, thanks for answering my request! I've only recently discovered a taste for post-apocalyptic stuff and I haven't read, or even heard of, several of these, so I am now looking forward to checking them out!
Thanks for a great review of books on the subject.
On the Beach was mandatory reading in high school. I have seldom found in other works the feeling of desolation and terror that book elicited in me. I am sure it had something to do with the Communist scare, the bomb shelters, and the air raid drills that I experienced when I was a child in school. Early impressions set the pace for the future.
If I should experience the apocalypse in my lifetime, I imagine it to be On the Beach.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a great title and your review makes me want to read the book. I did read Eternity Road --it was great. And, like Sally's Trove I read On the Beach in school--saw the movie too....that was quite the era--we all had to get under our desks in these air raid drills remember? We were sure the Russians were going to nuke us and the end was near--the world was going to end in a mushroom cloud, or so we were told. Anyway--great idea. I loved this and look forward to your take on apocolyptic film.
This is an excellent hub, and I'm glad I stopped by. I suspect you'll like to read some of the material on my hub, as it is dedicated to a scifi/fantasy series I am writing. The first installment is done, and appropriately enough for this site, is titled Antiquity Calais: Standing at Armageddon. I would be honored if you took a look at it. I've posted the prologue and the first three chapters on the hub, and if you like what you see there, I would be pleased to forward the rest to you as well.
Keep up the great work spreading the news about books from this genre!
The list is incomplete without Cormac McCarthy's pulitzer prize winning "The Road."
Kerryg, glad you enjoyed the hub. There's lots of great literature out there, this is just a small taste!
Sally, On the Beach is pretty intense and I bet people had a really strong reaction to it back when it was first released. So many of the classics were written when there was a heightened sense of nervousness about nuclear war.
Robie, Canticle is a great, great book. It's on my personal list of best books every. I think you will enjoy it. Have you read any of Jack McDevitt's other books? I am currently devouring everything he's written.
Crash, I'll be sure to check out your hubs!
Barranca, ahhh, there's always one spoilsport in the bunch! This list isn't even close to complete, but not because of the ommission of The Road, a book that was only published last year. Every other title on this list is over 10 years old and can be rightly considered a classic of the genre even though they haven't won Pulitzer's. This is also a list of books I've read only and as I mentioned at the top of the hub, I haven't read The Road. I will probably read it at some point because I'm a huge fan of this genre, but generally I find McCarthy to be really tedious. I'm hoping he'll surprise me this time out.
Sorry. I went straight to the list. Didn't mean to be a spoilsport. The only one I've read on your list is Canticle for Leibowitz, a fine novel. Another old one that you might add is H G Wells The Time Machine.
Hahha, don't worry :) Have you read The Road? What did you think of it? Do you like McCarthy generally? I personally can't stand him, but I will likely read it at some point just to see what all the fuss is about LOL
And you're right, The Time Machine would fit here too.
Yes, I read The Road. It is set in a really, really grim world, but the reader is carried through the post-apocalyptic world with the small candle of a father's tender love for his son. It is tedious but I find that a lot of great books require a lot of the reader and if one is willing to rise to the challenge a lot is learned. I am particularly fond of his novel: Cities of the Plain. it is the middle novel of a triology. It sheds a amazing light on border and inter-cultural issues between usa and Mexico. If you want a really fast page turning read, read his No Country for Old Men. I found it as difficult to put down as almost any novel I've ever read.
The frightening thing is that because of specialization in our societies, most of us don't have the most basic skills for survival.
Could you catch any living thing to eat? Most of them are too quick to even see.
I may be able to make some kind of a bow, but how the heck do you make an arrow ?
Computer skills wouldn't be any good for much survival.
When the world ends, my plan is to live off canned food for a long long time. I will make sure I have a non-electric can opener :)
Excellent hub, Embitca!!! I love this stuff, so hearing about some of those titles is great - I haven't read most of them so now I can look for them. Thank-you!
Of course, being a Stephen King fan, I have The Stand - book and movie. He recommends reading I Am Legend.
Looking forward to your movie hub! =)
I've got a book that may be a unique twist on this idea, the world does end, but its not in some massive world war with only a handful of people left. Its called Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.
o, and I'm moving to New Zealand when it all goes boom, its far enough away from things i think it will be ok...and its really beautiful, so thats not a drag or anything.
Have you read The Crysalids, or The Day of the Triffids? Both great books.
Great stuff. My mum read On the Beach when it came out and spent a few weeks "on vacation" after that. . . came back with lots of different colored meds to take. . . bet she wasn't alone in being really depressed. There a Margaret Atwood one, too -- Oryx and Crake -- you might like it.
The genre is vast - the linked thread is one of the most comprehensive that I've found on the net:-
http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64
I recommend Last Light by ALex Scarro which I am half way through - about a peak oil collapse.
Indeed I am both a fan and purveyor of the post apocalyptical survival genre. (Zombies are my poison but just about anything will do ...) You have a good list here thanks for the hub... If you have not yet read The Road, do not bother ... possibly the worst over-hyped book ever wrote :o)
jfx
You've created a list of some of the best examples of the genre. Thanks, and I hope the hub gets more people into these books.
Did you ever end up reading The Road? I read it and it's devastating.
Nope, not yet, Will. I'm not a huge fan of McCarthy, so it is kind of down on the bottom of my list. I think I'd like to see the movie first :)
It's been years since I saw the movie version of On The Beach (read the book after); thanks for triggering some cool recall. As for The Stand, yay rah, but as for Stephen King, boo hiss. He's been on my Embargo list ever since I read his lousy so called ending of the Black Tower series.
(The only other writer on that brief list is Dean Koontz. I was a rabid Koontz fan until he wrote a single line I could never forgive. Stakes and bonfires are too good for what he did. Yeah, I realize I'm straying from the post-apocalyptic thrust of this thread, but I WOULD like to apocalyze Dean for that one.)
These types of stories are one of my favourites and I've only read a couple on your list. Thanks for the reviews -I'll definitely be buying some of these :)
Hey Ghost, I stopped reading the Black Tower books shortly after the first trilogy. It just seemed like the story was meandering nowhere. Sounds like I made the right decision!
For all the Zombie lovers out there, check out my pal Eric S Brown's books. Season fo Rot is a great place to start. I love this type of thing whether it is Road Warrior style or loads of zombies coming over the fence. Nice site.
Embitca, I've read a few of your titles and I agree with your assessment of Alas Babylon. I'm going to have to revisit Canticle for Leibowitz after your glowing review, and I still need to read Cormac McCarthy's books. So many ardent fans. I enjoyed The Stand when it was turned into a TV miniseries so that looks like a great read also. Thanks!
My new book "Inclinations" is now out. Inclinations is a collection of short allegories of the Visionary Fiction subgenre with strong symbology and apoclyptic themes, based on a series of mystical and esoteric visions. It was just released in August from Revolution Press (www.rev-press.com) Inclinations is also available online. I hope you'll check it out! Thanks!
Inclinations by David B. Harrington
ISBN: 1-882918-27-4
Great to see that others have as big of interest in this topic as I do :)
I'll have to find the couple that I haven't read and give them a try.
Thanks for this Hub.
Very nice selection, most of which I've read. I'll admit to being a fan of this genre myself for a long time. I knew that "The Stand" (one of my all time favorites in ANY genre) would be on the list, but what really drew me here was to see if "The Postman" was on the list and to add a comment about that if it wasn't, but I was beaten to the punch. Very rarely have I seen a top notch book done as little justice by the movie version as with "The Postman".
The Deathlands series by James Alexer is very good in my opinion. Based in Post-nuclear America which they refer to as the deathlands it also goes to other countries and islands but the main focus in on America.
Did anyone mention "Swan Song" by Robert McCammon? Cuz it's a good one as far as end-O-the world novels go. I truly love this stuff and never tire of it. Like Housedad said Zombies are my choice, but any end-of_the world theme is good for me. It's also nice to see that Hollywood is picking up and running with it also lately. You wouldent believe how many of us there are out there Hub Llama.
A canticle for Liebowitz is an interesting book and a good read. On that is perhaps not quite post-apocalyptic but it well cold be, the setting makes it unclear, is Samuel Delaney's Dhalgren.
It is an interesting read and not at all like his earlier works, and can be a mite confusing, but it certainly is different.
Decent list here, I must say. Have you heard of the Palladium RPG Rifts? It's a pen and paper roleplaying system set in a post-apocalyptic world with incredible detail. You get the opportunity to live in a post-apocalyptic future as opposed to just reading about it.
Also, hate to spoil people's illusions but if you eat canned food every day your can-opener will go bad in about 6 months to a year.
Whenever I see lists like this of books that sound great, I always make a mental list myself of the ones I want to read, while remaining in denial that I'm too busy to get to them anytime soon. Now *that's* depressing.
Thehands, I know the feeling! My "to be read" list is probably longer than I'm capable of reading in my lifetime :)
I have to check these out, thanks for the recommendations. I have read "The Road", a beautiful, horrific story. The movie is touching but doesn't compare to McCarthy's writing style.
So many to choose from. I love these stories. My favorite are the paranormal/ horror types. My "to read list" just got bigger.
For all the fans of the genre "One Second After" by William Forstchen is a great read. Follows a small town after an EMP event over the US. Scary because it could easily happen. I lent the book to a friend about 8 months ago and it's still making the rounds.
"The Last Centurion" by John Ringo is also pretty good. Follows a soldier in the near future as the world is hit by H1N1-like super virus and cooling period.
Definatly agree with you about the Stand - one of my favorite books ever xD Never got to read the Postman, but I'm definatly looking forward to it!
brought Swan Song today, it's frightfully dark! very tense 1st 100 pages on the nuclear exchange. Gripped!
Great recommendations folks, thank you all kindly.
One you haven't mentioned but you have to read is "Ridley Walker" by Russell Hoban; a piece of serious genius. Dark but enlightening/enlivening, written in a new language to get your head round... it takes you there...
Oh yeah...@embitca... I know what you mean about McCarthy, I'm not a fan either but the Road is gooooooooooood.
Canticle is one of the great books. I haven't read it in a few years, but it's one I go back to, and it's even a root for my own writing. Thanks, great Hub. I have read most of these books.
"One Second After" by Willian Forstchen is a truly scary book. Also loved "Alas Babylon" as an 8th grader. And "The Postman" is good, and believe it or not, the movie version, isn't half bad.
Good list and I couldn't resist the subject matter. Stephen King's latest (or second to latest, the guy is so busy writing all the time) "Under the Dome" is a good read, though it is only apocalyptic for a specific town caught under, well, the dome. Definitely check it out whenever you have time for 1,100 pages or so. Cheers.
One that isn't on here is Hollowland by Amanda Hocking. Just got done reading it and it is amazing!
Excellent hub. I have read and loved ' A Canticle for Leibowitz' one of the best scifi novels of all time. I've also read Nevil Shute's - On the beach and Richard Matheson's I am Legend- both great reads. I will have to read some of the others. Thanks for sharing!
i saw "Das Boot" in an old theater that was partitioned down the middle so it was long, skinny, claustrophobic and COLD, red "Dune" without drinking anything, so i decided to read "The Road" in my cold basement at night by candlelight (i also have a young son which made me identify with the protagonist even more)- sort of 'quasi-participatory' reading that gave the story a heartbreaking immediacy. perhaps the bleakest story i've ever read. stuck with me for months. i know - sounds silly but its kind of like armchair travel-reading without missing work or like dressing up for "the rocky horror picture show". try it - you'll like it.
You have a great list here! There is one I have not read so I shall be off to do so soon but wanted to recommend to you and old one, but nevertheless, I think a good one, Swan Song by Robert McCammon.
Poetvix, I actually did end up reading Swan Song recently and I should add it to this list.
Is it terribly rude to ask if any of you might like to read and review one of my Ap. Fic titles? Be happy to send free electronic copies so long as I get an honest review in return.
So few of us admit to liking this genre. Nice to see I'm not the only one with a slight obsession. lol. Best of all time for me was a nuclear holocaust film called Testiment? Barely remember the details now but it gave me the love of the genre.
embitca, thanks for a good list. I just joined hubpages and wrote my own, and I only found yours after I finished mine then looked at it, as your list was on the right side in "related hubs". I was worried at first that I basically created the exact same list, but after the first few, both of our lists have different books on them. I actually ordered two titles that I had been mulling over buying for a long time from links attached to your hub, lol I guess I'm making you rich by doing that.
Angela White, I might be interested in reading it if you want to message me about what type of Ap. Fiction book you're working on. I love the genre so providing a writer some feedback sounds intriuging.
-DSmizzle
[Full respect to the Mods: I am not trying to advertise, just looking for fans of the genre.]
I'm hunting fans of this genre who want a free copy of an upcoming book to review or comment on. e-mail me if you're interested! You can see the Amazon page on it here (The Amazon pub date is screwy, but it comes out for real in Oct., 2011):
http://www.amazon.com/Eschaton-William-Hopper/dp/1
williamjhopper@gmail.com
Jason Stanley 3 years ago
Is it bad to like this stuff? I have always enjoyed it mixed in with my other Sci-Fi. Thanks for the book reviews. I am looking forward to the movie hub - will you include TV? Would lost qualify - not really post apocalypse but perhaps a mini secluded closed environment apocalypse type thing? Too much of a stretch - probably.
Well, anyway, thanks I enjoyed your info and look forward to the movie hub.