Good Post Apocalyptic Books Wanted

[stellarexplorer]

An emphatic second for Emergence by David R Palmer!

The Year of the Quiet Sun by the recently departed Wilson Tucker.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy was mentioned. I found it quite powerful. One has no good reason not to call it SF (except for the publisher, who would not want to damage sales), but it will not appeal to that brand of SF reader who seeks primarily after an intricate or interesting plot. Though I am not out to repeat or endorse the familiar tropes about genre vs. literature, this book would be a good index case for a science fictional premise in a work that would be identified as a "Literature" by the classicists. Moving, austere, almost without plot, it is a walk with a man and his young son through the post-apocalyptic death-remains of the world. The son is the man's only remaining motive or tie, and we learn almost nothing of the events that have led to this hell. Sad and horrible, almost beyond words, except these of McCarthy.

 

[goofy9er]

some of the books people have mentioned sound interesting. but what i want to know is are any of these newer. books set in the 50's and stuff like that just don't appeal to me.

 

[murphy]

some of the books people have mentioned sound interesting. but what i want to know is are any of these newer. books set in the 50's and stuff like that just don't appeal to me.

The S.M Stirling trilogy beginning with Dies the Fire. Can't remember the name of the middle book but the last one is Meeting at Corvallis. These were written in the last 5 years. There's also C. S. Friedman's The Madness Season wherein aliens take over the earth and are combatted by a vampire. That one was written in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

 

[Chrystelia]

I've recently read Day of the Triffids, The Postman, Greybeard, and Earth Abides. I'm looking for some more good post apocalyptic scifi to read. Anyone got any suggestions?

The Day of the Trifids has a sequel entitled The Night of the Trifids ... I think, by another author. Read it sometime back.

 

[Coreen Hipae]

Sorry I posted this in the wrong section so I am just going to remove the post. My pardons.I was telling about Armegeddon's Children, by Terry Brooks, but it is a new book. While this section is for classics, my mistake again.

 

[Chun the unavoidable]

I would have thought the point of post-apocalypse novels was describing the world after some apocalyptic event. The best one, hands down, was the supposedly inevitable nuclear war with Rissia. That's why the majority of such novels come from the 50's and 60's.

They can be looked upon as historical novels now, if they are set in a world just after the event, like Pat Frank's "Alas, Babylon". Many are run into the future, like Donald McQuinn's trilogy "Wanderer, Warrior & Witch" (oops, those are pretty recent).

And if the novels from the 50's, like "On the Beach" may be a bit dated, they sometimes have inspired some fun movies - I think "On the Beach" inspired the Mad Max series.

For some good writing and a different scenario, look into John Christopher's "No Blade of Grass".

As a note, I recently got a copy of one of my fondly-remembered classics, Andre Norton's "Star Man's Son". You can't go home again - it's a real stinker, even is it was pretty neat when I was still in grade school.

By the way - growing up in the Washington D.C. area makes you take apocalypse novels as pretty serious literature.

 

[HappyHippo]

It's not really a book-y book, but I remember a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs (he who wrote the snowman), which deals with an elderly couple after nuclear war. I remember it made me cry when I was twelve; they do everything those 50's public safety films used to advise, and the book shows that hiding under a door doesn't work.

 

[liana]

hi, theres a book by a author called Starhawk its one of 2 . the first book is about San francisco free love , and the second with the same charector is post apocolyptic, quite good if i remember but i read it a while ago . Also Orson Scott Card and Ben Bova have written some . Find anything good let us know!

 

[liana]

hi again ive remembered another book, its really bugging me cos i cant remember the name . Cant find it either anyway if anyone knows the book let me know what its called because im annoyed. Lots of people scientists, mathematitions etc are kept in cryosleep in shifts after the nuclear war/comet etc . they are in hidden bunker . they wake in shifts to watch over young civilisation and appear to guide as `gods` . some groups use old technology, some are afraid of tech and call it magic evil etc.something bad is coming down with a glacier as the ice caps melt . Basically , post apocolyptic with magic, superstition good and evil .
to jog anyones memory keywords are ; bottles, observatory, demon, old man in wheelchair ,signs on forhead ,gods.
Im sorry everyone my dad has an obsession with buying sci fi books. mostly old but some new he has thousands and i get through at least 2 a week so the names never stay in my memory very long .

 

[stellarexplorer]

Maybe I missed it, but has anyone mentioned Malevil by Robert Merle?

 

[Winter Lord]

Not of the classic variety, but you might also want to check out Magic Time by Marc Scott Zicree. Each of the trilogy was co-written, the first with Barbara Hambly.

The trilogy is about a science experiment gone wrong that in one big bang stops all technology from working and magic comes into the world. Some of the people begin to turn into demons, fey etc, while most scamble to simply survive. The story is most similar to The Stand, with a bit more magic .. but not so much that the story begins to feel like a fantasy. It stays modern and post-apocalyptic and the changes that happen fit into the story well.

As it is a co-written/collaborative story, each book is slightly different. The first book is written in 3rd person, while the second is 1st person with each chapter a different characters point of view. I am not a fan of switching styles, but the writing in each is good enough that its a fun read.

Good series, but I have only read the first two.

I'm having trouble finding some of these books you "guys" mentioned. Right now I'm reading The City, Not Long After By Pat Murphy.

Good book.

It's not really a book-y book, but I remember a graphic novel by Raymond Briggs (he who wrote the snowman), which deals with an elderly couple after nuclear war. I remember it made me cry when I was twelve; they do everything those 50's public safety films used to advise, and the book shows that hiding under a door doesn't work.

Sounds like When the Wind Blows.

E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series is pretty good.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I'd definately reccomend The Tripods series by John Christopher

Farewell Horizontal by KW Jeter could be classed as a post-apocalyptic novel -. Something's gone seriously wrong if everyone's forced to live in one enormous skyscraper

And I know it's not a book , but a tv series called Survivors by Terry Nation ran for about 60 episodes over 3 series 20-30 years ago on the BBC . It's about the survival of a group of Britons after a worldwide plague has killed most of the Earth's population. Can be very slow going , but very interesting

 

[Dave]

And I know it's not a book , but a tv series called Survivors by Terry Nation ran for about 60 episodes over 3 series 20-30 years ago on the BBC . It's about the survival of a group of Britons after a worldwide plague has killed most of the Earth's population. Can be very slow going , but very interesting

And there are some plans to remake it! (though I can't see how it could be made better, different, etc.)

 

[Pyan]

The Pelbar Cycle, by Paul O.Williams

One thousand years after a devastating and chaotic series of nuclear exchanges, all that is left of the United States of America are scattered, warring tribes and small city-states.

Amazon.com: The Breaking of Northwall: The Pelbar Cycle, Book One (Beyond Armageddon): Books: Paul O. Williams

 

[Steve S]

I read a self published book recently called Autumn (I think the author's name is David Moody). Pretty good book, shades of 28 days later. Moving beyond books, have you ever seen Threads? A film following the effects of a nuclear attack on the UK, grim but compelling viewing.

 

[Connavar]

Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, renamed Blade Runner in newer editions to attract people who enjoyed the movie is also a classic post-apocalyptic novel.

For a more modern take on it, you might like to give Greg Bear's The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars a try.

Androids are a great choice!

I found that world soo interesting.

 

[Pyan]

Moving beyond books, have you ever seen Threads? A film following the effects of a nuclear attack on the UK, grim but compelling viewing.

Saw it years ago - put the fear of the gods into me at the time. My then girlfriend was from Sheffield, where it was filmed, so it had a personal interest to me. Good film, scary predictions, especially that we might seem to get back almost to normal after a few years, but long-term, we would be doomed.

 

[sanityassassin]

Threads was a curse for me for years I ended up not being able to sleep at night in fear of nuclear war everytime I closed my eyes I saw that mushroom cloud

 

[Bear]

There are a lot of Post Apocalyptic books out there. Most are ok or even pretty good, generally. But there are only a few that really stand out. Here is my list of the very best:

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart - hands down the very best! I've read and reread this book more times than I can remember. It's premise, a world depopulated by disease rings far truer today than when it was written. Remember SARS? But the beautiful, hopeful, nearly pastoral world the survivors carve out for themselves after the plague is rare indeed among books in this genre. The writing is so well crafted, it's almost lyrical and yet it's realism is gripping. Once read, I promise you'll never forget it.

The following list is in no particular order:

Title and Author------------------------------What I remember of the book:

The Year of the Quiet Sun by Wilson Tucker------------Pretty Dang Good
The City, Not Long After by Pat Murphy ---------------Great!
A Gift Upon the Shore by M.K. Wren -------------------Very Good
Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny ---------------------Great!
Greybeard by Brian Aldiss -----------------------------Great!
Z for Zachariah by Robert C. O'Brien -------------------Very Good
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham --------------Pretty Dang Good
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank ----------------------------Good
Twilight of the City by Charles Platt -------------------Good (but disturbing moral issues)
The Postman by David Brin ----------------------------Pretty Good
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett -----------------Pretty Good
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm ------Good
The Ragged Edge by John Christopher ----------------- Pretty Dang Good
Dawn's Uncertain Light by Neal Barrett, Jr. -------------Pretty Dang Good
Earth Blood by James Axler ----------------------------Good (survivalist)
No Blade of Grass by John Christopher -----------------Good
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson ---------------------Pretty Dang Good (but negative)
All Fools Day by Edmond Cooper -----------------------Pretty Dang Good
False Dawn by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro -------------------Pretty Dang Good
Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks--------------- Pretty Good (but not complete. Felt like a ploy to sell sequel. Also some fantasy)

If I've failed to mention any you like, I probably haven't heard of it. Please feel free to fill in the gaps.

Check these out for some great reads!

 

[Bear]

I forgot one other book. It's the first in a trilogy called:

Darkness & Dawn by George Allen England.

The name of the first book is The Vacant World. Yes, it's old (written in 1912), but don't let that put you off. This is definately one of the best of the genre! The writing is great and the setting believable. Best of all, you can read it for free online (as there were no copyright laws at the time). I've found in in several places but I liked manybooks.net as it allows you to download it in one of several different forms depending on your particular needs.

Darkness and Dawn by George Allan England - Free eBook

Incidentally, the first half of the second in the series, Beyond the Great Oblivion, was the best action I've ever read in any book. It took my breath away. But unfortunately after that, the book lost some of it's appeal for me.