Good Post Apocalyptic Books Wanted

[Brys]

How have you all forgotten the most obvious one?

A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M Miller Jr. A classic post-apocalyptic novel about the evolution of society after a nuclear holocaust and an "Age of Simplification" where all scholars and learned people were attacked because of their role in it.

 

[Diatomite]

Hi Clangador.

Other Wyndham books are also excellent. Especially The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos. Excepting that Chrysalids is, for me, better than Wyndham's others, you have started at the top of the tree. Nothing compares to Greybeard and Earth Abides. Equally, nothing compares with Ballard's books, and so you could try to find them also.

 

[Jason_Taverner]

swan song but I think its out of print what an amazing book that is

 

[WizardofOwls]

Starman's Son by Andre Norton
Redbeard by Michael Resnick
A trilogy: "One Eye," "Two Eyes," and "Three Eyes" by Stuart Gordon

 

[SukiTrek]

Warday by Whitley Strieber is a good one. It's about two guys who hike across America after a nuclear war.

 

[fungi from Yuggoth]

I'd recommend JG Ballard's "The Drowned World" for a brilliant study of the human mind striving to adjust to a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by global warming. "Canticle For Leibowitz" is also brilliant -- humorous and highly relevant.

Also, for anyone who enjoys older fiction, MP Shiel's "The Purple Cloud" is worth a read. Shiel is a superb prose stylist with an excellent descriptive touch, but I found the story itself a little dry to be honest. Still, it's almost hypnotizing at times, psychadelic even.

 

[murphy]

Alas, Babylon, by Pat Frank
Wolf & Iron by Gordon R. Dickson

Both post apocalyptic books. I liked Wolf & Iron the best. At least there was hope for the future in it.

 

[alyson]

I really enjoyed The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler, and its sequel The Parable of the Talents. There's a very strong central female character, and the story shows the post-apocalyse dissolution of society in an all-too-plausible way. There are religious overtones, but I did not find this distracting. I'll certainly look at some of the other suggestions here - thanks!

 

[weaveworld]

Z for Zachariah by Robert O'Brien

I saw the film or tv show with Anthony Andrews... Very interesting idea...

***SPOILER ALERT***

This is information from memory of reading the book and watching the tv... So apologies if some information is wrong

The people on a farm, that is situated in a valley, see a flash in the sky one night and then all the tv and radio signals go dead...

Several days later, they realise that no post has been delivered and there is no phone line... So a couple of them go out of the valley, leaving one or two kids behind...

Some time goes by and the girl, left behind, gets a little worried but carries on caring for the animals...

A little while longer, and a stranger in a contamination suit appears in the valley...

*Spolier Alert*

I read this book years old, the stranger is called John Loomis (who is also a murderer having killed his colleague) he is a scentist wearing a 'safe suit', Ann hides from him, Loomis then swin in a pond with has been affected by radiation, then gets better and wants the young girl, Ann to have children wth him.

It ends up that Ann takes the suit and leaves in search of people and her family who left at the beginning at the book. Loomis stays at the farm but does try to stop her but Ann won't stay.

 

[Clangador]

Hi Clangador.

Other Wyndham books are also excellent. Especially The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos. Excepting that Chrysalids is, for me, better than Wyndham's others, you have started at the top of the tree. Nothing compares to Greybeard and Earth Abides. Equally, nothing compares with Ballard's books, and so you could try to find them also.

Well, I've read The Midwich Cuckoos already.

 

[murphy]

For something written recently, try S. M. Stirling's new trilogy, Dies the Fire, The Protector's War (and to come this year), Meeting at Corvallis. All electricity comes to an end at the beginning of the series. That means no water pumps, no cars, etc. Very good books so far. I, for one, am eagerly awaiting the last book in the series.

 

[Clangador]

For something written recently, try S. M. Stirling's new trilogy, Dies the Fire, The Protector's War (and to come this year), Meeting at Corvallis. All electricity comes to an end at the beginning of the series. That means no water pumps, no cars, etc. Very good books so far. I, for one, am eagerly awaiting the last book in the series.

Sounds interesting. I have the first book in the series, but have not read it yet. I'm reading 1984 right now.

 

[WizardofOwls]

A Secret History of Time to Come by Robie Macauley is another good one.

 

[Clangador]

Warday by Whitley Strieber is a good one. It's about two guys who hike across America after a nuclear war.

I've never even heard of that one before. is it any good?

~Clangador

 

[The Time Traveller]

I'm listening to Cell (Unabridged Audiobook) by some guy named Stephen King. It definitely qualifies. I'm not the biggest King fan but he seems to clicking on all cylinders on this one. If you don't know what this one is about, everyone with a cell phone goes stark raving mad after they receive some kind of pulse (maybe from terrorists) that sort of wipes their minds clean. A small group of people set off to get out of Boston and basically survive. At first I was afraid this was going to be just a zombie chase book, but the crazy people start to evolve into something else. It's not overly long like The Stand either.

 

[Clangador]

I'm listening to Cell (Unabridged Audiobook) by some guy named Stephen King. It definitely qualifies. I'm not the biggest King fan but he seems to clicking on all cylinders on this one. If you don't know what this one is about, everyone with a cell phone goes stark raving mad after they receive some kind of pulse (maybe from terrorists) that sort of wipes their minds clean. A small group of people set off to get out of Boston and basically survive. At first I was afraid this was going to be just a zombie chase book, but the crazy people start to evolve into something else. It's not overly long like The Stand either.

I'm thinking about reading Cell. Didn't in just come out?

 

[piccallo]

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?

Try 'The Changes trilogy' by Peter Dickinson. It was made into a childrens tv drama in the seventies. Nearly everybody turns compleatly against technology and the world colapses into a new dark age.

 

[Snowdog]

Algis Budrys - Some Will Not Die, which I was reminded of in another thread.

I also recommend The Chrysalids, if you liked Triffids.

 

[Patrocles]

Speaking of Wyndham, I loved Day of the Triffids. I once saw a wonderful film adaptation of that, too, that was produced by the BBC. Unfortunately, as much as I've tried, I haven't been able to find it here in the video stores. There was a very inferior U.S. version with Howard Keel, but if anyone knows how to get the BBC mini-series, I'd love it.

 

[murphy]

Speaking of Wyndham, I loved Day of the Triffids. I once saw a wonderful film adaptation of that, too, that was produced by the BBC. Unfortunately, as much as I've tried, I haven't been able to find it here in the video stores. There was a very inferior U.S. version with Howard Keel, but if anyone knows how to get the BBC mini-series, I'd love it.

They have a new copy of that picture at Amazon. However, it is in British format and I don't know if you can use it in an American DVD player.